The Girls Are Doing Wonderfully! We started with six...we ended with 12! (Think Jaws except "We're gonna need a bigger coop!") We got our hands on one Rhode Island Red - Which is now known as Brave, A Barred Rock now known as Kratos (Teenage boys-God of War video game... sigh) 2 Ameraucana-they lay the blue and green eggs (!!!) and 2 Sussex? I think?!
They are eating so much I can't even believe it! I love to wake up and come downstairs to their little chirping noises - some of the first batch seem to be sprouting wing like tips already! We are handling them like crazy and they seem somewhat used to us. I've fallen into a routine - Wake up, Get the kids going, Take Bella (crazy Jack Russell/Chihuahua) for a long walk on the grass backing to the bird sanctuary (It makes her feel wild and tough), then I feed her and clean the water/feed/bedding for the girls! I'm only having to wake up a bit earlier with the addition to the morning routine, and on work days I'll probably jam it out around 4:30AM....but here's the kicker: IT IS BLISS!
I never thought this would make me so gleeful! It's so damn real - unlike fluorescent lighting. Don't get me wrong I've got probably one of the best gigs @ work ever. I commute 3 days a week (read gas savings) and have the option for 4, I have great benefits (as I found out with my ER visit last Wednesday - another blog soon), Paid time off, sick time etc. Once I get my debt down (ongoing) and either sell or rent out my current digs, and find a place with plenty of dirt...well... it will be a ton easier!
These girls were the first concrete step toward the life I want, and a little bit of success goes a long way toward fueling the engine of desire when the chips seem down and you start to lose sight of what it is you really want. You have to be good to yourself and not such a slave - and in a way THAT is what this is basically about; Personal Freedom. The ability to grow what you want to eat without chemicals and things that can kill you. The choice to raise your own animals humanely and should they be slaughtered; to do it swiftly and with a Prayer of Thanks. To know that you can be authentic and live by the streams, provide for yourself and your family. You need your dreams like the seed needs spring - you have to cultivate them, however small the steps may seem. A book, a thought, a promise, a prayer. Just keep on keeping on! A small flock of chickens and a desire for a different life seems to put one foot in front of the other for me. The pace may seem slow but if there's anything I've learned; it's to maintain a slow and steady forward movement. You gotta pick yourself up and shake off the dust of negativity and doubt when life throws you the curve ball (and it will). But you also must be ready and brace yourself for the quantum leap that comes in between those times - because it is coming like a wild thunder storm if you hold tight to your dream!
I was on the phone with a friend and she asked what I was doing...I replied "I'm warm paper toweling this chicks crap crusted butt so she doesn't get backed up" There was a long silence then she said "Dear God what has happened to you?" "I don't know," I replied, "But isn't it Fantastic?!!!!!"
Namaste
