A Series of New Things

Spring has mostly arrived here in Northern Michigan. There is a haze of green on the opposite hill that becomes more pronounced every day as the leaves begin to grow on the trees. Dandelions are blooming, as well as daffodils and violets.

We were getting a bit low on poultry feed so a week ago I ordered eleven 50 lb bags–from our farm store’s website. I also ordered a kitty litter box for the chickens so they now have two. Their favorite nesting box is a litter box and they tend to get a little irritated when they go to lay their eggs and find the box already occupied. EJ also order boots; his current ones were falling apart. The store texted me when the order was ready. When we arrived at the store, employees loaded the items into the truck for us. It’s very convenient.

When we got back home, EJ unloaded the bags for me while I set up the new litter box next to tthe old one. Then I scooped the 550 lbs of feed into empty kitty litter buckets. Each bag fills about two buckets. The buckets keep the feed safe from mice and also stack on top of each other to save space. Fortunately, the day was a pleasantly cool 55 degrees so it was not too hot to work. Even so, I was tired by the time I got six of the bags emptied. I told myself that I would empty “just one more bag” and leave the rest for the next day. Five times I told myself “just one more bag” until I had all the bags emptied and all the buckets stacked in the coop. Then I went into the house and collapsed on the couch.

Our grass was growing a bit long so yesterday EJ got the mower started and I mowed the lawn, even though the temperatures were in the 40s. I only did the bit up near the house, where the grass was longer. While I mowed, EJ did other tasks.

When I opened the bedroom curtains this morning, I saw two deer in the back yard eating the grass on the other side of the garden fence. When I looked out the living room windows at the front of the house, I saw a male turkey strutting across the yard. I don’t like to scare away the wildlife–I love watching them–so I delayed doing my other chores for awhile. But I can’t wait forever so finally I went out to let the cats and chickens out of the coop. I always go through the garage into the garden/coop area. When I opened the garage door, one of the deer quickly looked up at me. I froze, and we started at each other for a minute or two. Finally, the deer and two others, moved off into the forest and I went out to open the coop and feed the animals. When I got back into the house, Hannah Joy needed out. As soon as we went outside, the turkey moved off into the forest.

I love living in our Enchanted Forest.

Later this morning it snowed hard enough to cover the ground like powered sugar, but it quickly melted. In the afternoon, the temperature warmed up just enough to rain. It is still raining. I can hear it tapping on the roof now as Hannah Joy dozes on my lap as I write this post. I’m balancing my keyboard on her back. LOL.

I have been watching a BBC series on my computer called “New Tricks.” It’s an enjoyable detective show with quirky characters. As I watched it, I found myself encountering uniquely United Kingdom terms and events that I didn’t recognize. I started muttering to myself, “What on earth does THAT mean?” so I began to pause the show and look stuff up. I’ve learned that “grassers” are police informants, that the charge of ABH and GBH means Actual Bodily Harm and Grievous Bodily Harm. I learned that a person who is a “QC” is a “Queen’s Counsel,” which refers to a set of barristers and solicitors who the monarch appoints to be a part of Her Majesty’s Counsel learned in the law. I learned what a “Procurator Fiscal” is in Scotland. I learned about the history of United Kingdom money when I wondered how much a “quid” is. I learned the history of Epping Forest and looked up its location on Google Maps. I learned some very interesting facts about Gibraltar when the detectives went there to solve a case and spent some time “exploring” it on Google Maps. Sometimes the detectives mentioned a famous person or criminal that I suspected is real, so I looked them up and, yep, many of them are real. I found the “Murderpedia” website, which I’ve included on my Everything Links page, because I looked up some murderers that were mentioned. (In case you wonder: Monsters are real.) I am learning many new things. It’s almost more fun stopping to learn about the UK than watching the series’ actual storyline. I’ve always loved learning about differences in regions of my country or other countries of the world. EJ enjoys learning too so I always share what I am learning with him. He started getting interested in the series and now I’m re-watching it with him on the weekends. He often says to me, “Dang it! You got me interested in ANOTHER series.” LOL.