Having a horse of my own was a dream I shared with decades of other young girls. After losing my best friend in the world my dad, my mother decided that maybe getting me that horse would help fill the void of his loss. Physics would tell us that if there is a void, something will move into the empty space and fill it, but when it comes to the heart, that is not at all true; there may seem to be an empty place but there really isn't. That empty place is actually filled with all the love that was there before, it is just hidden while time heals the pain. The gift of a horse did not fill the void left from losing my dad, rather it created a new place in my heart. We don't have to lose something in order to love something else but rather we continue to fill new places in our hearts for new things to love while at the same time, protecting the treasured places that are still there and will always be there. Getting the cherished horse did not replace the void, but rather gave me a new love for years to come and the love for my dad remains there today just as always.

Yesteryears Shape Your Tomorrows

You are a tapestry of those who came before you. Past, present, and future are all woven together to make the perfect tapestry of your family. Do you know your heritage? Do you understand the loves, lives, and struggles of those who contributed to the design of your path through life? Cherish your journey no matter your path!

The Feather Factory

A few years ago I started thinking about ways I could bring some farm life to my suburban setting and also have a tiny impact on my distaste for our system of factory farming and the inhumane treatment of our livestock. One way I saw I could combine my thoughts of this as well as a new hobby was to have a few backyard chickens. The summer of 2009 I decided to follow through my plans for some hens as "pets with perks"! To prevent overwhelming my neighbors and my ability, I ordered 5 day-old chicks from My Pet Chicken. I selected one each: Rhode Island Red (Amber), Black Australorp (Lilith), Silver Laced Wyandotte (Wynnie), Buff Orpington (Maisie), and an Easter Egger (Frisbee). The chicks were hatched on August 17 and my adventure began at the local post office two days later. I set them up in a crate in our garage and my husband and I started on the construction of what was to become their home. 

After studying books and the BYC forum (backyardchickens.com) for all the advice and tips and ideas I could cram into my brain, I drew out a sketch of my plans. After many trips to Home Depot and the bank and after spending all our summer weekend days sweating instead of kayaking, the hens all happily settled in their new home!! The girls seem quite happy and they have repaid us daily with fresh eggs for our table. 

The Before & Afters

 Amber

 Wynnie

 Frisbee

 Maisie

 Lilith

Their gifts to us! 

 Jesse guarding her flock.

Or is she deciding on her dinner menu?

~The early days~

 Their postal shipping box home for a day.

This is Frisbee. She died, probably from the heat, during the summer of 2010. 

She was a little sweetie!

Maisie's Gone Broodie

What is it that, after months of laying an egg in the nest box, hopping down afterwards, and running out into the run to be with the other hens, causes one hen one day to decide it's time to sit on the egg or any others a dedicated maternal hen can find? Such was the way the day began for Maisie. After there were 2 eggs laid in the coop in a neatly formed nest of shavings, Maisie decided it was now her job to nestle them under her and add her own freshly laid egg to bunch and begin to sit in earnest in hopes of hatching baby chicks. It means nothing to her that her ordeal will meet with total failure. There is no rooster, there has been no rooster, and there will be no forthcoming hatched chicks. None the less, Maisie has a job to do. Panting in the summer heat, even with all the coop doors and windows open, Maisie is dedicated to and driven by nature to fulfill her role as a chicken. She does so without question and without grumbling. Maybe there's a lesson to be learned for us. What is your role and do you do it without question or grumbling?