Released

EJ and I celebrated Thanksgiving Day alone, but we had a Second Thanksgiving with our son and his girlfriend last Saturday (December 9th). Both Thanksgivings were very enjoyable. Having a first and second Thanksgiving made me feel very Hobbit-ish. A few days after Second Thanksgiving, EJ struggled with his blood pressure going a bit high, but we were more careful with diet and I think it’s more acceptable now.

We celebrated Hanukkah this week by lighting the candles. It’s such a beautiful, peaceful experience.

I’ve been debating with myself for the last few weeks about when I should let the Mama Hen and her two now-not-so-small chicks leave their safe “nursery shelter” in the coop and join the adult flock. It’s not easy letting chicks leave the nest and join the adult world, but sooner or later they must grow up–whether the “chicks” are human or poultry. Finally, I figured they were big enough and I permanently opened the door to their shelter so they could go in or out as they please. It always takes chicks a day or two to gather enough courage to venture out. Then there is another day or so in which they run back to safety when they encounter the older chickens pecking them to ensure they understand their rank in society. Gradually, they find the courage to go outside..

Yesterday evening when I went to shut the flock in their coop for the night, the adults were all flying up to their roosting spots and I saw one of the young ones on the floor looking slightly confused. She reminded me of a kid who is insecure on his first day at a new school. I checked their shelter and noticed that the Mama and her other chick were inside so I picked up the unsure chick and put her inside with them. It won’t be long before the youngsters gain their confidence.

Tuesday night EJ slept in his lazy-boy in the living room because his back was causing him a lot of pain. He suffers chronic back pain from an old injury. EJ told me later that a few hours after Hannah and I went to bed, our cat Little Bear came into the living room carrying a mouse. EJ said that Little Bear looked at him with pleading eyes that said “What I do now? What do I do?” EJ told him, “You have to kill it.” Little Bear seemed upset at the thought. He dropped the mouse and it ran under a cabinet and out the side where he caught it again. “You have to kill it,” EJ said. Meanwhile, Hannah became aware of the situation and wanted out of the bedroom. I thought she needed to go outside so I opened the door. Little Bear dropped the mouse and Hannah streaked across the floor, caught it, and ate it, chewing it like she was bubble gum. Yuck. It always makes EJ and me feel a bit like vomiting. At least we didn’t see the mouse’s tail hanging out of her mouth. THAT makes it even grosser. This is the second time in a week that the cats have caught and released a mouse that Hannah caught and ate.

There was a meteorite shower on Wednesday night. We get up by 4-5 a.m. every morning so it’s difficult for us to stay up late. We set our alarm to wake us up at midnight and then we went out and watched the night sky for a while. We saw maybe two dozen meteorites before we headed back in to bed. We also heard an owl hooting in the distance. It was very beautiful and peaceful.