every day is a good day
Frost can be as beautiful as snow. The frilly frost above is just a few steps from one of the vegetable patches. The pictures below are from the side of the road. I went on my bicycle this afternoon to run and errand, and when I saw the frosty road bank, I had to stop and take a few pictures. I really like the way the frost makes the moss extra thick and fuzzy.
I was worried about one mother and her chick yesterday evening when I didn’t find them roosting in their regular spot. I did a little searching and found she had moved back to the main roost with the other adult chickens. Her chick was right with her, buried underneath her. You can see the chick’s feathers buried underneath hers. That is a real feather bed. The chick will stay warm and cozy all night, even if it is freezing.
A spell of cold, dry weather is conducive to maintaining the trails that meander through the woods. The trails don’t a well thought design. For the most part, I’m widening the trails the dogs make during their regular patrols.
In the woods, there is always something fascinating to see. Even though it is a cold day, that isn’t snow on the branches above. It is a pure, white mold. And below, a cedar and wild cherry have grown up together. Their trunks and roots are enmeshed. Cherry roots flow out the trunk of the cedar. The trees are inseparable. A cherry and cedar tree, would one call that a cheddar tree?
Lucky set her chicks free today. Just yesterday, they were all together, but this morning she was by herself, and her chicks off on their own. All I can say is, “Job well done, Lucky!”
What does a mother hen feel when her chicks leave home to fend for themselves? What about the chicks? Are they finally glad to be out from under their mother’s feet? Or is it a non-event for them?
Below is a series of photos from when she hatched them on September 15, 2014 through November 17, 2014. They’ll give you and idea as to how hard a mother works, raising her brood.
And as dusk settles, Lucky is back roosting with the rest of the hens for the first time in 12 weeks, while her chicks are bedding down where she used to spend the nights with them. Well done, Lucky. You were a superb mother. Your chicks were lucky to have you hatch and raise them.
This handful of moss is so lush, you might think I took a close-up of moss at Sanzen-in, but it’s moss growing on the top of a fence post next to my vegetable beds.
