freedom and free things

When I built the new chicken yard I wasn't ready to commit to it wholly. I never gave it a gate. I just left two little tabs of metal which I hook to the other side of the wire fence to "seal" the "gate". One of those tabs has broken off and every afternoon I find my backyard filled with happy little hens. The Cali Whites can be found wandering the sidewalk or even the road. I don't know why they refuse to stay in the yard. The funniest part is that they somehow manage to get out but then spend the day pacing the fence line as if they don't know how to get back in. A stranger actually stopped her car and knocked on my door to tell me that I needed to do something about them because she almost ran one over. Perhaps I should put them on leashes??? I've already clipped their wings. We must get to building that gate.

Still reading about Almond trees. There's an awful lot of sun in my back yard today with all of those trees gone. Oddly, the yard looks smaller without the trees in the background. I never would have guessed that.

I search the Free section of Craig's List religiously, many times a day. It is one of the first things I do in the morning and the last thing I do before I go to bed. I NEVER manage to be the first to respond though. I get all worked up and then my hopes are dashed. NOT TODAY!!! Today I got a call from a nice man with not one but two lion fountains that he has no room for. I told him that I didn't want to be greedy and take both but he said it would be easier for him if I did. Who's gonna argue with that? Not me. Bright and early Saturday morning, we'll drive to Marin to pick them up. I am so excited. We rigged up a fountain for the bees but it's totally ugly. I can see it from the dining table and I just hate it. Now the bees can have something pretty over there. I may put the other in the back garden. Maybe in the herb garden. Maybe I'll give it away. We'll see.

I spoke with my cattle rancher yesterday. My beef is almost ready!! I can't wait. The freezer is all ready and Jonathan is about to burst at the thought of all you can eat beef. She's been doing chicken raising experiments too. Hopefully they'll have some chicken in the Spring. Susan was remarking about how delicate the broilers are and how strange they look. Such a different thing, she said, than killing and eating your Rhode Island Red. I saw some at my dog sitters and I thought the same. They are actually bred to have fewer feathers so they're easier to dress. If you try to keep them past about 3 months, they are unable to stand up. They have been created to be eaten and somehow that makes them easier to slaughter. The idea of raising meat birds is creeping slowly further forward in my mind. I wonder if in 3 years I'll be a natural part of my life??