Chickens do not celebrate Christmas

-
I once read about the grouping of stars that we call the "Big Dipper". Throughout history this grouping of stars has been recognized throughout Eastern Asia, India, and England to the Americas. It has taken on many names such as the plough, the ladle, a cart, and sometimes it has been recognized as a bear or the home to the "immortals". This grouping of stars has been shaped and defined by culture and imagination.
It's all a matter of perception.
And to my mind's way of seeing things the chickens appeared quite celebratory on Christmas morning. My imagination perhaps. I know that I was anticipating Gaia Girls arrival and that I had a very sick chicken sitting in my kitchen. But it truly did not seem as though I were projecting. They looked like they were going to break out into song! I thought that they might miss the absent hen now being nursed in the chicken hospital but they went on without skipping a beat.
A little while after Gaia Girl made her triumphant return to waiting cats and a small Christmas gift, she tended the poor girl and gave her a thorough examination.
After the regretful and unceremonious cull an autopsy was performed to see why this hen suffered in spite of being well tended to and hospitalized. Located deep within the gizzard she found this weighty brass object lodged and obstructing the passage of any digestion of food. I would estimate the weight to stand between ten and fifteen grams and we are puzzled by the fact that she was even able to swallow it!
We are so glad that it wasn't something more or something that could spread through the flock killing them one by one. Our crew of the original fifteen now stands at thirteen: a true baker's dozen. And perhaps that is why they were all in such rare form. A stay of execution? More food for the remaining brood? Or was it Gaia Girl's return?
I do not know. But I know that it was Christmas; and it was celebrated.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TaoSpring - pallet chicken coop

-
Image
I had less than a month to build a suitable coop and chicken run. I had very little money to work with. Having seen many coops and out buildings that people have assembled using scrap pallets, I thought that I would give it a try. Starting with two 4 x 8 pallets as the floor, I assembled all the available pallets that I could find. This is the frame of the coop. It will measure approximately 8ft x 8ft. Saltbox style roof will be 9 feet at the front and will taper down to 8 1/4 feet in the back. My inspiration is drawn from the bottom photo   seen here. I varied the plans to accommodate the unevenness of available pallet size. In a perfect world a 4' x 4' pallet would make pallet building as easy as playing with Lego's. Unfortunately downsizing has effected everything. Most pallets now measure 48" x 40" and the solid 4' by 4' pallets are usually reclaimed by their owners. Oh, they're out there, but I am looking to build for as...
Read more

We're all Gods witha capital "G", eh?

-
Image
The multiplicity of available forums such as blogger, wordpress, my space and etc...allow us the ability to share something of our experience. And I like that:>) On some subjects we will agree while on others we may see things differently. And that's okay. So, here I go again... I recently read a brilliant and well written post on a Buddhist blog that mapped out the reasons why it is that Buddhists do not believe in a supreme being and that the concept of a creator God is antithetical to Buddhist thought. The post also cites that the Buddha listed belief in a supreme creator as one of the wrong views in the Brahmajala Sutta, Digha 1. This neatly packaged "Buddhist belief" feels like too big a piece of gristle in my mouth. Chewing it creates a rather fatty taste in my mouth and to spit it out feels rude. I have come to a place where I am sensitive or aware of beliefs, labels and such. At several points in my life I could say that I am a Christian, a Taoist, a Buddhist, ...
Read more

Loneliness is such a....drag

-
Image
"Spiritual friendship, association with wise and noble friends, and wise and noble deeds are the whole of the holy life." the Buddha I, ve been watching some of the recurrent thoughts that arise to chastise me and one of the little buggers is the thought and the subsequent feelings of loneliness. When I was studying and reaching for a life as a Christian pastor, I felt a like-mind with several brothers and sisters that I had met along the way. Sometimes it seemed easy to extend grace toward one another. It was a time of embracing. There was value in " not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together." This friendship has not been duplicated since. I bear some responsibility for this. The level of fundamentalist Christian teaching that I withstood, questioned, and then left behind, left me lacking in trust of an organized anything: (see previous post) I have since relied on some of the friendships that developed through blogger to replace that which was not pres...
Read more