This is what the garden fence looked like this morning where we'd left the sprinklers dripping all night to prevent the pipes from bursting. Real ice sickles! And that part at the top of the fence was so interesting. Look at this.
Ice sickle sculpture! But it all melted away by noon as did the ice on the chicken waterers. We worried the tiniest bit last night, putting the chickens to bed and knowing how cold it was going to be but they all survived nicely and gave us nine eggs today so they must be doing okay. They spent their day doing their regular roaming of the yard. They have specific places they visit daily and it seems to me that there's a schedule to it. They do tend to congregate around the kitchen until I bring out the compost for them to eat and scratch about and after that they go to different spots to scratch and hunt for bugs and whatever else it is they're looking for and places where they lay in the soft dirt they've scratched up for their dirt baths and sun naps. They seem to stay in a fairly small area of the yard although a few days last week I did catch some of them in front of the fence over near where I cleared the poison ivy which is way too close to the road for my comfort.
"Get on back in the yard," I told them and they did.
Before I ever had chickens I remember our then next-door neighbor, Scott, got chickens and let them run in the yard.
"Aren't you afraid they'll go out into the road and get run over?" I asked him.
"Ms. Mary," he said, "Have you ever seen a dead chicken in the road?"
I had to admit that no, I had not. I've seen countless armadillos, possums, raccoons, birds, a fox or two, and even deer but never a dead chicken.
Here's a good joke:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To show the armadillo it can be done.
Haha.
I have no doubt related both this story and the joke before but y'all- it's been a slow news day here in Lloyd.
I think that breakfast was pretty much the highlight of the day but of course we haven't had supper yet so...
I finished listening to Nothing To See Here and it was truly a charming book. I sort of can't believe that a man wrote it. If you get a chance, please listen to the audio version. As I said yesterday, the narrator is fantastic. I listen to a lot of audio books. A LOT. And the lady who did this narration (Marin Ireland) is absolutely one of the finest narrators I've ever heard. Plus, it's a charming, heartwarming story and has a lot to say about children with differences in a sort of allegorical or metaphorical way. Maybe both. I ain't no grammar teacher.
Bottom line- highly recommend.
August seems to be fine after shooting his eye with a foam rocket. FOAM, people! He'll be going to see the pediatric ophthalmologist tomorrow. He even told Jessie that going to the hospital was sort of fun although that's probably because he got to watch Shaun the Sheep on Mama's phone while they were waiting. We are big fans of Shaun around here. It's one of those shows that kids love and yet, doesn't make adults want to puke.
As many of you related, having children just absolutely means that you will be spending time in emergency rooms. I remember my youngest brothers having to go to the ER after they got into our other brother's model glue. They had it all over their faces and in their mouths (they were quite young, a year apart in age, and absolute partners in toddler crime) and so my mother rushed them to the hospital where they puked up the bananas they'd recently eaten. Neither one of them ended up as glue-heads, thank goodness.
We started watching Bridgerton last night which is a very, very pretty show but we haven't gotten to any of the parts with nudity yet and until we do, I'm pretty sure that my husband will be fairly bored. I absolutely love the fact that so many racially different people are cast in all of the roles with no mention made of the fact in the scripts. From watching the trailer, I had thought that perhaps race was a theme in the show- you know- Whoa! Black man, very, very white romantic interest, Black queen, etc. But nope, just gorgeous people of various skin tones and ethnicities going about the ridiculous lives of the upper class and royalty. I hope that tonight's episode will give us at least a bare breast or two to keep my husband's interest.
And let's face it- who doesn't love a lovely breast?
I guess that's about it. I've made soup. Dough for focaccia is rising. A bowl of soup, a wedge of bread, a bit of goat cheese- perfection. The soup is a sort of minestrone, I guess. It has a lot of vegetables in it including tomatoes.
Tomorrow is Monday, right? I absolutely have to get back to walking. And perhaps also, eating all healthy and shit. I mean- we eat very, very well with fresh vegetables and wild meat and so on and so forth but the sugar and fat consumption has to come to an end. I finished up the last of the cinnamon rolls that Jessie brought over on Christmas day that she'd made and I felt like a junky wanting to call her supplier. I almost texted her to say, "Uh, could you please make more of those rolls? We need them badly."
And of course we do not.
No one NEEDS cinnamon rolls.
With icing.
Or otherwise.
Love...Ms. Moon
those icicles (sp) are a thing of beauty.....and surely a VERY rare thing for you. And of course the chickens are fine...they are feathered accordingly and adapt well to that cold. cinnamon rolls????? one can never get enough of good ones, And I can't believe you have never seen *A Christmas Story*......Ralphie in fear of shooting his eye out. It is a such a classic....we watch it every year.....for the past 20 years.....it's priceless- you would love it!
ReplyDeletesusan M
Everyone always tells me that I need to watch that movie and I have no idea why I never have!
DeleteYes. Icicles so rare here that I do not know how to spell them!
What fantastical ice shapes you got.
ReplyDeleteThis pandemic has not been good for me, and it's simply a matter of eating too much food. At least I have not made cookies and bought sweets, but six or eight months of larger portions have put a few pound on me, and my jeans are tight.
But darling- you are a very thin woman and a few extra pounds should be good for you, shouldn't it? If nothing else it provides a little more insulation from cold and falls. But I hate tight pants. Hate them.
DeleteThe icicles photos are beautiful. Nice you got to them before they melted.
ReplyDeleteTrue. They were already dripping.
DeleteI love the ice sculptures. Glad you caught them before they went away. I seem to be eating the same as ever, maybe a bit less. I guess the pandemic hasn't had that effect. My doctor commented that I hadn't got the Covid-20, meaning pounds, a lot of her patients have.
ReplyDeleteI lost weight the first few months of covid but I have picked it back up again. Dammit. I'm not eating more food, I'm just eating food that I didn't allow myself before.
DeleteThose icicles are gorgeous. Cold enough for you? Just a small taste of winter for you which is probably all anyone wants anyway. We have months to go before the snow is gone.
ReplyDeleteCinnamon buns are a need, not a want Ms. Moon.
I suppose cinnamon buns would be a need if I lived in a place where there was snow for many months every winter!
DeleteWe drove up to the pass where there was a lotta snow and yes, icicles. We threw snowballs and each other and because there were WAY too many people esp not wearing masks, we dove back down the mountain. I could watch paint dry with Eden and still have fun.
ReplyDeleteWe finished Bridgerton and well, it's hella silly. But the male lead is, um, delicious. And fairly thoughtful with the virgin. And that's something. But silly as heck. I liked the BBC Sandition better, the female lead has more backbone and the costumes are gorgeous.
This is who we have become. Lordy.
THIS IS WHO WE'VE BECOME! Yes. Lord. Actually, to be honest- it's who I already was.
DeleteHow sad is that?
We did not throw each other...
ReplyDeleteAnd we drove down the mountain, not dove.
Sheesh.
Oh, whatever. I can't spell icicle.
DeleteI love the pictures of the icicles! Isn't that unusual in Florida? I'm happy to hear that August is doing okay but I'm glad he will see an ophthalmologist just to be safe. He did it with a foam rocket - like a nerf? Geez, kids are sure talented at finding ways to get hurt! It sounds just like something my grandson would have done when he was little.
ReplyDeleteWell, yes, it rarely gets cold enough to freeze water here. It used to freeze more frequently but as we all know- there have been changes.
DeleteYep. Like a nerf rocket but there was a lot of momentum behind it. That sucker could land on the roof.
Wow. No ice here although my place did feel like a refrigerator for awhile...I am glad August is okay.
ReplyDeleteI bet it was cold down there too!
DeleteI love Mrs Moon, you speak to my heart. I’ve been over eating and doing nothing much but packing boxes here in Sydney as we are moving to a COVID free party if the country in northern New South Wales. Thank you for sharing your life.
ReplyDeleteOh, you are welcome! Thank you for being interested in it. I love that you're in Australia!
DeleteI love Mrs Moon, you speak to my heart. I’ve been over eating and doing nothing much but packing boxes here in Sydney as we are moving to a COVID free party if the country in northern New South Wales. Thank you for sharing your life.
ReplyDeleteThe Icicle Photos are Beautiful! We had a pipe freeze recently, it doesn't happen often in Arizona, but this has been Weird weather for a while now.
ReplyDeleteHasn't it? Frozen pipes are nothing but trouble.
DeleteI am also fond of a nice breast - chicken breast - preferably without nipples.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who always referred to "chicken bosoms."
DeleteShe was a lady.
While it is true no one NEEDS a cinnamon roll...2020 almost requires a few. Good way to show the damn year the door, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely!
DeleteI watched all of the Bridgerton episodes over 2 days. Have faith, by episode 4 or 5 it is sex sex sex!
ReplyDeleteI'll be sure to tell my husband that. He's ready to quit it. Maybe he'll hang in there when I say those magic words- "sex sex sex".
DeleteI like your photos of the ice on your fence. Cool!
ReplyDeleteYour meals always sound delicious and you do know how to bake a lot of breads. I do not do that at all.
I watched Sanditon last night and thought that was great - I think those were the last 2 episodes, tho, so i missed most of it. I do enjoy the actress Anne Reid. Have you seen Last Tango in Halifax? That was a great series too.
I have not seen either of those series. Are they on Acorn? BBC? I have neither of those. We sure do seem to have a lot of sports channels though.
DeleteHmmmm...
Those are some impressive icicles! When I went outside this morning our birdbath was frozen, which is the first ice I've seen this winter. The plants don't seem at all fazed, though. Glad the chickens were fine. I'm not surprised that they instinctively know what to do in the cold.
ReplyDeleteI don't know this Bridgerton show!
The chickens appear to be unfazed. But they all have on down jackets with feather sweaters so...
DeleteWe haven't gotten to the nudity parts of Bridgerton so I can't comment on what it's like. I'll let you know.
you have foxes?! the only time I've ever seen a fox was on one of my canoe camping trips in Big Bend. I'm glad it hasn't gotten that cold here so far. of course next summer when the mosquitoes are horrendous I'll probably be wishing it had.
ReplyDeleteWe do have foxes. A long time ago we had a very old, diseased looking one coming around the chickens in the daytime. He was scary. I do believe that Mr. Moon got rid of him. They're very shy and also, spend time in trees. I find that so funny. I have seen a few on my walks and at first I always think they are cats. I call them cat-dogs.
Deletethe ice is so pretty- I want to lick it. Glad chickens are smarter than we give them credit for. I have seen a lot of road kill, too, but never a chicken.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful ice sculptures! And my niece and I binged five episodes of Bridgerton tonight. It's a lovely confection, beautiful people, plus I do love a costume drama! We just got to the sex!
ReplyDelete