I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Dramas in the Enchanted Forest
This is the second morning that I’ve gotten up before 5 a.m.
Yesterday morning Kee-Kee woke me by pawing at my head. This sounds weird, but I am very sensitive to light at night and if someone turns on a light anywhere in the house, it wakes me. So I always sleep with a soft shirt over my eyes to block out the light. I suppose I could get one of those sleep masks, but the shirt works fine. Kee-Kee seems to hate my face being covered so whenever he comes to lay on my pillow next to my head, he first paws until he has removed the shirt from my face. Yesterday morning he pawed away the shirt and then he gently touched my closed eyes as if to reassure himself that I was ok. Of course, this woke me. I might have been able to go back to sleep, but EJ was in a lot of pain and unable to sleep so he finally decided that he might as well get dressed. Because Kee-Kee had pawed the shirt away, the light of the closet shone in my eyes like a spotlight. It woke me fully and I decided that I might as well get up for the day.
This morning EJ woke me early at my request. I wanted to get up with EJ so I could send him off on his weekend hunting trip with love and prayers. EJ has known his best friend since high school and he is considered a member of their family–just as his friend is considered part of ours. The friend’s family owns a 100 acre wood and they always let EJ hunt there. EJ will return home tonight or sometime tomorrow. I hope he gets a deer, but the most important part of the weekend is for him to enjoy the peace and beauty of nature.
The two mornings arrived with different looks. Yesterday there was a brilliant sunrise. This morning arrived shrouded in fog. Both were beautiful.
While I was taking a photo of this morning’s fog, I noticed with surprise that one of our lilac bushes seems to be budding. I don’t think it’s been that warm outside. Apparently the bush is confused about which season it is.
As I went about my week, sharing black and white photos that are reflective of my daily life, I’ve been thinking that some people might think my life is rather boring. It’s not like I go out and climb mountains or sky-dive or anything. However, I enjoy our beautiful, gentle, quiet life. This caused me to consider that both JJ and I enjoy computer games but JJ likes intense realistic games while I like gentle games in which I have to solve puzzles and find hidden items. Sometimes JJ glances at my computer and says, “Your games are so lame. They are boring. You should play an exciting game like mine!” But I tell him that life is filled with enough struggling, sorrow, and heartbreak so I don’t want to play an intense game filled with the same sort of drama. I want a quiet game that relaxes me. I love our Enchanted Forest for the same sort of reasons–in the struggles of life, our forest is beautiful, quiet, peaceful, relaxing, and often makes me laugh. Our forest reminds me of Psalms 23:
Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.
He has me lie down in grassy pastures,
he leads me by quiet water,
he restores my inner person.
He guides me in right paths
for the sake of his own name.
Even if I pass through death-dark ravines,
I will fear no disaster; for you are with me;
your rod and staff reassure me.
You prepare a table for me,
even as my enemies watch;
you anoint my head with oil
from an overflowing cup.
Goodness and grace will pursue me
every day of my life;
and I will live in the house of Adonai
for years and years to come.
But now and then I am reminded of the drama that exists even in the midst of beauty.
Thursday afternoon I went out to check on the ducks and chickens–to see if there were any eggs to gather (I think I found one) and to give them clean drinking water. While I was refilling the bucket with clean water from the outside faucet, I saw the Rouen ducks acting a bit goofy–but they are always doing goofy things that make me laugh so that’s nothing usual. Then Rose and Daisy started chasing after Lily as if they were playing tag, so I looked more closely. Lily had caught a mouse. She was constantly shaking and nibbling her mouse while running around trying to keep the others from taking it from her. In the photo at the top of this post, you can see Lily shaking the mouse so vigorously that both her head and the mouse are a blur. I don’t know if Lily actually ate the mouse or just nibbled it to death and then left it for some other critter to find.
I first learned that poultry are actually quite vicious with mice last March when I found blood splattered everywhere in the chicken side of the coop. It looked like a crime scene! It was quite gruesome.
We also have a soap opera drama concerning Josette. Her previous owner had told us that she was spayed. However, she seems to be gaining weight very quickly so we are wondering if she is spayed or not and if she could possibly be pregnant? We are hoping the previous owner told us the truth and that Josette is putting on weight only because there is now no wild animal living in the barn (where she used to live) and eating all her food. However, the question of whether there will be kittens nags us. We try to feel if there is movement in her belly, but she doesn’t hold still long enough. We love cats but, ugh, the possibility of our cat family doubling in size does not delight us.
Yup, there are life and death struggles and soap opera dramas even in beautiful, peaceful enchanted forests.
I Love To Go A Gardening 
Mouse nibbling ducks. Who knew? But i was just reading Joan Didion where she mentined something her husband said..that
working for Life Magazine would be like being nibbled to death by ducks.
Your kitty sure looks pregnant to me!
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Death by duck is not a pretty sight!
Uh…yeah…kittens wouldn’t be much of a surprise.
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Keeping my duck’s water clean is a full time job! They are messy. Lol. That kitty sure looks suspiciously pregnant. Good luck! 😜
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Suspiciously pregnant is right! The greatest danger will be EJ and me falling in love with all the kittens…
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lol I hear ya!
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😀
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