Plants & Chicks

After I’ve had a panic attack, I have to battle to readjust my thinking. This means that I have to fight to take captive every thought (2 Cor. 10:5) and to focus thoughts on what is true, noble, righteous, pure, lovable or admirable, on some virtue or on something praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). I did this today by listening to the psalms on my computer while I made Challah Bread for Shabbat. I also focused on the beauty around me.

The day was very beautiful today. The temperatures reached into the low 70s. I checked the forecast for the next few days and it looks as if it will remain warm, so I took all my houseplants outside for the summer. I put them on the small deck where our patio table is. Then I cleaned and did laundry and prepared our supper.

This evening EJ and I went to the store and bought some veggie and herb plants. I hated to spend the money, but growing our own food is cheaper and healthier than buying it at the grocery store. We bought a few pepper plants, tomato plants, cucumbers, and squash. Also some lettuce and pea seeds. I bought some of the basic herb plants that I had downstate at our other house. I like to use fresh herbs in the summer and dry them in the winter. I also bought a lavender plant. I read that they thrive on the soil conditions that we have here, and I wanted to buy several to plant along the driveway to help prevent erosion, but I limited myself to one.

I have been pondering the six baby chicks in the horse trough. They keep clogging up the water and food feeders with their bedding. I thought they probably needed more space, but they still needed to be contained so they don’t go outside and become a predator’s hors-d’oeuvre. The older birds don’t always go into their coop at night. Sometimes they stay out in the larger cage in the garage. So I thought we could transfer the little chicks into the coop. EJ thought that was a good idea, so when we got home, he, JJ, and I had a “chick roundup” and caught the little birds and put them in the coop.

The older birds–both chickens and ducks–were very interested in the little chicks, which they were able to see for the first time. The high sides of the horse trough prevented them from getting a look at them. Danny was also very glad that he could see the chicks. He hasn’t been able to see them since we moved the trough into the cage.

We were surprised when the older chickens began making a soothing clucking sort of noise to the chicks. It’s a sound I’ve never heard them make before. I captured it on video, although you have to listen rather closely because Peeper kept quacking LOUDLY. He is such a character. Here is the video:

I think the chickens and ducks are interesting and fun.