Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Rain, Contentment, Worries


 It rained all night and most of the day today. I did not mind in the least. I slept late and then spent a leisurely morning doing leisurely morning things and then started working on Maggie's doll. 

I had started making her a doll a month or so ago and didn't finish it and when I showed it to her in its unfinished and unimpressive form, she barely registered an interest at all and so I put it in a closet and forgot about it but when I was talking to her on the phone the other day, she asked if I had finished it yet.
What?
That girl. 

So I pulled it out of the closet today and sat down to work on it again. Y'all. It's a mess.


I know it's hard to tell but that's the head with most of the hair finished and that bang area? Good Lord. Obviously, I am learning as I go. I do like the George Clinton look of the colors of the hair. Perhaps I need to


just make the poor dolly a fancy hat and sew that on to cover the sins. Anyway, I've had a good time with it, listening to an audio book by the niece of the guy who runs Scientology. You know me and my cults.  What a story! 



This child was raised in the "church" from birth and at age seven was doing physical labor that a grown man would hardly be capable of and was indoctrinated in ways that can hardly be believed. She has left the "church" and this is her story. I put church in quotations because the only reason Scientology claims to be a religion is to get the tax-free religious exemption. I'm fascinated and horrified. Man, if I thought Mormonism was bad (and it sure can be), this is bad on a whole other level. 
So I was content to do things with yarn and a needle and scissors and happy to be at home doing homey things. 

I did read something disturbing in the local news today about a new bird flu that affects wild birds and domestic birds. It is advising people to keep their chickens inside a shelter and not to feed wild birds where the domestic birds can get to the seeds which may have been infected. Well hell. 
Our chickens are out all day, of course, and I can't see not letting them run. We should stop feeding the wild birds because our chickens love nothing more than pecking up the seeds the birds scatter as they eat. I hate to think about that but I suppose we really should. 
Right now I can see crows, cardinals, and wrens. I have seen red-headed woodpeckers today as well as finches and blue jays. The hawks have been calling for weeks now, soaring overhead. I hear one right now along with a mockingbird trilling. Although I rarely think of it in these terms, birds play a huge role in my life and that's not even considering what they do for the environment that I take totally for granted. 

One more thing to worry about in this crazy world of ours. One more thing to feel guilty about as I sit here, blithely enjoying the sight and songs of these feathered wonders who bless and enrich my life with their presence.

Meanwhile, another shot of a coming-along wisteria blossom.


I have already seen trees over twenty feet tall, covered in the purple-blooming vines. 

There will be more photos. Of course. 

Love...Ms. Moon

31 comments:

  1. That sounds like a great day. I'm all for learning as you go anyway.
    That bird flu is in the UK too. Friends with commercial numbers of free range chickens are having to enclose them and nobody's happy. I think mainly the concern is if it's a business you can't afford to lose more than a few chickens you know by name.

    I wonder if it was upsetting to Maggie to see the unfinished doll? It might already be a person to her.

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    1. Oh, now that you mention it, I HAVE heard of that flu. I saw the stories about how we no longer have free-range eggs in the UK, at least for the time being.

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    2. Yes. Started in Europe and spread to the US through Canada. Birds do migrate, don't they?
      I don't think that Maggie really paid much attention to the doll at all, it was in such an unfinished state and she wanted to get on to something FUN! It's coming along.
      Steve- that's sad.

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  2. I think our rain is mostly finished until the end of June except for little showers here and there. I am envious of your day of rain! Wisteria has such lovely shades of purple.

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    1. I appreciated the rain we had. I think all of the plants and trees are drinking it in through their roots with great gulps. You're right about wisteria!

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  3. So many flocks have been killed because of this new "flu". Hundreds of thousands! And little flocks, too.
    The wisteria is beautiful!

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    1. God. It's just such a horrible thing to think about, isn't it?
      The wisteria will grow more and more beautiful every day now.

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  4. Let us Hope the Bird Flu passes, like the one before it eventually did... and that Nature will find a way. I like the George Clinton Hair of the Dolly.

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    1. I just hope that the bird flu passes before it kills all the birds. I mean- that would just about be the end of the planet.

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  5. What is the cause of this bird flu and where did it start?

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    1. Here's a very good FAQ page:
      https://myfwc.com/research/wildlife/health/avian/influenza/faq/

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  6. I heard on the news this evening that the bird flu is passed to chickens by geese or ducks so if you don't have any of those around your birds may be okay. We tried unsuccessfully to grow a wisteria vine last summer but it never "took" and seems to have since died. Too bad, so sad.

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    1. From what I've read, chickens can contract it through exposure to wild birds so...
      Oh! I'm so sorry about your wisteria. Maybe it will surprise you and come back.

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    2. Give it until mid-late spring to make a new appearance, there may be "underground" works going on that will send up shoots after winter.

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  7. The doll’s hair is so cool. That book sounds interesting and terrifying. I hope your chickens will be safe.

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    1. I like the hair too. I hope that Magnolia does.
      And yes, that my chickens will be safe and that this flu is not completely devastating to all of the birds.

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  8. I love wisteria, I had a front porch covered in it once, we rented a place outside of Sydney for a few years, on an Army base, (hubby was a soldier) and the wisteria keep the porch shaded so we had a couch out there and a small table, we sat for hours just listening to the dozens of bees buzzing around the flowers. I hope you get the doll finished for Maggie.

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    1. What a lovely image that is! Sitting on a couch shaded by wisteria and listening to the bees! I love it!

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  9. Re my comment yesterday about chickens having friends.....I just tried a google with the ex girlfriends name and found the results! If you put in " do hens have friends. Siobhan Abeyesinghe" you should find it!

    Just checked our wisteria ( actually it belongs to the neighbours but a lot of it has come round to our side!) and it hasn't even got any leaves yet, never mind flowers!

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    1. Thank you, Frances!
      And hey- if the wisteria is on your side of the yard, it is your wisteria too!

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    2. We did actually ask if they minded if we trained along the back of our house!

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  10. I hadn't heard that about the bird flu. Sheesh! As you said, something ELSE to worry about!

    That Scientology book sounds fascinating. I just don't understand how anybody can get indoctrinated into something as crazy as Scientology.

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    1. After having spent trillions of hours listening to Mormon Stories podcasts, I know a lot more about cults than I used to. They can be so subtle and loving in the beginning that even highly intelligent people can find themselves immeshed. And in this case- the girl was born into it.

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  11. Hope your chickens stay healthy. It is always something, isn't it?

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  12. I don't generally feed the wild birds in the summer. I figure they still need to know how to forage for food so I make them do that when it's plentiful. No wisteria emerging here yet. Cults. All cults are horrible and most religions are cults.

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    1. We feed the birds because it makes them easier for us to look at! So, it's a selfish thing, really.
      I agree with you about cults and religions. Of course.

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  13. Thanks for that book recommendation - I've just downloaded a sample onto my kindle. I'd heard of her but I suspect I will have the same reaction as you to reading her book!

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    1. I hope you enjoy it. And yes, you will be horrified and shocked.

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  14. I stopped feeding birds years ago (except hummingbirds, and even those I feed only in fall and winter) just because....birds *know* how to feed and exist. Worry may not be warranted with this new disease, but just being aware and wise, is! Wisteria is always to die for. Never had one, they don't thrive here......but back in my old hippie house 50 years ago....... I was blessed with a huge one and I've never forgotten it
    Susan M

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    1. Like I told Ellen above, we mostly just feed them so we can watch them.
      Sigh. I imagine we'll stop.
      I love thinking about YOU thinking of that old hippie house with the beautiful wisteria.

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