chickens – The Hermits' Rest

The Dead of Winter Is Not Dead

I had the loveliest day of bird and plant watching here at Lake Corpus Christi State Park! This is a great place in southern Texas, where many plants and animals native to northern Mexico mingle with organisms from farther north. This makes for fun observations!

An example of the beauty here. Pink cenizo (Texas sage) with gorgeous shrubby blue sage, both native to Texas and northern Mexico.

On my morning hike through a shrubby woodland I was delighted to see many blooming plants and others with interesting seed pods. It even smelled nice to walk through the misty woods listening to the “exotic” Great Kiskadees and Green Jays (plus an Audubon’s Oriole).

I even left some out. It was fun to see what grows down here, like palm trees and giant reed. I enjoyed the winter scenery.

After my long walk I came back so Lee and I could get vital supplies (coffee creamer and blackberry cobbler). We enjoyed looking at the town of Alice, Texas, then came back just in time for some rain showers. When they were over, I went out to the other part of the trail to enjoy the sunshine.

I looked at the very nice birding setup they have here, then made it to the CCC Rectory on the lake. It’s one of their nicest structures.

I discovered the volunteer who leads the bird walks waiting for someone to take out, so I said I’d go. Then a French-Canadian woman bicycled up and joined us. It was a challenge teaching her bird names in English, but she liked the Green Jays and shiny Great-tailed Grackles. I showed her some plants, then headed back to our campsite.

As if that wasn’t enough for one day, I had my monthly tarot group this evening. It was interesting, as always.

No tarot photo, so here a butterfly on dog poop (Vesta crescent)

Tomorrow I’ll get out the good cameras and maybe get some better photos. If I can rouse myself.

A Lovely Solstice

It was a fine day, full of pleasant sightings, fun happenings, food, and friendship. I finally got to take some bird photos, and I feel like I’m getting to know the camera better. I even managed to use manual focus to get these cottontail photos. I’m very proud of myself.

Looks like this bunny has had some adventures.

The sparrows were so cute today. And all of them were fun to search out. I told Tarrin’s husband that I think I get what is so fun about hunting. It’s so fun trying to spot them and then get them to stop hiding behind brush. These guys tried really hard to hide.

After getting my fill of birding, we took Apache for a lesson. We got to see two roadrunners on the road to the lesson! Apache got to show off his Christmas gift, which is a new leather látigo and off-billet. They are very brown, but lots easier to use than the cute green webbing one. My little arthritic hands are already grateful.

My saddle may not be pretty, but it is light and comfortable.

While today was the winter solstice in our hemisphere, all the animals seemed to think it’s the lusty month of May. No photos for this, but Tarrin’s bull was trying to get it on, and when I got home I saw that Darryl has seen to it that Connie will have fertilized eggs. That’s impressive, considering that Broad-breasted Turkeys have trouble with mating. And Clint gave the gens done fun. Hmm. Solstice fertility rituals I was not aware of.

My wattle turned all red and blue. Too bad Suna didn’t have her camera.

Our friends Martha and Mike came for dinner, which was good. She made lentil soup and I made very good beef stew. We topped it off with Mike’s family-recipe fudge. We enjoyed all our candles and welcomed the growing light.

Not a bad day, at all! Hoping yours was also good.

Solstice Weekend Day of Peace

The days are very short, and the windy, cloudy morning made it feel even darker today. I got to celebrate this day by having no agenda whatsoever. I took advantage of it with a mix of resting and enjoyable activities.

I took a lot of photos, including Apache and Spice blending into one mythical creature.

It was challenging listening to birds because the wind made it feel cold, though it was the warmest day of a warm December. It was also a challenge to photograph birds, because they were all elsewhere this morning (yesterday, when I was busy, they were standing in front of me, taunting.

I enjoyed this pretty doe, who made up for the hidden birds.

And of course I had to take more photos of Darryl, Connie, and friends. Everyone is getting along just fine. I did a lot of reading about turkeys today. I found out they do recognize humans, so we weren’t imagining that Connie recognized Heather yesterday. I also discovered their “beards” are modified feathers, not hairs, and only 10% of hen turkeys have them. Connie is special.

After a nice nap and some football (it put me to sleep), I went on a walk with the camera, looking for birds to photograph. I ended up taking a few horse and donkey pictures instead. Mabel was being especially regal.

I did have a bit of bird fun, as I tracked a little Kestrel as he hunted around our field. Of course, I mostly got photos of his butt. My luck.

It’s so rare to have an agenda-free day. It allowed me to reflect on this extended dark season, and to allow myself a little hope that the light starting to trickle in during this Yule season will be more than just the wheel of the year turning. I’m setting that intention!

It’s a long road towards civil and ethical society.

But hey, it was a peaceful day, and I did get to see at least a few birds!

The resident Great Blue Heron never disappoints.

Oh yes, Apache and I had a better ride today, but I don’t think he likes riding when it’s getting dark with no lighting.

Focusing on the Good, Poultry Edition

I’ll put it right out there: today wasn’t the best day ever at work. Stuff happens. You deal with it and move on. I’ll do that, too!

But things were much more cheerful outside. The sun shone, the weather was pleasantly cool, and Connie got a new boyfriend (I hope). This year, my friend Heather brought us a strapping young tom, who seems as nice as Connie, as far as I can tell. I think today was a bit much for him, so his true personality has not emerged.

Call me Darryl Junior. That’s because I had a brother named Darryl, but Suna insisted on changing my name.

He’s taller than Connie, but not as broad-breasted. I hope he doesn’t get too huge for the door to the coop.

He’s all red because he’s a bit agitated.

Poor Heather was supposed to get here in plenty of time before my first meeting of the day, but she got stuck on a two-lane county road behind four immense wide loads. We still got a little bonding time in.

We enjoyed watching the turkeys inspect each other. There was no violence, just one flappy incident that I got on video.

I love how Connie comes over to check in with me when the flapping is over.

I’m glad they have lots of space to peck around and find treasure. This was Darryl’s first experience with grass, so it took him a while to get to exploring. It also took the chickens a while to check him out. Clint had the Cochins all protected in the small coop for quite a while.

I’m still beautiful. By the way those black things on my chest are called a beard. Who knew?

While all this was going on, the horses were also experiencing change. Horses are not fond of change.

Apache on Alert. Drew right up where the work is happening, trying to “help.”

Work has started on making the pasture fencing permanent. The first step was making and installing braces. This involves cutting large pieces of pipe and welding them together. That’s the auger digging holes in the above picture.

It’s going to be a good, strong fence when they’re done, with a pipe top rail. I think the horse pens will also get upgraded during this project. Huzzah.

See, the chickens eventually came out to play.

I think all the noise had the horses on edge, too. My ride on Apache this afternoon didn’t go well. He was a bit over-enthusiastic in his groundwork. And when I got on him, intending to calmly focus on straightness, I instead got to deal with a parade of anxious Apache behaviors, like throwing his head down to eat, veering away from where I asked him to go…blah blah blah. So, after doing some circles, I got off and did a bunch of walking, stopping, and backing up on the ground. That calmed him down enough to untack in a happier manner.

I also didn’t enjoy you picking all that mud out of my mane.

When I went out this evening to check on the fowl, I discovered Connie and Darryl outside, huddled together against the fence. I guess Darryl didn’t figure out how to go inside, or Connie invited him to stay out (I suspect she stayed out last night). I went and got a large box and put an old soft cloth in it. Hopefully they will go in there and be a bit warmer. Maybe I need to ask a relative to build them a portable shelter.

Ah well, all the animals will settle in, despite the changes going on.

Hey, Animals! Distract Me with Cuteness!

I needed some distraction today, and while I got plenty thanks to 5 hours straight working with engineers on project management tasks, I prefer the distraction provided by my animal friends today.

Do you mean me? Yes, my beauty is distracting!

As a matter of fact, Connie Gobbler did provide cute distraction today. In the morning, I opened the gate to the new chicken/turkey run. About an hour later, while I was checking my bird count, I heard domestic turkey sounds. Sure enough, brave Connie had gone to check the grass out. Once she got over how it felt, she seemed happy.

The heron understood her reluctance to it was too cold to leave shelter.

A bit later, both Lee and I saw Clint the rooster standing in the entrance, stretching to peck but not willing to get on the grass. Eventually, he remembered he was a brave manly rooster and joined Connie in exploring.

I didn’t see Cindy or Cathy outside their pen until mid afternoon when I was feeding horses. They didn’t go very far out, but they seemed happy to have fresh plants and bugs to peck at.

They are barely outside, but that’s pretty brave for them.

I had to turn my attention to horses, since I had a rare weekday lesson this evening. I’m sure glad it was sunny and calm outside. That made the cold weather bearable.

We were just glad the water trough ice got broken up. Thanks, Suna.

I rushed to get Apache ready to go and ended up early, so I took some pictures for my boss. She likes horses.

Apache and I enjoyed our lesson, and got to be in Tarrin’s sunset photos. He is working on being straight and not veering off. I’m proud of him.

After the lesson I practiced putting a blanket on him for the ride home. Tarrin showed me how to use the fancy blanket I got with the trailer. I think I can do it myself now. He does look very spiffy in it.

We will see what it looks like in the morning. I’m sure he will roll in poop with it on.

Writing about the animals has helped! My wrath at the cruel things the US President said today about a murdered celebrity couple is now just a simmer. These are hard times.

Cold and Chilled

It was quite cold and very windy today, the opposite of yesterday. My mood matched. News of mass shootings here and in Australia left a chill in my bones. This hateful behavior will never stop affecting me, and it’s baffling how many people act like it’s just a part of everyday life. I just keep thinking of the flickering but persistent light of hope, appropriate on the first night of Hanukkah.

It’s also the anniversary of my mother’s death, so long ago. Still in my darkest moments I want to call out for my mom. I’m certain I’m not alone in that.

In the unpleasant weather, the guys quickly finished the new chicken run, at least enough to use. I’ll see if they dare go out in it tomorrow. It’s supposed to be cold again, but sunny.

It’s just some chicken wire, easily moved.

Not just my fowl like the hen house when it’s cold. They are joined by many annoying house sparrows who like the heat lamp. I sure hope they don’t have any bird diseases. I can’t keep them out.

But there’s a little good news. The Cochins have started laying again. They sure choose strange times to go into production.

My Weird Way to Cut Down on Social Media

It’s only kind of weird, but it works for me the problem is that my phone thinks I look hours and hours at it, when, in fact, I’m not even near the phone. It’s hard to doomscroll if your phone is nowhere nearby and the computer you’re using is only connected to LinkedIn (and honestly, ten minutes is plenty to determine who’s been laid off lately).

I still enjoy social media, but do a quick Facebook check in the morning, play with my Finch self-care app for 20 minutes, see if I got any personal email, then walk away.

Also doing my nails creates at least an hour of phone-free time.

That’s because I leave the phone outside listening to birds once I have to stop birding with my own eyes and ears. The phone may think I’m staring at Merlin Bird ID, but no, I just check in periodically. Any texts or other messages just have to wait.

Today’s bird was this Ruby-crowned Kinglet, as photographed on the phone. blurry.

I can work undisturbed by my online social life except in breaks. That’s helped me from going down rabbit holes and letting myself get upset.

In the evenings, I read other people’s blogs and news sources that don’t try to get me all upset. This all works for me. I can still stay informed and keep up with friends without it consuming my day. This gives me time for horses, birds, domestic fowl, and wildflowers, not to mention friends and family!

She’s talking about us. We are domestic fowl.

So, my social media trick is to get your phone all busy doing something for you and ignore it for a good chunk of your day. It makes checking for messages and updates a fun interlude, not the whole day.

Morning fog on the window screen. It got very foggy this evening, too.

Today I enjoyed many things while the phone was ignored. I took some autumn photos, for one thing.

Pretty day! The yellow is a willow trees.

I watched a new run for the chickens and Connie get worked on. Connie was not impressed and tried to scare away the noisy dudes by gobbling and displaying her magnificent feathers. I didn’t even know hen turkeys could do that!

I also ended up with time to work with horses a bit longer than usual, so I picked out all the burs in Drew’s mane and tail. He was a true gentleman during the process. I think he’s feeling better.

In the evening Lee and I got a new coffeemaker, which is exactly like our previous one, only not worn out. We look forward to coffee tomorrow. I also got a slightly better toaster that should be less likely to burn my thick bread. These are our holiday gifts to each other.

We treated ourselves to dinner in a “real” restaurant and made our server very happy by forgiving him for not realizing we were his table. I had a magnificent beer and some salmon, which means I had a great Saturday with little phone time…until now, when I’m writing this.

What Are Your Iconic Birds?

I was musing about the birds I see every day around the Hermits’ Rest. I know we have summer birds, like Painted Buntings, and winter birds, like White-crowned Sparrows, as well as migrants who stay for a few days and head on their way to a final destination, like the warblers. But those weren’t my focus.

The White-crowned Sparrows are back, and I get to hear their beautiful call.

The birds I was thinking about are the ones I think of when I picture a “bird” in my mind. It’s just a few, and those species have followed me in Florida, Illinois, and Texas. These are birds I expect to see every day and feel a bit off if I don’t (luckily most of these are also in the other places I’ve lived in more than a few days, like South Carolina and Colorado).

I had no trouble finding today’s Bird of the Day!

To me, these friends are my daily companions:

Cardinal
Mockingbird
Blue Jay
House Sparrow
Wren (mostly Carolina)
Chickadee (Carolina here)
Dove (Mourning or other)
Crow

Mockingbirds have followed me my whole life, usually right outside my bedroom window.

When I was in that college campus and mostly indoors last week, I missed my birds. The universities I attended had all these birds, so I’m sure there are some on the Texas A&M campus, just not where I was.

I usually also see Black and Turkey Vultures, herons, Killdeer, Titmice, and a blackbird of some kind, but these seem exotic or special. Even the woodpeckers I see most days aren’t generic birds—they’re cool exotics in my mind. As are my beautiful bluebirds! It must be that these common birds weren’t in my parents’ back yard when my young brain was categorizing animals.

Lee says his childhood generic bird was a chicken.

I just assume the usual gang will show up every morning and don’t get excited until something seasonal or more rare appears, like a raptor or flycatcher.

This is my most thrilling sight from both yesterday and today. Beautiful bird.

But I do love my daily bird friends. They are always entertaining and fun to watch, even if I know their habits well. For example, I know a Cardinal from its loud wing flaps and a Chickadee by what it does to tree branches when feeding. And I know all their songs. So many different calls and songs come out of some of those little beaks!

These are some winter birds from last March. Each one makes various chirps, calls, and songs, which are so much fun to learn.

After thinking about how find I am of everyday birds, I got to wondering what the typical daily birds are elsewhere. How about where you live? What are your most familiar birds?

I hope I get a couple of answers.

Fowl News: Good and Bad

Not much has been going on in poultry land these days. Only Connie has been laying, so we have an ample supply of very large eggs for our cooking.

I also realized it’s her birthday, or close to it, since Heather’s son has picked up his tiny poults for this year. She’s come a long way from her start in such a fancy environment!

That was the good news. As I was feeding the fowl, I heard an odd noise, like a branch scraping against the coop. When I checked it out, I realized it was Bianca, my only chicken who survived the Great Chicken Massacre a couple of years ago. She was breathing funny. I planned to check on her when I came back.

Bianca had neck tufts and not much comb. Her eggs were true blue, which was the name of her breed.

Anyway, I went to feed the horses. When I came back to turn the water off and pick up eggs, Bianca had collapsed. Now I’m all worried she got something contagious, so I am VERY disinfected now. I’m sad to lose her. I will keep a close eye on the others, who all seem fine so far. Of course, Bianca was all perky until today. She even got out a couple of days ago and was spritely running around.

She’d never been a big layer, and hadn’t produced eggs since last winter, so it might just have been her time. But she was my oldest. Sniff.

I think I’ve had enough death this month.

I exercised both Apache and Drew to cheer myself up. I think Vicki’s work with Drew is paying off—he did well in his ground work.

I’ll be doing a lot of coop cleaning in coming days. I hope Cindy and Cathy don’t get too pestered by Clint now that the rooster to hen ratio is 1:2.

Circle of life. Etc. Plus another senseless school shooting.

Consequences of the Cold

The recent cold spell has taken a lot out of me. Combined with mourning from losing Goldie and being sad that the Red House on Fannin got rented out, I’ve been not much fun. I’m glad we will get income from the house, but it was fun fixing it up to be the Airbnb. Another failed enterprise. We’re racking them up.

In good news, I unpacked these pretty things from boxes we’d stored at the Red House.

I’m not going to be a part of any more joint ventures with friends and family from now on. Hold me to that. I really stink at such things, and sitting inside in the cold gave me too much time to dwell on past mistakes, knowing perfectly well that beating myself up over past errors and regrets in judgement is not productive. Learn from mistakes and move on, I’ve been repeating that.

I also found my really good bowls and gave away many things to my son and his coworkers. That felt good.

The cold was hard on the birds I usually hang out with, too. For two days in a row I only observed a few birds on Merlin. Yesterday, it saddened me to find one of the male Barn Swallow scouts had died on the porch. I put it safely to rest and then washed my hands a lot in case he had bird flu.

The chickens and Connie made it through the cold snap by staying in their house. They didn’t stop laying eggs, though. Today they were back to normal outdoor activities and Connie finally laid a big ole turkey egg. Here it is compared to her first egg (I saved it).

Today it finally warmed up and I was able to spend my usual amount of time outside. It made a big difference, since I started the day really dragging and ended up with stories to tell Lee.

All the chairs now have cushions, making for good patio time.

I was able to pull some burs off the equines and do more than stick food under their noses and flee. That pleased everyone but Drew, who just isn’t in a good space.

Since I was out a lot, I got to hear and see fun bird action. The Barred Owl was hooting much of the day, which is always fun. There were ducks flying around, too, at least three kinds. Of course, the sparrows, chickadees, and Cardinals entertained a lot. They all seemed glad it warmed up.

I was walking along the fence line listening to a Red-tailed Hawk making some of its weird calls when something white bounced off my head. I looked up to see all the mistletoe above me was full of round, white berries.

Did one just fall on me? No. It quickly became obvious that one of the Mockingbirds had dropped it. It hopped over to the fence then into the bush next to me, scolding me with mistletoe still in its beak. I understood that I was on his territory (must be a male, because he’d been singing earlier) and retreated with a smile on my face.

Hooray. I need my bird observation and horse time to keep me out of my funks and remind me about that living in the moment thing I’m supposed to be aiming for. Darn those polar vortexes.