Rural Life

The Drama of Being Lost

August 20, 2006

The Araucana chicks are growing up. They are at the teenage stage: Independent, looking like slightly miniature chickens–not quite there, but getting there. They have their bright intelligent eyes, sleek bodies, and quick agile feet. It is interesting how each batch of chickens turn out differently. There is, of course, the wide variety in feather [...]

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Summer Things

August 9, 2006

Last Friday was the opening day for a local festival. I am the sort of person who normally spends his time huddled in a dark corner whispering to himself and staring at the flickering light of his monitor. As far as social interaction, you could shovel a meal under the door and I’d pretty much [...]

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To Complain, Or Not

June 14, 2006

Early summer is the time when I pass from the state of “getting behind” into the state of “being behind.” It is a time when there are a lot of beautiful things I might take joy in, but instead find myself wallowing in guilt or despair over unaccomplished goals. Nobody knows how to ruin a [...]

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Mow The Field, Mind The Blueberries

June 13, 2006

Sometimes, it’s better not to think about certain things. Sometimes it’s better to pretend you didn’t see, to not think about it. Sometimes one might wonder how their can be such moral quandaries about mowing a field. We have a back field of about five acres that runs up the hill to the edge of [...]

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Pardon Me While I Step On Your Head

June 3, 2006

‘Tis the season for chicks. That means early morning runs down to the post office to pick up a box of peeping fuzz-balls that the mail ladies are eager to unload. This year I was actually prepared. When you place an order for chicks the company tells you the week they will arrive so it’s [...]

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A Resolution to Felonious Activity

May 27, 2006

Faithful readers will recall a recent post about a wild animal raiding the chicken yard. In that previous post I said, If it is a fox I think the layout of the chicken yard leaves me with the only choice of hoping there is such a ruckus the next time he comes that I catch [...]

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A Call From The Past

May 21, 2006

Back in my childhood my family spent a few years living in a small town trailer park. Every week Mom, with little kids in tow, would troop down to the local library. It was a small town with a small library which was really a converted house. Small as it was to an adult, to [...]

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Leafing Out

May 3, 2006

We are on the cusp. We balance for this one moment–these few short days–at the place of middle spring. The grass has greened, but the trees have not yet burst into full leaf. It is fascinating to look at the hillside and see how different varieties progress. In some places bare wooden branches stick up, [...]

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Murder and Mayhem

May 2, 2006

The prowler has struck again. Very, very interesting. It’s been almost exactly a year since the last attack . . . A few mornings ago Titi asked me if all the ducks were still alive. “They were making a terrible racket last night,” she said. “It sounded like something was after them.” At the time [...]

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Three Observations

April 29, 2006

Unrelated observations: 1. Why do all modern hand pumps have plastic nozzle heads? In the good old days the nozzle was metal and fit easily on the valve stem. The modern plastic versions go on the tire valve steam with difficulty, and they are more prone to malfunction, or not working at all. The genius [...]

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