I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Chicken Bling
Usually October is my most favorite month, but this October was difficult at the beginning and has continued to be difficult though the middle. Ugh. On November 1st I might throw a “I Survived October” party…assuming that I actually do survive it.
We usually go on a drive to enjoy the autumn colors, but this month was so difficult that we didn’t go on one. But there is always next year and, as I told EJ, when we lived downstate we would drive to Northern Michigan for our color tour and now we live in Northern Michigan so anytime we go anywhere we are technically on a color tour. So I’m ok with it. The leaves are now flying off the trees in a colorful rain and the temperatures are colder.
In preparation for the winter’s cold, EJ called the propane company. We are actually going with a new company that is less expensive. They came today while EJ was at work to bring the new propane tank. I had asked EJ if there was anything I needed to know or do or tell the propane guys and he said no, but they did ask questions that I didn’t know the answers to. Ugh. I hate it when I have to do something that I know nothing about–like pick up a car part or answer propane guys’ questions. I feel like an idiot. Oh, well, everything got hooked up ok.
In October, the huge ginormous spiders crawl onto the porch at night. That is not a good thing. A few times JJ came into the house through the door that leads into the living room because there was a giant spider on the door that we usually use–the one leading in to the kitchen. If I have to take Danny outside to do “his business” when it’s dark, I shine my flashlight around to make sure there are no lurking spiders. If EJ accompanies me, I make him go outside first to kill any giant spiders. The good thing is that the spiders lurk on the porch only in October, and then they are gone. And the other good thing is I am not quite as terrified of them as I was last year. I am still very scared of them, but I kill them rather calmly now rather than run away screaming. So I count that as a win.
I got tired of never being able to tell one duck or chicken from the next. I can identify Cuddles, Peeper, and Esther, the white Pekin ducks, because there is one male and two females and Esther is lame. Daisy, one of the Rouen ducks, has a blacker bill than the other two, but I couldn’t tell the other two apart. All the chickens look alike so I had trouble identifying most of them. So I decided to get the birds some Bling. For those who don’t know, Bling is expensive, ostentatious clothing and jewelry. I bought a package of colorful ziptie leg bands from Amazon that had cute little charms on them. The charms included 5 Flowers, 5 Hearts, 5 Lady Bugs, 2 Butterflies, 1 Superman, 1 Batman, and 1 Captain America charms.
With EJ’s help, I banded only the two Rouen ducks that I couldn’t identify. I gave them flower charms because they are named after flowers. The one with the red ziptie is Rose and the one with the purple blue ziptie is Lily.
The ducks weren’t difficult to capture or band, but we figured it would be more of a challenge to put leg bands on the chickens so we decided to just do 3 or 4 each day. Yesterday evening after supper, EJ, JJ, and I went outside to band the chickens. I captured the chickens and held them while EJ fastened the ziptie to their leg, and JJ videoed it with his smart phone. He uploaded it to Facebook and I can’t share it here. Bummer. It was really funny. Next time I will ask him to please use my camera so I can share it here.
We were able to band Henny Penny, the only one I could identify, mostly because she was so friendly. She is my favorite and she got a sweet heart charm. We captured the Alpha Rooster and banded him with the Superman charm. I figured the “S” insignia could mean “Sassy”, which is his name. He was totally not happy to be captured and he complained loudly. We were able to capture and band one more chicken and by that time the coop was in an uproar with Sassy shouting alarms and growling, and the hens echoing alarm, so we decided that that was enough for the day.
EJ and I banded three more chickens today. (JJ stayed inside to study.) The first one we caught was one of the Roosters. I banded him with the Batman charm. We agreed that we couldn’t call him Batman since he isn’t a “man.” EJ wanted to call him Bat-Chicken, but I preferred Bat-Roo, a shortened form of Bat-Rooster. My guys groaned at the name, but I figure that these are my flock and I get to name them. After we got him banded, I realized that I had forgotten to bring the scissors so EJ could cut off the excess bit of ziptie. I had to hold Bat-Roo while EJ went into the house for the scissors. Bat-Roo was not happy. He occasionally struggled in my arms and I’m sure he was screaming swear words at me. I never knew that roosters could cuss so colorfully.
The second chicken we caught was the third rooster. We put a Captain America charm on him. I told EJ and JJ that his name was Captain Roo. Again they groaned at the name. Captain Roo also screamed swear words at me while we banded him. I’m really glad that I can’t understand the language of chickens.
The third chicken we banded was a hen. She was more docile. I was so rattled by the roosters that I can’t remember what charm we put on her. Now we just have four more hens to band.
In addition to killing spiders and banding ducks and chickens, I have been spending my time making new items to sell in my Etsy store. (There is a link to Teric’s Treasures at the top left of this page.) EJ has been working on making more shelves for our library, he has begun building an enclosed porch, and we have done a few other odd jobs to prepare for winter.
Duck Rescue
Some of our windows need replacing because the seal on them are broken and condensation has gotten between the panes. We decided that we’d rather pay for new windows than have high heating bills because of the bad windows. We also decided that it would be better to have them installed than try to do them ourselves, so several weeks ago we contacted Lowes about replacing the three worst windows. They finally called us yesterday to ask us to come to the store and sign the contract for the windows. I was hoping that we could get the windows installed before this, but apparently everyone and their brother has been getting new windows so the installers are super busy. Hopefully they won’t be installing our windows in -50 degree temps or a historic blizzard!
On the way to Lowes, EJ wanted to stop at Gander Mountain just to look around. When we entered the store, I saw a display of a gilly suit. I exclaimed that it would be so much fun to have a gilly suit and go sneaking around in the forest. EJ laughed and then told me a story from his childhood about a guy who scared his scout troop during a camping trip by wearing a Big Foot costume that his wife made. News spread around of Big Foot sightings, so the scout leader decided to randomly show up around the county dressed as Big Foot. Apparently it made the national news, and then people starting declaring that they were going to start carrying guns to protect themselves so the leader finally confessed.
After we browsed in Gander Mountain for a bit, we continued on to Lowes. As we pulled into the parking lot, we saw a huge inflatable marshmallow man. I begged EJ not to let me get too close to it because it aroused violent urges in me and I felt a strong desire to go up and punch it in its stomach. EJ said that I could always sneak up close to it in a gilly suit…and then we began to joke about what we’d do to the giant marshmallow man. (Don’t worry, Lowes, we were just joking.) Later EJ told JJ that I had wanted a gilly suit and I told him about wanting to sneak up and punch the giant marshmallow man. JJ looked at us as if we had gone completely nuts, but I showed him the photo I had taken to prove that, yes, we had actually seen a giant marshmallow man. LOL.
Early this afternoon I went outside to see if I could move the second dog house. Then I noticed that one of our rouen ducks was not with the others, which is totally not normal because the ducks ALWAYS stick close together. “Birds of a feather flock together” is totally true about ducks. I saw the duck sitting just outside the fence so I walked up to her, and she let me get quite close, which is also not normal for our ducks. The rouens, especially, never let us get very close to them. She acted very listless, and wobbly, and I saw that there was drool on the ground. She had been perfectly fine when I saw her a short time before so I figured that she must have eaten something toxic while she was free-ranging with the others. Worried, I went inside and told EJ that one of our ducks was sick. He went outside with me and I was able to walk right up to the duck and pick her up. EJ sat in a lawn chair and held her. She hardly moved and she drooled on his arm. I thought, oh, crap, I don’t know anything about caring for sick ducks and our little duck is going to die. While EJ continued holding her, I went inside and googled her symptoms.
I love the Internet! I found that someone on a duck forum had described the same symptoms as our duck was experiencing. Several people suggested giving the duck activated charcoal. So I called our farm store to see if they sold it. I figured that if it was something that helped ducks, they might have some. They didn’t. The internet said that Woolworths sold activated charcoal, so I called the one nearest us. They said they were all sold out. So I called our local Meijer store and asked the pharmacist if they sold activated charcoal. He said they did. I asked if they had any in stock. He checked and said that they had one bottle left, and then he asked if I would like him to reserve it for us and I said “YES! We will be right there to get it!” EJ shut our sick little duck in the garage pen and we drove off to the store for the last bottle of activated charcoal. As we were paying for it, we told the pharmacist that it was for our sick duck. He asked, “Did she eat something toxic?” and we said that we thought so.
Once we got home, we emptied the powder from the capsule into a dish of clean water. I got out a syringe to squirt it into our duck’s mouth. But we learned that we can’t ease a syringe of medicine into a duck’s mouth like you can a cat or dog. There’s no way to get their bill open. So we just sort of dipped her bill into the medicated water and she took a few swallows. She seemed to revive a bit, but she still twitched and wobbled a lot and I was afraid she would fall unconscious into the bowl of water and drown, so I sat out in her pen with her. I put some of the charcoal water into a smaller container and occasionally I dipped her bill into it and she swallowed, even though it was clear that she didn’t really like the taste. Amazingly, it wasn’t long before she looked more alert. After awhile, she was able to stand and as time went on she grew stronger and stronger and began walking around. Eventually, I opened the gate and let her join the others in the outside pen. I heard them all quaking as if they were glad that she could join them. She seemed almost back to normal, although she continued to twitch her feathers.
I think she’s going to be ok. I’m really glad she didn’t die. Having two pets die in a week would have been too much to bear.
I probably should tell Zack the pharmacist that he helped save a duck’s life?
Surviving October
October is usually my most favorite month. I love the vibrant colors of the trees and the pumpkins and other squashes. I love the wind making the leaves twirl and dance. I love the look of harvested fields. I love the sunshine highlighting the brilliant autumn colors, but I also love the drama of the thick dark clouds behind the trees. I love the chill in the mornings. I love wearing jeans and sweatshirts. October is beautiful.
But this October kind of sucked.
October 10th is the anniversary of the day–in 2013–that we took JJ to the doctor and learned that he had a mass. A couple of days later–October 12th–he had surgery to remove the mass and we learned that it was cancerous. This year JJ had his followup appointments with his oncologist in early October, just a few days before his cancer anniversaries. As various cancer anniversaries and medical appointments approach, JJ gets more stressed. He is afraid his cancer will return. He tends to lash out. Not fun.
Since JJ is now an adult, I figure it’s up to him to choose whether he wants us to go into the exam room with him. This year he chose to go alone while EJ and I waited in the reception area. After his appointment, he said that the oncologist said that everything is looking good, but he wants JJ to return in four months for another appointment, and then return again four months after that. JJ also needs to have a blood draw and chest x-ray before each appointment. JJ didn’t ask why he needed to return after such short intervals. By now we had expected that the intervals between appointment would be lengthened, not shortened. It’s a bit worrying. We try not to worry but…before cancer, we never really imagined that it would happen to any of us. I mean, part of us knows that bad things can happen, but it’s an abstract thing that happens to other people, not to us, and certainly not to our teenaged son. After cancer, we know that it can happen to us, and it did happen to us, and sometimes cancer can return.
Another difficulty involves emotional abuse. After years of trying to understand and deal with my abusive family and toxic friends, and after years of educating myself about emotional abuse, and after years of hearing many victims’ stories, I have learned a thing or two about abuse, including how abusers tend to behave. They are very predictable. It’s as if there is an Abuser’s Bible filled with abusive strategies and tactics that every abuser reads and follows. It’s almost funny that if one victim tells her story in a victims’ group or forum, the other victims will declare, “Wow! You could have been telling MY story.” They are that similar. So earlier in the summer, I predicted EJ’s family’s next move if they were, indeed, following the Abuser’s Bible. I would have preferred to have been wrong but I wasn’t. Being right just makes my heart ache. And it makes me tired because…here we go again.
And also our cat Tesla died this October, and this last week EJ hurt his finger, which I will get to in a moment.
There have been good things about this October. Like my birthday. I always ask EJ to give me the gift of a memory, which includes going on a drive to enjoy the beautiful trees. We usually go either the weekend before or after my birthday–whenever the colors are most beautiful and we can get away. Most of the trees in our area are still mostly green, however, so we haven’t yet gone on our color drive. However, the day after my birthday, on the way home from the oncologist, we stopped at a restaurant called Cousin Jenny’s for some delicious pasties. And that weekend we drove to thrift stores and found three lovely pictures. One is of a beautiful house set in the transition between autumn and winter with some leaves still on the trees and snow on the ground. We hung it in our bedroom where we have other beautiful pictures of houses. The other two were impressionist pictures of gardens. We hung them in the living room where they complement the other impressionist garden pictures. I think impressionist paintings are my favorite–especially those of a rainy autumn day.
Also for my birthday, JJ gave me a $25 gift card. I spent some happy hours browsing through Amazon. I ordered several books and then had the fun anticipation of waiting for them to arrive in the mail. I think I got the last book yesterday. And a good friend gave me an awesome puzzle about Michigan. Since most of the places depicted in the puzzle are places I’ve been to, it’s actually a puzzle of memories. My friend also gave me a bag of turkish coffee that many people in Israel enjoy. It’s also called “Jerusalem mud”–and we can understand why because the grounds remain in the bottom of the cup like mud. It sounds sort of gross but it’s very tasty. Because it is such special coffee, we have one cup every Shabbat. That way we can savor it and make it last.
We have been busy preparing for winter. We have a ton of things we want to do. EJ finished fixing the leak in the master bathroom. He still has to finish putting up drywall because he had had to tear open the wall in the master bedroom to get to the leak and then we have to paint the bedroom wall–and maybe we can also paint the master bathroom. We put away the outdoor furniture. EJ has put up posts along one side of our driveway so we can find our driveway during the heavy winter snow. He has to put up posts along the other side as well, I think, and then put up the snow fence? When the nights started getting cooler, we brought my house plants inside and I spent a happy time finding places for them all. We need to protect our fruit trees from winter-hungry deer. We have to get the propane tank filled. We are waiting for Lowes to install a few new windows. Apparently everyone and their brother are getting new windows installed in their homes before winter. I just hope our windows get in before the winter storms arrive. I imagine guys trying to put in windows during a raging blizzard.
Now that we have six ducks, they don’t all fit in the plastic dog house that we were using as their coop. EJ was going to try to get coops built, but then we remembered that the previous owner left behind two very sturdy wooden dog houses that are bigger than the plastic doghouse so we decided to replace the plastic dog house in the garage with a wooden one. Danny never uses the doghouses. EJ would have moved them, but he has enough stuff to do so I decided that I could manage on my own. It was quite a chore moving the dog house because they are so well-built and very heavy and I could hardly even budge them. EJ has a large piece of heavy plastic, which I suspect might have once been a truck bed liner, that we have been using as “sleds” to move heavy items. I managed to tilt the dog house and JJ slid the sled under it. Once we had the dog house on the sled, I found a thick branch and I stuck one end under the “sled” and then pulled up on it, which inched the sled forward. Then I repeated the process, slowly inching the doghouse down the hill. Once I reached the driveway, the method didn’t work so well–I think because the stick slid across the gravel rather than dig into the ground for leverage. So I found a rope, looped it around the sled, and then pulled. Because the doghouse was so heavy, the rope cut into my hands and I couldn’t pull very fast or for very long. However, I was determined and I was able to move the dog house little by little. I had to unfasten part of the fence to get the doghouse into the pen. I wasn’t able to take the doghouse into the garage from the duck side because of a post, so I had to take it through the chicken side. This involved unfastening a portion of the fence dividing the duck and chicken pens, pulling the doghouse into the chicken side while also not allowing the chickens and ducks to mingle. Then I had to reassemble the dividing fence, pull the dog house into the garage, and position the coops so that everything fit, the coop doorways were facing the right way, and so that I could latch various gates.
I had had short sections of fencing running alongside the top of the coop, but I saw that the chickens loved sitting on the coop roof and they couldn’t perch so easily with the fencing fixed at the apex of the coop–also, they were able to get through the fencing. So I found a length of very tall fencing which I placed beside the coops rather than on top of them. The fencing reaches from floor to ceiling to better keep the chickens on their side of the garage. It also enables them to sit on top of the roofs of the coops. I think some of the chickens now sleep on top of the coop roof at night.
I didn’t fully reassemble the outside fencing because I’d first like to move the other dog house into the outside pen before I permanently refasten everything. I’m not sure whether to put the second dog house on the duck side or the chicken side. And after all my effort, I was tired and needed a break for a bit. We would like to eventually get the coops out of the garage, but we have to be able to protect the chickens and ducks from predators. It’s not going to happen this year.
The door of the sturdy wooden dog house was too high up for the ducks to get into so EJ needed to build them a ramp. He didn’t have a single piece of wood wide or long enough for the ramp, so he cut two triangles and planned to attach long slim boards to make slats. He was using his bandsaw to cut the long boards into the proper length when he accidentally sawed his finger. I thought he had sawed off his finger.
I have always been so empathetic that I “felt” suffering and often fainted–or came to it–whenever I saw, read, or heard about it. I struggled in science classes, couldn’t watch medical shows, and found it difficult to visit people in the hospital. When I was in my mid-20s, I went to a behavioral specialist to learn techniques in how to deal with it. The techniques involved learning how to relax my body and distract my mind. They really worked and I did really well for years. I could visit people in the hospital, I endured medical procedures and surgeries and even had a couple of blood transfusions. However, when JJ was diagnosed with cancer, my empathetic sensitivity returned–and, it seems to me, even increased. During our first visit with the oncologist in 2013, when the oncologist told us how bad JJ’s cancer was, I almost fainted and he made JJ get off the exam table so I could lie down, which was very embarrassing–but it became something we could laugh about and JJ and I made bets about whether or not I would faint at each new procedure we had to face. I almost fainted (but didn’t) when we went to “chemo class” to learn about what to expect when JJ had chemo. I had to leave the infusion room each time JJ was hooked up to the IV’s. EJ stayed with him and I returned after the needles had been inserted. And when I first saw JJ after he had surgery to remove a cancerous lymph node, he looked so white and vulnerable that I felt faint so I walked into the hallway, leaned against the wall, and slid to the floor. I was able to rejoin him after I regained consciousness because I was more prepared.
Since JJ’s cancer, I’ve been more sensitized to all suffering and have to be careful about what I see, hear, watch, or read. Aware of this, EJ wouldn’t let me see his cut finger and he insisted that I stay home while JJ accompanied him to the hospital. I would have gone with him. The hospital put a splint on EJ’s finger, gave him a tetanus shot and antibiotics, and sent him home. EJ said his finger didn’t even hurt all that much. I wasn’t sure how he would be able to work with the huge bandage on his finger, but he seems to manage ok. Whew. Every time I think of him sawing his finger, I feel light-headed and sick to my stomach.
The ducks really wanted into their new doghouse coop, so until EJ’s finger heals and he can finish the ramp, I got attached a piece of wainscoting onto the unfinished part of the ramp. The ducks are able to get into the new coop easily now.
So…the first half of October has kind of sucked this year, and I’m just hoping to survive the second half.
Tesla & Esther
The week was eventful with both good and bad in it, and happy and sad. It started out rough, but got better as the week progressed and ended well.
JJ doesn’t really know what he wants to do with his life, so he is taking college classes that sound interesting to him. Since he has to work to pay for his classes, he only takes one or two a semester. This term he took a Political Science class. Wednesday he came home from class laughing. He said that one of his fellow students had declared that anyone with a serious illness, such as cancer, is “genetically inferior.” Apparently he thinks that they shouldn’t be given medical treatment or financial help but should survive–or not–on their own. You know, “survival of the fittest.” If they receive treatment and reproduce, they are weakening the gene pool. Sometimes insensitive comments really hurt JJ, but this comment was so over the top, so horrendously and shockingly bad, that all he could do was laugh. His whole class was shocked by the statement. He said after class he asked the student to clarify his statement and the student seem to not really be holding on to this belief too strongly–which he shouldn’t since he also has a serious illness–he suffers from diabetes. He also has a service dog. I’m not sure why. So he, himself, by his own standards, would be in the category of “genetically inferior.”
Wednesday when EJ and I went out to put our poultry to bed, we discovered that our cat Tesla had died. I thought I had emotionally prepared myself for her death because she was very old and had become very frail and I knew that she probably wouldn’t last too much longer. However, I ended up crying a bit as EJ buried her on the slope of our hill.
A few evenings ago EJ and I were sitting on our porch when we saw a flock of about 200 Sandhill Cranes flying high overhead. They are getting ready to go visit my friend in Texas. We share custody. I get to enjoy them in the summer and she gets them in the winter.
Yesterday EJ’s sister and her husband came to visit. We all went to lunch together, which was really nice. They also brought us squash that they had grown and tomatoes that his sis had canned and some seeds from their hollyhocks. I’m excited about planting them next Spring. Our old house was very shady so I could mostly just grow shade-loving plants. I think it was thoughtful for them to bring us the products of their garden. Last year we moved to Northern Michigan and this summer we spent the first part of the summer preparing our old house to sell so we haven’t yet had time to put in a garden. Hopefully next year we can get a garden in. My sis-in-law has offered to teach me to can because I don’t know how. I freeze a lot of our veggies but would love to can tomatoes. In exchange, I could teach her to crochet. 🙂
EJ’s Sis and hubby also brought us Esther, their pet duck. They were sad to part with her, but they felt she would do better with us and our other ducks. Esther was injured last year so she walks with a limp, but she manages ok. She is still adjusting to her new surroundings but the other ducks seem to be accepting her–and Cuddles is overjoyed to have more females.
Michigan has enjoyed a historically abundant harvest of apples this year and we wanted to have apples to celebrate Rosh Hoshana so we drove to a local farm market this morning. The drive was beautiful–well, it’s always beautiful, but it’s looking and feeling very autumnish now. The trees are still mostly green, but every day there are more splashes of color. The temperatures are warmish and coolish at the same time. I alternate between t-shirts and sweatshirts. The morning was rainy/drizzly with heavy clouds hanging very low. We saw mist rising in pillars from the forests. One actually looked rather like a water spout, but I don’t think it was. I tried to get pictures, but whenever we had a clear view we were in areas where we couldn’t stop for a photo and when we were in places where we could pull over the view wasn’t good. Here is the one almost decent photo I got. See the rising mist?
There are orchards and vineyards all over Northern Michigan–and farm markets. The one we went to this morning is not very far from us. I loved it. They had lots of varieties of pumpkins and squashes piled up and the vivid colors and textures were really beautiful. The trees of the orchard were heavy with apples. We could have picked our own apples, but we chose to buy them because we had other errands and stops and chores to do. I like sweet apples and EJ likes tart ones so we chose a half bushel of Gala apples for me and a half bushel of Cortland apples for him. Tomorrow I’m going to make apple cinnamon challah bread and later in the week I want to make lots of apple pies to freeze. I wasn’t going to make any dessert for my birthday, which is quickly approaching, but with all these apples I think I will make a Dutch Pennsylvania Cake, which is one of our favorites.
When we got home, EJ finished fixing the leak in the master bathroom while I made homemade bread. He also worked periodically on the shelves in the library. During one of his trips to the garage, he found a hen had escaped into the main part of the garage. He had to chase her down and put her back in the pen. So the chickens can’t escape again, he finished putting snow fence over the top of the cage containing the coops in the garage. While he was working on fastening the snow fence, I could hear the loud upset complaints of the chickens. Every little change in their environment upsets them.
The Leland Blues
Today EJ and I went adventuring.
We wanted to go rockhounding at least one more time. We always look for Petoskey stones, but we also wanted to see if we could find some Leland Blues, which are found near Leland. And, of course, we always collect interesting rocks. We have always collected rocks but don’t know much about identifying them. We’d like to learn…and also start polishing the rocks we find.
We headed up M-22 toward the town of Leland. M-22 is considered one of the most beautiful drives in Michigan, especially in the autumn when the colors are at their peak. Even though the trees are just beginning to get a little color, the drive is still very beautiful with many awesome views of Grand Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan.
We had almost reached the town when we stopped at a local grocery store so I could use their restroom. When we went into the store, the cashier asked if he could help us, and EJ said we were looking for snacks and a restroom–but we noticed a sign that said they didn’t have a public restroom. The cashier (I wonder if he was a manager) said that normally he is very strict about not letting anyone use their restroom–the last time he let someone use it, his phone was stolen–but he would let me use it. He guided me through the back room, which led past offices and through the kitchen/food preparation area to the bathroom. I was really amazed that he let me back there. People are so nice up here. After I used the restroom, we bought picnic foods: whitefish pate, crackers, apple cider, and a couple other things.
Once we reached Leland, we stopped in at Fishtown, which is the town’s historical district and features rustic shanties and docks reminiscent of life and commercial fishing one hundred years ago. There were a lot of cute little shops there. We walked through it but then continued on our way–because our main goal was to go rockhounding.
We never did find a good place to go rockhounding in Leland. I’m sure there is a good place, but we just didn’t find it. So we decided to drive up to Grand Traverse Lighthouse, which is in Leelanau State Park at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula. We had visited this lighthouse in the winter but this time the lighthouse was open so we could go through it. The living quarters were awesome–I could so totally have been a lighthouse keeper! And we climbed up and up and up on smaller and smaller stairs until we reach the very top of the lighthouse. The last segment of steps were so steep that we had to come down backwards–like coming down a ladder. On our way down, I missed the last step and almost fell…but didn’t.
After we toured the lighthouse, we walked down to the beach to look for rocks. We found several interesting rocks, but no Petoskey stones or Leland Blues. Another couple was also rockhounding and they asked us what we were looking for and what we had found. I showed them my treasures and they told us that a really good place to look for rocks was at Betsy Pt., which was only about an hour down the road. Since we’ve wanted to visit the lighthouse there, we decided that that would be our next stop.
We ate our picnic in the Suburban and then we continued down M-22 along the coast of Lake Michigan. We finally reached Pt. Betsy. We walked up to the lighthouse but decided not to tour it because EJ’s knees were hurting from climbing the Grand Traverse Lighthouse.
We walked down to the beach. We had an awesome view of the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in the distance. (We could see it clearly, but it didn’t really show up well in the pictures.) We walked along the beach for two hours, first in one direction and then the other. The day was beautiful and it was very peaceful. We decided we would return here again to look for rocks. Although we have seen pictures of Leland Blues, we realized that we were sure exactly what they looked like among all the other rocks on the beach.
There were maybe a dozen other people on the beach, all of them looking for rocks like us. We encountered a couple who asked what we were looking for and what we had found. That seems to be the questions asked when meeting fellow rock hounds. I showed them a couple of rocks that I think are honeycomb coral fossils (?). The woman said she had found a couple of Leland Blues and she tried to find them in her rock back to show us what they look like, but she wasn’t able to find them among all the other rocks she had collected. Oh well.
I also filled a disposable cup with sand from the beach to send to my friend in Texas. I’m trying to get her sand from different locations in Northern Michigan.
We had a really great day together.
Poultry in Motion
You know, in many ways my life is very unexciting. I mean, I’m not off traveling the world or climbing mountains or parachuting out of planes. But in other ways, there’s never a dull moment!
I declared to myself that except for getting two geese, I was done adding to my flock. But then I shared my video at FB of the ducks all swimming in their pool and EJ’s sister commented that she and her husband have a female duck that they’d like to get rid of. She was injured last year and walks with a limp. Her name is Esther. I asked EJ if he’d like the duck (I knew he’d say yes but I thought it was polite to ask first) and then I told my sister-in-law that we’d take Esther. Later EJ and I stood outside the pen admiring our new ducks. Cuddles came up to us and I told him, “Cuddles, we are getting you one more female!” As if he knew exactly what we were saying, he got this incredibly joyful “Wow!” look on his face–like a child opening Christmas presents–and he quacked happily. We laughed. EJ said he never would have believed Cuddles’ reaction if he hadn’t seen it himself.
JJ told me that we need more chickens because one of his friends told him that roosters won’t be happy unless they have about six hens each. We have three roosters. That would be 18 hens! I’m not sure we are going to get additional hens although I also don’t want to be traumatized by rooster battles. I came across a meme a while back that said something like “first you get four chickens, and then ten, and the next thing you know, you have 50.” That’s pretty much true about chickens AND ducks….and cats. This is how we end up with so many animals.
This morning I opened the garage door to let the chickens and ducks out to enjoy the beautiful day. Later I went to check on everyone and found most of the hens on the roof of their coop, one hen was on the coop roof on the ducks’ side of the pen, and one chicken was on top of the dog cage itself. The coop is in the dog cage in the garage and keeps the poultry in “their” section separate from the rest of the garage. I have fencing stretched across the top of the coop roof dividing the chickens and the ducks, but because I have to be able to shut the garage door at night, it doesn’t go all the way across the pen and the chickens have figured out how to get to the other side. I used my “rooster whacker” cane to nudge everyone to their proper side. Later I went out to the garage and found three hens on the coop roof on the ducks’ side and one sitting on a cabinet on the other side of the dog cage in the main part of the garage. So I found a piece of fencing and tried to construct a dividing fence that they couldn’t get over. Maybe. Hopefully.
Cuddles and Peeper love to free-range and they were waiting at the gate for me to let them out. I hate to keep them in their pen all day but I’m apprehensive about letting the new ducks out because I’m not sure they recognize their new pen as “home” yet. However, they were following Cuddles and Peeper around and I know the older ducks recognize “home” so I let them all outside. After they happily waddled off, I grabbed some laundry to hang on the clothesline. The morning was autumn cool and beautiful and it really was pleasant listening to all the happy coos and clucks and quiet quacks of the chickens and ducks.
I let the ducks remain outside for several hours, but the new ducks often sit outside the pen and I don’t know if they know how to get back into their pen. So I decided to herd them back into their pen to give them a chance to learn their way into the pen and to associate their pen with “home.”
Only the new ducks are quite nervous and very wily. I would get them headed between the truck and the pen on the way to the doorway of the pen, but then they ducked under the truck and snuck out the other side and around to their beginning point. I tried to use my “rooster whacker” cane as a shepherd’s crook to guide them around the corner, but they would go the opposite way. Finally I used tires, an old wheelbarrow, and old fencing to make barriers to guide them into the pen, but they simply ducked under the truck rather than continue into the pen. It took me about an hour, but I finally got all the ducks in the pen and I closed the gate. Whew! I think I’ll keep them contained in the pen until I’m sure they know that this is their home. I hate to prevent Cuddles and Peeper from free-ranging, but…I’m considering trying to steer the young ducks into the outside chicken pen so that they are contained and so Cuddles and Peeper can go free. But not today. I’ve had enough trouble for one day trying to get various birds where they are supposed to be!
The Harem of Cuddles Duck
This morning we had quite an adventure.
You may remember that after cute little Cuddles and Peeper grew up, we learned that drakes (male ducks) are really terrible sex maniacs. We’ve read that they need 3-5 females to satisfy them. If they don’t have them, they will go after the female chickens. They can seriously hurt or even kill them. Not good. Not acceptable. So we divided our pen into two sides, one for the chickens and one for the ducks. Since the chicken side is bigger than the duck pen, we decided to let the ducks free-range. They are enjoying their freedom. However, they often pace outside the chicken pen and if a chicken gets close to the fence, Cuddles reaches in and grabs her.
We contemplated sending Cuddles to “freezer camp,” which is an euphemism for killing him, sticking him in the freezer, and eating him. But we really didn’t want to kill poor Cuddles, so we considered getting him more females. We have been checking Craigslist, and this morning I found someone in our area selling Rouen Ducks. Cuddles and Peeper are Pekin–I wanted a variety of ducks. I texted the seller and learned that she did, indeed, have females. So we arranged to buy her Mama duck and two babies. We weren’t sure how little the babies would be so we took along a cat carrier (we couldn’t find a box) in case they were really little. It turns out that they are more the size of teenagers, which is better because we actually wanted older ducks for Cuddles.
I gave JJ the address in case the person was a serial killer or something and we set off. The woman’s driveway was a two-track, which means it’s very rough–like a path. Her place was pretty junky, but the woman seemed nice enough and she said her animals were all like her pets. She had lots of dogs, some goats, a few pigs, and many free-ranging turkeys, chickens, and ducks.
We had to catch the ducks. At first the woman tried to lure them to her with food. All the other chickens, turkeys, and ducks came up to her EXCEPT the ones we were buying. They didn’t want to be caught. The woman called her son (maybe 12-14 years old) to help and we were all running around the property trying to catch three of the ducks. The ducks ran under the tree, through the mud puddles, all over the place. We finally managed to herd them into the chicken coop, which was like a shed, and the woman went inside and caught two of them. EJ took one and I took the other and we carried them to the Suburban and put them in the back.
But the Mama Duck was not in the shed. She had disappeared. We all wandered the property looking for her and never did find her. Finally we said that we’d take a third teenager duck. The woman went back in the coop, caught another one, and Eric took the duck back to the Sub with the others.
So we drove home with three young ducks in the back of the Sub. Once EJ took off from an intersection kind of fast and they tumbled a bit. You should have heard them complain. EJ kept saying, “I’m sorry! Stop complaining! I said I was SORRY.” After a bit they quieted down.
We got them home and then we had to get them out of the Sub and into the duck pen. JJ and I each stood at one of the back doors and we kept trying to shoo them toward EJ who was in the way back. They were flapping all around staying just out of reach. Finally one went into the cat carrier. EJ grabbed the carrier and took the duck into the inside duck pen. I had closed the pen off so that Cuddles and Peeper couldn’t get into the garage. It will give the ducks a chance to get to know each other before we shut them in all together tonight. EJ returned to the Sub with the cat carrier and we shooed and shooed the remaining two ducks until they both went into the carrier and then EJ put the ducks with the other. He had a terrible time getting the ducks out of the cat carrier because they didn’t want to come out. JJ and I watched and laughed and laughed.
The chickens–especially the roosters–get really upset with any sort of change, no matter how small. The new ducks were quacking and the roosters were upset. It sounded like bedlam! I yelled over the racket, “IT SOUNDS LIKE A BARNYARD IN HERE!” Then I laughed.
But finally everyone calmed down. Cuddles is all gaa-gaa over his new females. He has stayed near the gate all afternoon looking longingly at his new “friends.” After some discussion, we decided to name the new ducks after flowers: Daisy, Lily, and Rose.
I hope Cuddles is satisfied now. We now have ten chickens and five ducks. Next Spring we would like to get a couple of geese.
As we drove home with the new ducks, I told EJ that two years ago I never could have imagined having the life we live now. I love it!
Our Field Trip to the NWS
I haven’t written often lately. I haven’t been sleeping well so my days are spent in sort of a fog. Ugh.
But life has been going well. Summer is sliding into Autumn and while the days are still warm, the temps are getting cooler. It is so much more pleasant. I love it. Autumn is my favorite season.
Last night was the last full moon of Summer. It was a super moon–or so I heard. Actually, it was quite rainy last night so we didn’t see the moon at all. However, the sky was clear the night before and the moon was almost full and very bright. EJ grew up on a farm and also goes hunting and he used to try to describe nights in which the moon was so bright that it cast a shadow and a person didn’t need a flashlight to see. I’ve always lived in a town where there were streetlights and I couldn’t image what he was trying to describe. But now that we live here in Northern Michigan, I understand. Without all the city lights, the moon is so bright that it hurts my eyes and when it’s full it lights up the landscape like a spotlight. It’s breathtakingly beautiful.
I’ve been busy with my projects. Now and then throughout the summer, I’ve been hauling potato stones down the driveway to build little dams to prevent erosion. It’s more enjoyable now that the days are cooler. While I’m hauling and building dams, I’m always finding beautiful and interesting rocks, which I set aside to take up to the house. EJ does the same. It’s actually a bit surprising that we leave any rocks in the driveway. We declare that we are going to start polishing rocks and maybe selling them. Not all of them. Some are so interesting that we will keep them for ourselves. Like this rock, which is a fossilized sponge. I shared a picture of it at the FB page Great Lakes Rocks & Minerals and a woman said she loves sponges and wanted to trade me for it. But I think this rock is awesome so I politely declined:
EJ had made a really nice feeder for the chickens, but they tend to waste a lot of it by scattering it on the ground. Meanwhile, I had the ducks’ feed in an old dog dish and the silly ducks kept walking over the dish and spilling out their food. So we made a new feeder for the chickens out of a bucket and a low tray that I had put under a potted plant. Now the chickens waste a lot less feed. I moved their old feeder over for the ducks. They can’t walk over it so they waste less too. I also found an unused kitty litter box in the garage and after cleaning it well, I put it in the chicken pen for a nesting box. They really seem to like it and I often find an egg in it.
We are now getting three chicken eggs every day. We also get a duck egg every morning. Sometimes Peeper lays a HUGE egg, which is always a double-yolker. Duck eggs feel different from chicken eggs although I think they taste the same. I learned that chicken and duck eggs have different types of protein. A person might be allergic to chicken eggs but be able to eat duck eggs just fine. And sometimes people who can enjoy chicken eggs don’t do well with duck eggs. So far we are able to eat both. Here are the difference between the eggs:
This morning I was chatting with EJ and glanced out the window and started to laugh–because I saw the ducks wandering about. We let them free-range so they can go wherever they want. It always surprises me when I glimpse them unexpectedly. They always come running when I go outside because they think I have a treat for them–which often I do. They are so funny that they always make me laugh.
This morning the National Weather Service station at Gaylord, Michigan was giving tours of their facility. Ever since we first heard of it weeks ago, we have been eagerly anticipating the tour. We love weather.
The tour began at the door of their facility. There was actually quite a line of people. They let about 25 people at a time go through.
Our first stop was at the front desk where we were told about the NWS and the service area that the Gaylord station covers. I knew that it covered all of Northern Michigan, but was surprised that their area also extends up into the Upper Peninsula. In addition to weather forecasts and storm warnings, they also provide marine reports for Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior, as well as forecasts for local airports. And they give reports of fire danger to organizations such as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR).
When we first entered the building, the man told the children that they could go up to the little “tornado machine” sitting on a counter and stick their hands in it. Some of us adults were like, “Uh….what about us?” When we walked past it to go to the next step of the tour, I stuck my hand in it. It felt misty–like touching a cloud.
Next, we were directed into a conference room where we watched a short video about Doppler radar and weather balloons. It was very interesting.
The next stop of the tour was in the “Operations Room.” Our “guide” introduced himself and the other meteorologist and explained all that goes into forecasting the weather as well as how they initiate storm watches and warnings. Very fascinating.
Then we went outside to watch the release of a weather balloon. We learned that twice every day all the weather stations around the world release weather balloons at the same time in order to gather the weather information that enables them to forecast the weather. The meteorologist told us that today was a perfect day to release the balloons…but it’s not so pleasant in the winter when it’s very cold and windy. As the balloons go higher into the sky, they expand to as much as 23 feet–the size of a small school bus–before they pop. The attached device then falls to the earth. If a person finds one, he can mail it back in an included envelope but most of the time they are not recovered–especially in our area with all of its forests and lakes. The weather device measures the conditions as it ascends but stops measuring when the balloon pops because it’s falling too fast for measurements to be taken. For the tours, the station attacked “dummy” devices to the balloons because the real devices cost several hundred dollars each.
The Coast Guard brought one of their helicopters to the station for us to see as well. EJ works near the Coast Guard Station so he sees them coming and going all day long but this is the first time either of us had ever been so close to one or had a chance to interact with a member of the Coast Guard. His stories were fascinating. I didn’t realize that it was so difficult to fly a helicopter or that duties are different at different Coast Guard stations. He said that members stay at a station for four years before being transferred. They can list stations that they’d like to be transferred to, but where they are sent depends on a lot of factors. Whether or not there is a vacancy, for example. Also, a person who works at a busy station will usually be transferred to a less busy station next. The guy said that this is his first duty and everyone tells him that he is getting spoiled because “our” station is different from many others. Our station mostly does search and rescue and there is a lot of down time. Other stations in the country are much busier. Someone in the crowd asked where he’d like to go next–and if he’d choose Florida. He said that Florida is at the bottom of his list because the skills he is learning now would not be useful in Florida and he doesn’t really want to lose his skills. The station in Florida doesn’t do search and rescue. Instead, they primarily try to prevent drugs from coming into the country. If search and rescue is needed, the station in Savannah sends a team.
It was all so very fascinating. I learned a lot. I especially like that I got to see “our” NWS station and the people responsible for forecasting the weather in our area. I also was glad to meet one of our Coast Guard members. At our old house, we lived pretty far from the coast so the Coast Guard wasn’t a major factor in our lives. Up here in the north, the Coast Guard has a real impact.
Labor Day Weekend
EJ came home from work last Thursday and told me that he had taken Friday off as a vacation day. Monday is Labor Day, which means he has a four-day weekend. Yay!
As soon as it got dark on Thursday evening, EJ, JJ, and I headed out to destroy a hornet’s ground nest. We couldn’t leave it because it’s too close to the house, in the area that we mow, and we didn’t want to accidentally step in it. I had learned that a good way to destroy a ground nest is to wait until dark, spray it with hornet killer spray, and drown it with soapy water. Of course, EJ and JJ had to make it more exciting by also throwing fireworks into the hole. I videoed it all, of course.
EJ had heard that there was a strong chance that we could see the Northern Lights so, since he didn’t need to get up early the next morning, we stayed up late Thursday night–and into early Friday morning–to enjoy the night sky.
EJ has seen the Northern Lights several times in his life, but I have only seen them a couple of times–and always with EJ. The first time I remember seeing them was just before EJ and I got married. We have always enjoyed going for long drives through beautiful countryside. On that long-ago night, we had gone for a long drive when EJ suddenly said, “Oh! Look! Do you see what I see?” He quickly found a deserted country road and parked alongside it. We got into the back of his little pickup and sat together enjoying the light show. Then we heard a mysterious “Something” crashing through the underbrush, getting closer and closer and closer. We couldn’t see what it was. It could have been a deer, or a bear, or Big Foot, or a serial killer. As it drew closer, I got more nervous but I was trying to act brave. I was relieved when EJ said, “I think it would be a good idea to get back into the truck.” I quickly agreed and we scrambled into the pickup. As EJ prepared to drive off, he tried to position the truck so the headlights would reveal what was coming our way, but we didn’t see anything so EJ drove off. We never found out what it was, and it’s one of the unsolved mysteries of our lives. It’s kind of fun to imagine what it could have been. Every life needs a little mystery.
Although there is always a chance that a bear (or Big Foot) will meander our way, we heard no scary noises on Thursday night. We positioned our lawn chairs and tilted our heads back so we had a clear view of the whole night sky. It was so cool outside that I actually wore my winter coat. We enjoyed chatting as we watched the sky. We saw a couple bats zipping overhead, many satellites, several meteorites, and a gazillion bazillion stars. Finally, I saw light just above the trees. I thought it looked like pillars of light. “That isn’t the light of the moon, is it?” I asked. EJ exclaimed, “No! That’s the Northern Lights!” I ran in to get JJ, but by the time he got outside, they weren’t as strong so he went back inside. EJ and I continued our night vigil and at last we were rewarded: We saw very strong pillars of light reaching into the sky. Because of our trees, we can only see the Lights that dance above the trees, but it was still the strongest Northern Lights I have ever seen. It was awesome.
We have gone outside each night of this Labor Day weekend to enjoy the night sky. We haven’t seen any Northern Lights since Thursday night, but we have enjoyed the gazillion stars, the beautiful Milky Way, the satellites and meteorites zooming across the sky, and spending time together.
EJ’s long-time friend–they have been friends since high school–told EJ that his neighbor was selling his awesome saw. I’m not sure what kind of a saw it is, but it is a very expensive saw, the guy had never even opened the box when he bought it new, it’s at least as good as the one at EJ’s company, and he was selling it for only $250. It was a once-in-a-lifetime bargain. EJ wanted it so he can make projects to sell. So we drove off for the other side of the state. We took Danny with us.
A year or so ago, EJ’s friend bought a small house. This was the second time EJ had been at his friend’s new house, and the first time I had been. The house, which he paid very little for, is located in an isolated area, in the middle of a forest, and is right across the road from Lake Huron, one of the five Great Lakes. For a tiny annual fee, he has shared access to a private beach. Most of his neighbors leave during the winter.
We walked down to the beach. I had thought I could do some rock-hounding, but unlike many beaches on our side of the state, the Lake Huron beach was very sandy. The first thing Danny did was pull me to the water so he could go swimming. The second thing he did was pull me over to the neighbors who were having a party on the beach. He got lots of lovings from the kids. Usually people think Danny looks like a little bear, but these kids exclaimed that he looked like a gerbil, which I thought was hilarious. Danny loves our Enchanted Forest, but he meets very few people and I think he misses it. He loves people, especially children.
This weekend EJ has been working on the shower in the Master Bathroom. It had a leak so over the summer he has been working on fixing the leak, which required cutting through the wall in our bedroom and retiling the shower. EJ has never done tiling before, but it’s really looking good. Yesterday he finished grouting the tile and today he will seal it.
Yesterday we made a list of projects we want to get done in the next few days, weeks, months, years. The projects range from stopping up the places the mice are getting in, to finishing the library, to protecting the fruit trees from winter-hungry deer, to looking into maybe getting a couple new windows installed soon. Some of our windows aren’t so great and we will lose a lot of heat through them. EJ also hopes to build a shed for our garden tools as well as insulated coops for our poultry. We’d like to get the coops out of the garage.
We have discussed maybe getting a few more female ducks to satisfy Cuddles so he doesn’t end up in our freezer. I would also like to get some geese next spring. We learned that geese are very intelligent and protective so they will defend chickens and ducks from predators as well as guard our property from intruders. In fact, many people are more afraid of geese than dogs. I would like geese. Geese are cool.
Phantom Orchestra
I’ve had a strange, unique, and interesting experience for several years. I didn’t tell anyone–not even EJ–until a month or so ago because it just sounded too weird. After I told EJ, he couldn’t figure out why it was happening any more than I could. Then a few days ago, EJ happened to see people commenting at FB that they had experienced the same sort of phenomenon. It never occurred to me until then that other people had the same sort of experience. I grew curious so I researched it last night and found that thousands of people also experience the phenomenon. Researchers don’t know the exact number because most people never tell a soul about it because it sounds crazy. And, no, I’m not crazy.
Are you intrigued?
This is what I experience: Occasionally, when I lay in bed, I hear music that only I can hear. It sounds like an orchestra playing beautiful classical music. Occasionally the orchestra is accompanied by what almost sounds like an angelic choir singing.
Weird, huh?
I’ve tried to figure out the source. I have considered many theories–like maybe sound vibrations from a fan or something hit my ear in such a way that it sounds like music. Or maybe I only imagine that it sounds like an orchestra. However, it sounds so real. And I’ve heard it whether a fan is on or off, when everything about my environment is the same or when it has changed, and I’ve heard it at our old house and at our new house. I hear it even if I put a pillow over my head. I can hear it if I turn my head, change my position, and a few times even when I sat up in bed. Sometimes I hear it for several nights in a row. Other times I don’t hear it for several weeks or months. Sometimes the music is rather faint, but sometimes it’s loud enough that I look around for a radio that might have been left on.
I discovered that the phenomenon is called “Musical Ear Syndrome.” It’s an audio hallucination. I read several articles about it including this one, this one, and this one. I read that
“When you get a musical hallucination it feels as if it’s real, it feels as if there’s a record player playing it or the artist is in the room or in the next-door room. As far as you’re concerned probably everyone else ought to be able to hear it as well so it’s very, very real.”
I also read:
“According to Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, hallucinations are the apparent, often strong,subjective perception of an object or event when no such stimulus or situation is present.” More simply put, hallucinations are where your brain perceives that something is happening even though your five senses have not received any direct stimulus.
Hallucinations may be visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smelling), gustatory (tasting) or tactile (feeling). Therefore, hallucinations are simply seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or feeling sights, sounds, odors, tastes, or sensations that no one else around you perceives.
Although hallucinations may occur with any of the five senses, auditory hallucinations are by far the most common kind of hallucination. A person is hearing auditory hallucinations when he or she hear noises, music, sounds or voices that no one else hears because these phantom sounds are generated in the person’s brain, not externally.
…Audio hallucinations comprise a wide range of sounds, ranging from simple to complex. Simple sounds are single, unmodulated sounds such as the various tinnitus sounds (ringing, roaring, buzzing, hissing, rumbling, etc.) millions of people hear. In fact, tinnitus is the most common kind of auditory hallucination.
In contrast, complex sounds include multiple, modulated sounds such as tunes, singing, music and voices. These are the kinds of sounds that people have traditionally considered auditory hallucinations. Many people have mistakenly called these sounds “musical tinnitus.”
Depending on their clarity, phantom sounds may be either “unformed” or “formed.” Unformed auditory hallucinations consist of hearing distorted music, sounds, or voices. These sounds are vague, “fuzzy” and indistinct. For example, Jane described her unformed auditory hallucinations as “like the wind blowing, but with a musical quality, as if someone off in the distance was singing without words.” Rachel explains, “The words are never distinct—it’s like they are several rooms away.” Sarah relates, “I sometimes hear phantom “radio broadcasts” that I can’t quite make out.”
In contrast, formed auditory hallucinations are where speech, music or singing is so clear and recognizable that people hearing it can identify the various voices and musical instruments. For example, James explains, “For the past 3 to 4 months I have had the most calming and repetitive choruses and wind ensembles, usually led by a bass sax and a baritone playing and singing in a low octave, the older Christian hymns and a few oldies from the forties such as, Near the Cross, Amazing Grace, His Eye Is on the Sparrow and The Star Spangled Banner.”
The article said that “As a matter of interest, quite often MES sounds have a seasonal quality—thus people “hear” Christmas carols during the winter season and The Star Spangled Banner around the 4th of July. Incidentally, while Americans often hear The Star Spangled Banner, Canadians typically hear God Save the Queen or Oh Canada, and Australians often hear Waltzing Matilda!”
I never hear music that I recognize. I usually hear an orchestra, but a few days ago I heard a harpsicord. Occasionally the orchestra is accompanied by a choir, but it’s more like vocalizing–there are no distinct words.
Musical Ear Syndrome is not a new phenomenon. Composer Robert Schumann heard auditory hallucinations towards the end of his life. At night, he heard musical notes and believed that he heard an angelic choir singing to him. He also heard the music of Beethoven and Schubert. He jotted down the music in February, 1854 and called it the Theme (WoO, 1854) or Theme from Ghost Variations. He said he was taking dictation from Schubert’s ghost. You can find versions at Youtube, including this one.
I have no musical talent so I can’t recreate the music I hear, but I searched for similar sounding music at Youtube and the best I could find was that when the music is accompanied by a choir, it sounds sort of, kind of, a little bit like this:
I think all this is fascinating. I told JJ about it last night for the first time and I played him the video above to demonstrate what it sort of sounded like. He thought it was really weird. “Can you have it treated?” he asked. I told him that I didn’t think it was treatable but “Are you kidding? I hear beautiful music! It’s not intrusive. Why would I want to get rid of it? It’s like a super power!” In fact, one night I couldn’t sleep and then I heard the music. I focused on it and it lulled me peacefully to sleep.
By the way, some people can feel, taste, and or hear color. There is a 20-year-old junior at the University of Maine who has synesthesia, a rare neurological condition in which two or more of the senses entwine. Numbers and letters, sensations and emotions, days and months are all associated with colors for Carey. She can also taste them, and hear them.
I think the brain is very powerful and very interesting.
Rebuilding
I’m feeling better…the attacks of anxiety seem to be finally lessening somewhat. I think the loving support of so many friends helped.
One reason I share my struggles with abuse and anxiety is that so many struggle alone as I did for so many years. Although I sought counsel from pastors and mentors, the advice I received kept me in the abuse. It’s only in the last couple of years that I have found Christian sites that actually understand abuse and help victims. One extremely good site is called A Cry for Justice. Their goal is to awaken the church to domestic violence and abuse in its midst. They help victims of abuse as well as try to educate the church about how to help them–although few churches listen. I am not anti-Christian (I am a Christian), but I do think that false and dangerous teaching ought to be exposed and turned away from.
Sadly, many families and churches tend to condemn and reject those who try to set healthy boundaries or who speak up about the abuse, typically labeling victims as unloving, unforgiving, and unChristlike. Victims are often told that they need to do more to please and submit to the abuser. This is a total ignorance of the dynamics of abuse: Such advice empowers the abuser and increases the abuse making it even more dangerous for the victims. Some victims have been told that, well, if their abuser kills them they will just go to Heaven and see Jesus. This is heinous. Because my heart is touched by the plight of victims, and as part of my process of recovery, I am becoming more passionate about sharing and informing about abuse and anxiety, and supporting victims.
Although I feel more severe anxiety now than I have ever experienced before, I–and EJ and JJ–are in a much better place than we were before. It seems to me that our previous experiences is much like a experiencing a natural disaster–such as a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or flood. While it’s happening, you merely try to survive. Afterwards, you have to pick up the pieces and begin to rebuild. Where we were before, we were merely trying to survive. Now we are rebuilding our lives. It’s sometimes very difficult and overwhelming, and there are times in the middle of a panic attack when I really wonder if I’m going to survive. But then I do, and I know that I have fought and won another battle, and it’s a very positive thing.
Getting away from abusive people and speaking up about abuse are two steps to recovery. Another part of my recovery–especially when I’m having an anxiety attack–involves “taking captive every thought” and refocusing my minds on lovely, beautiful, good things, which is very Biblical. So we breathe in the quiet beauty of our surroundings and take delight in simple pleasures and accomplishments. I thought I’d share with you some of the other things that have been happening–the delightful and enjoyable and happy things.
Our house downstate was a cute house, but we bought it because it was a fixer-upper that didn’t cost an exorbitant amount of money. This enabled me to be a stay-at-home Mom. I always felt bad because EJ had to work an insane amount of overtime at his company and he had to spend his few days off repairing or renovating the house–even though he usually was exhausted and suffering from a lot of chronic back pain. I felt powerless to be much help because while I could care for the house and lawn, stack wood, and paint rooms and such, I don’t know how to re-roof the house, or do wiring, or fix plumbing, or hang drywall. When we looked for our new house, I was determined to get one that it was didn’t need fixing up so our lives would consist of more than working on the house. No house is completely without home improvements, repairs, or maintenance needing to be done, but I am able to do several of the minor improvements myself, which gives me an immense amount of satisfaction.
For example, I so very much enjoyed putting up the fencing for the chicken’s enlarged pen. I loved figuring out how to divide the pen to keep the chickens on one side and the ducks on the other. And last week I installed a new knob on the pantry door all by myself. Although it still needs more bookshelves, I organized the library and got rid of a lot of boxes. I also bought a bookcase from Amazon and put it together. It fits perfectly in our library closet, which holds our printer, my shipping supplies, and my craft supplies/items for my Etsy store. The new shelves now keep my supply of yarn neatly organized. I also re-organized our very large pantry/storage room, and I occasionally help EJ organize his garage.
I love our chickens. They follow me around with their expressive clucking noises. One hen–whom I have named “Henny Penny”–seems especially tame and she runs up to me whenever she sees me. I find her tasty grasses which I hand feed her. The two older roosters also follow me around. I’m not sure if they enjoy my presence or are keeping an eye on me. They sort of give me a baleful glare. However, they aren’t aggressive and I think they are beautiful and interesting. I love their crowing.
The ducks….well…they are adorable, but they are greedy little buggers. They will leave the treat I give them to try to get at the chickens’ treat on the other side of the fence. I also have learned that male ducks need about 3-5 females to satisfy them sexually. They aren’t very choosy and will go after the female chickens. We have read that they can seriously hurt or even kill them with their unwanted attentions. Cuddles is such a sex maniac that he even tries to reach through the fence to grab the hens and he’s constantly on Peeper, our female duck. We don’t have space for more female ducks so Cuddles may end up on the dinner table. That sort of makes me feel bad, but we can’t have him hurting the chickens. I remember reading something a while back that basically you have to understand that farm animals are livestock and not pets.
Peeper and Cuddles gave me a scare the other day. Danny asked to go outside and while I waited for him to “do his business,” I walked over to check on the poultry. When I saw the ducks, I gasped in horror because their necks looked as if they were red with blood. I wondered if they had been attacked or if they had hurt themselves trying to reach through the fence. Then I realized that the “blood” on their necks was just the juice from the watermelon I had given them.
I had a beautiful large garden at our old house which had a winding path through it. However, the property was very shady and I couldn’t grow flowers that needed sunshine. Even though our new home is surrounded by forest, the trees are not close to the house so we have sunshine streaming into our large windows. The previous owner of our new house planted a small garden with beautiful sun-loving flowers. We also have a lot of ferns at the edges of our forest and other wildflowers–and even some interesting mushrooms popping up on the lawn.
We haven’t seen many deer this summer. I suspect it’s because the summer has been so dry that our grasses withered. The deer have probably been browsing in watery areas where the grass is more green and tasty. We have received more rain this last week than we have all summer and the grasses are finally getting enough moisture to turn them from withered to green. EJ and I did see a few deer–with fawns–yesterday on our way home from the store. We now have two turkey “families” bringing their babies up to the house to eat the grasshoppers. Both families, which consist of two adult females, have five babies, but one flock of babies is older and bigger than the other.
With EJ working first shift, he has to get to bed earlier during the week so we aren’t out enjoying the night sky as often as we were last year. However, on the weekends EJ is able to stay up later and we have been enjoying several campfires. I love being outside and enjoying the millions of stars in the dark sky.
A couple of days ago EJ’s long-time friend came to visit. They have been friends since high school, so he’s actually an “adopted” family member. JJ grew up calling him “Uncle.” He spent the night with us a few days ago and then drove downstate to visit his daughter’s family the next morning. After he left, he texted EJ to “tell your wife thank you for making you put your resume on-line last year.” That was the first step in us relocating. Despite our struggles with anxiety, our friends can see how much better and happier our lives are now. Our friend said that even Danny looks happier.
It’s hard to describe how we can be so much happier and yet at the same time struggle with so much anxiety. But, as I said earlier, it’s like a rebuilding after a natural disaster. It’s not always easy, but it’s positive steps.
An Angry Sea
I haven’t written in a couple of weeks because I have been struggling with severe anxiety attacks. It’s really awful. I feel as if anxiety is rushing through my veins. I can’t breathe, my stomach is in knots, I feel nauseous. Everything feels overwhelming. During the day I can somewhat distract myself, but at night the thoughts rush in unhindered. I can’t sleep so I stay up until I’m too tired to stay awake. Of course, then during the day I feel really tired. I think anxiety attacks feel as if I’m caught in a tornado, or a hurricane, or an angry sea:
Once anxiety overcomes me, it takes a huge battle to fight it off and any additional problem knocks me off my feet. My anxiety was triggered a couple of weeks ago by several things and I’ve been battling it ever since.
Most of the time I hate talking about it–which is why I haven’t written. EJ helps me a lot, but he and JJ also struggle with anxiety and I don’t want my anxiety to trigger theirs. We try to help each other out when we can. But I feel as if my friends either have enough problems of their own and I don’t want to add to their burden or I’m afraid that they won’t understand. I know many people assume that anxiety is caused by a lack of faith. In fact, many Christians assume that anything other than JOY! is a sin. While sin and a lack of faith can cause anxiety, I also believe that many times it is caused by a physical problem or traumatic experience. People who experience a life-threatening illness such as cancer and their caretakers often suffer from PTSD, as do abuse victims. PTSD is described as “a normal response to an abnormal situation.” Chronic stress can wreak havoc on a person’s mind and body. Chronic stress is defined as “the response to emotional pressure suffered for a prolonged period over which an individual perceives he or she has no control.” Weightlifters are the strongest men in the world, but even they can’t lift heavy weights forever–and neither can a person lift heavy burdens forever.
The Mayo Clinic website describes chronic stress this way:
The body’s stress-response system is usually self-limiting. Once a perceived threat has passed, hormone levels return to normal. As adrenaline and cortisol levels drop, your heart rate and blood pressure return to baseline levels, and other systems resume their regular activities.
But when stressors are always present and you constantly feel under attack, that fight-or-flight reaction stays turned on.
The long-term activation of the stress-response system — and the subsequent overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones — can disrupt almost all your body’s processes. This puts you at increased risk of numerous health problems, including:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Digestive problems
- Headaches
- Heart disease
- Sleep problems
- Weight gain
- Memory and concentration impairment
Also, I read somewhere that chronic stress can cause a person to not handle stress well…so the problems just gets compounded.
EJ, JJ, and I went through years of struggling with a variety of difficulties. We did ok until after JJ finished his cancer treatments. The cancer battle used up all our strength and so exhausted us that we couldn’t be strong anymore. It’s not that we were weak or lacked faith, but that we had to be strong for too long. Now we are all struggling. We got away from a lot of the stressors in our lives when we moved to our new home and we are happier than we have ever been. However, we are still triggered by stressful situations. And it’s as if now that we are away from all the major stressors, we are processing everything, which can get overwhelming. Because a major part of the stress in our lives was caused by abusive/toxic people, we determined that we would not allow any toxic people to remain in our lives. EJ and I were both taught to “trust people until they give us a reason not to” and to “be nice” and “never offend.” But we have been learning that it is essential to set healthy boundaries, and that we don’t have to accept abuse (which includes insults, belittling, disrespecting our boundaries, etc.) and that it’s good to be selective about who is–or isn’t–in our lives. The abuse and medical experts that we have talked to have all said that we are doing well to have no contact with toxic people.
Anyway, so often people label any emotion other than JOY! as a sin. I hate it when people say “Just trust God” or “Don’t worry” or “just pray.” Like, duh. I wish it was as easy as your words. And “anxiety is a sin” is completely unhelpful. Anyway, I don’t think we are always supposed to feel JOY! When my son was scared, I never commanded him to STOP BEING SCARED. Instead, I comforted him. If I would do that, I would think God would also–and it seems to me that the verses that say “Do not be afraid” are comforting words rather than commanding ones. I mean, God praised messy, emotional, depressed Job and condemned his friends who had all the “right” answers. Anyway, just this morning an article appeared on my FB page entitled, “What is Biblical bitterness? Most of the time, it’s agony and grief.” The article starts out by saying:
Far and away the most common use for the Biblical words translated “bitterness” is related to agony and grief. Depending on the context, it can mean “causing agony and grief” or “experiencing/expressing agony and grief.”
The whole article is worth reading, but I want to draw your attention to these paragraphs:
How did God make us?
He made us so that when a tragic or traumatizing thing happens, we feel it. If for some reason people can’t feel it or refuse to feel it, they can become physically ill. They can become divided in soul. The refusal to feel the grief can cause even the “good” feelings such as joy and contentment to be shut down. And tragically, the ability to feel empathy for another person can be lost.
In recent times a large segment of the Christian church has adopted the Stoic attitude that our feelings aren’t important, that we should squelch our feelings, that feelings should simply be subjected to reason. But no matter what we may think about how “Christian” it is to refuse to express any emotion that others deem negative, the fact of the matter is that the effects of bitter experiences will still come out from within us in one way or another, because that’s the way God made us.
I also found a couple other articles about the value of lamenting:
The Value of Lament
The Lost Art of Lament
One of my favorite passages of Scripture when I am suffering is Psalms 107:23-31 because it describes people who are beyond their strength and courage and skill. Yet, it says that these people are the ones who saw the works and wonders of Adonai. I especially like to read these verses after seeing the video I shared above because it helps me experience the storm-wind and towering waves.
Those who go down to the sea in ships,
plying their trade on the great ocean,
saw the works of Adonai,
his wonders in the deep.
For at his word the storm-wind arose,
lifting up towering waves.
The sailors were raised up to the sky,
then plunged into the depths.
At the danger, their courage failed them,
they reeled and staggered like drunk men,
and all their skill was swallowed up.
In their trouble they cried to Adonai,
and he rescued them from their distress.
He silenced the storm and stilled its waves,
and they rejoiced as the sea grew calm.
Then he brought them safely
to their desired port.
Let them give thanks to Adonai for his grace,
for his wonders bestowed on humanity!
Anxiety can become debilitating but we are trying various ways to fight it. We live in a beautiful area which refreshes our spirits. We focus on quiet pleasures and delights. I try to get my mind off anxiety. We absolutely refuse to allow toxic people to remain in our lives. I have begun taking supplements that help with stress (Again. I tend to forget to take them when I’m doing better.) I’ve begun listening to quiet music. Of course, I talk to God and read the Bible, focusing on passages that talk about God’s provision and protection and love. I reach out to abuse and anxiety sites for help in dealing with it. I’ve also been keeping away from the news as much as I can and I watch funny videos of cute animals to make me laugh.
Still…it’s very difficult in the midst of the storm and sometimes I feel like this:
New Ground
Yesterday I put up the fence posts for the chickens’ enlarged enclosure. Today I put up the fencing. I had never put up a fence before but, duh, I can hammer large staples into the wooden posts and twist wires to hold the fence to the metal t-posts. We were going to put up all wooden posts but we didn’t have enough so we just used the wooden posts for the corners and the rest are t-posts. I actually thought the t-posts were easier because I can twist wire better than I can hammer. I ran out of the taller fencing so I used the shorter fencing from the old dog pen. EJ said we can always put another layer above the fence to make it taller.
It was really hot and humid today. It was so hot that the chickens were panting. Poor things. I worked 4-5 hours–with a few short breaks in the air conditioned house–until the job was finished. I wanted the chickens to be able to enjoy their new pen. They will get more of a breeze and will be able to move where there is shade.
When I finished putting up the fence, I cut open the fence dividing their old pen and the new area. Chickens are funny. They are actually very curious and they watch me and talk to me whenever I work nearby. When I cut away the dividing fence, the Roosters walked through first and then many of the hens came. I thought they’d immediately run to explore the new area, but it took them quite a while to move past the first few steps. They saw the tall grass that I hadn’t mowed since we decided to enlarge their pen–so they would have lots to eat–and they immediately “cooed” with delight and started eating. Eventually they moved into the rest of the enclosure. We can see part of the pen from our bedroom window. I stood watching them for awhile. The chickens look so happy eating the grass and scratching for insects.
I felt sort of sorry for the ducks in their smaller pen, although they have their pool and a sprinkler to help them keep cool. I’m seriously thinking of letting them free-range. Maybe with the chickens in their larger pen, the ducks will venture further into the back yard to be near them and will be able to enjoy the grass and insects.
When EJ got home from work, he said I did a really good job on the fence. I never really feel tired while I’m working, but when I stop fatigue and sore muscles hit. I AM TIRED. But it’s a good sort of tired. I am proud of my accomplishment in putting up the fence all by m’self.
We now have FIVE eggs. It’s so cool. It’s like an everyday opportunity to go treasure hunting. Today I looked at the egg that a hen laid with new eyes as I carried it in the house. I thought what an absolute miracle and wonder an egg is.
After EJ ate supper, we threw the Suburban’s flat tire into the HHR to get repaired. Only we got to the place too late. EJ’s new work hours make it difficult to get to businesses. He is going to try to drop off the tire right after work.
I was doing a few chores early this evening when I glanced out the window and saw the turkey family. They came right up to the house! The little ones are so adorable. I tried to get a photo of them, but I couldn’t get close to the windows without spooking the adults so I gave up.
Fencing
Yesterday afternoon, after EJ got home and ate supper, we went out to work on the chicken/duck pen. We divided the outside pen with a section of cattle fence , which had once been part of Danny’s pen at our old house, and then we fastened put smaller flimsier fencing along the bottom so the birds couldn’t get through the gaps in the cattle fence. Once that was up, I herded ten chickens into their side of the pen. Have you ever tried to herd chickens? Not easy. I won’t try to describe it. I will let you imagine me chasing the chickens all up and down the pen trying to herd them through a small gap to the other side.
We needed to fashion the fencing so the ducks and chickens were divided both inside and outside the garage. We couldn’t just put a long fence in because the garage door had to be able to close and I needed to be able to get from one side to the other. EJ made a gate inside the garage–using the gate from the dog pen that the previous owner had set up–that we can swing shut to keep the ducks in their side and the chickens on theirs and swing out of the way in the morning. However, we still needed to make a section that we could somehow connect when the garage door is open and disconnect so the garage door can close.
While EJ worked on the swinging gate inside the garage gate, I herded the ducks, who had been free all day, inside their section of the outside pen. I got the ducks into their outside pen but then two chickens escaped past the flimsy roll of fencing I had used to block the small opening. I chased the chickens up and down the duck side and finally yelled for Eric to swing the gate open for the chickens to get through and then closed so they couldn’t get back out. Later, we got all of them on their designated side of the garage and closed the garage door.
We went into the house, but after I fed Danny and cleaned the kitty litter, I went out to check on everyone. Suddenly, a rooster flew to the top of the coop and then jumped down to the duck pen. Are you SERIOUS?!!!! The ducks were upset and the rooster was upset, but I finally got him back on his side. Then I took the roll of flimsy fencing and unwound it and temporarily ran it on top of the coop so hopefully everyone would stay on their own side.
This morning I got up at 6 a.m. with EJ. As soon as it was light enough outside, I opened the garage door so the ducks and chickens could go outside, each on their own side. Then I began to work on the fence system while being careful to keep the open space blocked so no bird could escape their area. I connected a section of cattle panel to the one we had set up last night, extending it up to the garage door. Then I hooked up another section to reach to the coop inside the garage, but which I can swing out of the way when the garage door is closed. When the garage door is closed, EJ’s swinging gate will be closed to keep everyone where they belong.
When I got the cattle panel gates done, I fastened the smaller flimsy fencing along the bottom so the birds can’t get through the gaps. Then I fastened the remaining flimsy fencing along the top of the coop so no chicken can get over it. I also fastened hooks so the gates can be fastened open or closed, as needed.
This is a video showing what I did:
It was really hot today so I wanted to give the chickens a frozen treat to help them cool off. The ducks have their swimming pool–and later I turned on the sprinkler for them. I didn’t want the ducks to feel left out of the treats, but I don’t think they are thrilled with the frozen treats so I pulled some clover and threw it over the fence to them. The next thing I knew, there was a chicken in their pen. Grrrr. I don’t know how it got there, but after I caught the chicken and put him in his designated area, I took the leftover short section of cattle panel and wired it into the dividing fence so that it raised the height of the fence. I have a feeling that keeping the chickens and ducks separate is going to be an ongoing endeaver and I can image reaching the point of letting them all out to free-range. At least that way the hens would have more space to keep away from Cuddles.
This afternoon I drove metal fence posts into the ground using our manual post driver we had bought at TSC a couple months ago. For those of you who–like me–didn’t know what a post driver was, I will tell you that it’s a quite heavy tube with handles. A person puts it over the metal post and then grasps the two handles, lifts it, and bangs down on the post, over and over again until the post is driven into the ground. Of course there are more fancy-spansy ones but we just have a manual one that uses muscle power. It works like in this video–although ours is a round tube, not squarish:
I had to take a lot of breaks because it’s been really hot and humid outside. I got all the fence posts in and I hope to begin putting up the wire fencing soon. Maybe tomorrow.
It makes me feel like a pioneer sort of wife to be fixin’ the fence. EJ felt bad that I was working on the fence, but it’s something that I can do. It doesn’t have to be perfect, after all. It just needs to contain the chickens and I can certainly put in posts and fasten fencing to them. If I can do what I can do then it frees EJ to do projects that I can’t do. For example, tonight he took the flat tire off the Suburban and put the spare on. Tomorrow we will go get the tire fixed.
Duck Drama
You know, many times a person develops this beautiful sentimental image in his (or her) mind about how things are going to go.
Like raising chickens and ducks, for example.
You just think it’s going to be this beautiful thing. A rooster waking you up in the early morning with his beautiful crowing. Going on a treasure hunt every day gathering chicken and duck eggs. Looking out at your chickens and ducks free-roaming over your property eating grass and bugs. Everything peaceful and soothing and beautiful.
Then reality shatters our beautiful imaginings.
We discovered that the adorable, beguiling ducking we named “Cuddles” has become a perverted sex maniac who rapes chickens…potentially to death.
EJ had read that in addition to mating with the female duck(s), a male duck will also go after the hens and can end up hurting or killing them. “We have to watch for this,” EJ warned. “Ok,” I agreed solemnly. But when it first began to happen, I was usually giving the chickens some clover I had picked, and the greedy ducks crowded in and there was a conflict. I thought it was just squabbles and boundary setting incidents. Then yesterday evening it escalated. Cuddles jumped on a little hen and the Rooster rushed to defend her. He leaped on the duck who turned and attacked him. It happened several times.
Dag-nabbit! My peaceful soothing coop was becoming a dog-gone soap opera.
This was unacceptable. We thought about leaving the ducks in the outside pen all night, but we couldn’t bear to make them vulnerable to predator attacks. But something had to be done. I figured they’d all probably be safe in the garage because they’d be sleeping but I hardly slept all night trying to figure out how to protect the ducks and chickens from both predators and each other.
Last night I read that if a duck goes for the hens, they have to be separated or the duck must go. I got up just before EJ left for work. I went outside and opened the garage door to release the ducks and chickens into their outside pens. And, dang it, Cuddles immediately chased after the hens!!! The chickens were all upset. I used the rubber-footed cane I call my “rooster whacker” (which I use to herd my flock or to gently “poke” any rooster who tries to get sassy with me) to steer Cuddles away from them and I got him shut up by himself in the coop while Peeper stood forlornly outside. Then I turned the coop so it divided the garage pen in two, with the chickens getting the bigger half because there are more of them. I made it so the chickens had access to the coop but not the ducks. Then I dragged in the large dog house that was in the outside pen and added it as a wall divider, turning it so the ducks could access it at night as their coop. In this way, I can keep the ducks and chickens both shut up safely in the garage at night, and divided from each other.
But I had to still figure out how to divide the ducks and chickens during the day. We are planning to enlarge the pen, so I thought that I could divide the outside pen, making it so that the ducks go one way and the chickens the other. I drove in metal posts. I have fencing, but I don’t know where EJ keeps his wire cutters so I had to postpone setting it up.
We had originally intended to let our chickens and ducks free-range but then we thought we couldn’t bear it if they got killed by the many predators in our area. A neighbor told us that the previous owner of our house had guinea hens, but they refused to return to their coop at night and the coyotes picked them off one by one. And one of JJ’s co-workers told him that her flock of chickens were all killed by raccoons. So we changed our minds about free-ranging. However, since I have to separate the ducks and chickens, I figured this day was a good one for the ducks to begin their free-range adventure.
I let Cuddles out of his coop-prison. He immediately went after the hens. I used my rooster whacker to guide him and Peeper out into the main part of the garage, intending to guide them to freedom outside. Another image shattered: You’d think that the ducks would be overjoyed to get out into the beautiful world where they are free to wander and eat grass and bugs to their heart’s content. Nope. Cuddles and Peeper wanted back in the pen. I nudged them with the Rooster Whacker and they went and hid under a table. I tried to guide them out, but they refused. Finally, I grabbed one duck (I can’t remember which one) and carried it outside, setting it on the grass next to the pool that I had carried out and filled with water. Then I went into the garage, grabbed the second duck and carried it out and put it next to its mate. They were not happy.
They ended up waddling over to the outside pen and huddling there and forlornly looking in the pen. I sighed, emptied their pool, carried it over near them, and refilled it. A couple of times they went swimming in their pool, and then they returned to their spot outside the pen. “It’s your own fault,” I told Cuddles. “We had a good thing going and you ruined it with your sexual proclivities. You just had to be a Don Juan!” Outwardly I was very unsympathetic but inwardly I felt sorry for them. Unlike humans, Cuddles is not behaving with evil intent. He is only behaving as a duck behaves. Still, we can’t have him harming the chickens.
I haven’t decided whether to free-range the ducks permanently or not. If I can get the outside pen divided so I can keep them separated, I may pen them back up. Although, given time, they will probably adjust to free-ranging and enjoy it.
To add to the stress of the morning, I didn’t shut the door of the house well enough and Luke and Little Bear got outside. Luke was easy to catch, but I had to bribe Little Bear with canned cat food that I put next to the Suburban that he was hiding under. When he went to eat it, I grabbed him. I was concerned that Danny would chase the ducks when he went outside, but I told him to leave them alone, and he did. He is such a good dog.
Anyway, so much for peaceful, beautiful, sentimental images of how things will be. I think I’m so not cut out for being a farmer/homesteader type of person. I have too much empathy. Sigh.
I Love To Go A Gardening 