Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 22 January 2023

HAPPY NEW WEEK!

I hope everyone has a joyful, healthy week.

I decided to walk to my small town yesterday to get some food at the general store. I heard a noise and looked back to see my neighbors' chickens lined up single-file walking behind me. She lets them run loose in the afternoon, and they had decided to follow me! I had to walk them back to their coup. The big red hen pecked at my shoe and looked at me like, "Come on, woman, let's go!" I guess they thought it was an adventure and I'm the new hen leader. LOL

Take care, all.

  • Diane: Did the chickens cross the road? If so, we now know why - they were heading to the store with you. Thank you for starting us off. How is your weather?

    Rusty: Amazing that you managed that trip without any train schedule problems.

    Hallo to everyone one else. I spent the morning with my daughter and her dog; we ended up sitting on a bench at the beach people-watching and enjoying the waves. This afternoon I took the remaining tangerines off the tree and broke down cardboard boxes (from multiple online deliveries) for the recycling pickup next Wednesday. I unearthed a drawer that belongs to the cart on which my OH keeps his (still-not-working) printer; he'd packed it up when we left Los Angeles almost 20 years ago and hadn't missed it. Tomorrow I'm sorting through various bags full of bubble-wrap, packing foam and straw, etc. It's all happening. :-)
  • DIANE – Chicken tour leader! Did you have one of those flags on a pole? And did your give a travel commentary? Obviously you have a great rapport with fauna, both wild & tame.

    We visited Dau#1 yesterday for a proper tour of their new house and then the garden. Lots of roses. She has set up raised veggie beds, planted peach tree, pear tree and lots of herbs. All I could think of was pruning, weeding. Rather her than me! They sound very happy with their new abode and are almost completely organized. She begins teaching next week and will spend this week prep-ing her classroom and gathering her lesson plans.

    Weather has been kind and will not heat up until Friday. I have nearly won the battle with weeds in my veggie & bulb patches.

  • AQ: I must've missed all the news about Dau #1s new house. The garden sounds lovely; at least she has a partner to help with all that work. Congrats on winning the weed war (for now).
  • ANNETTE - Dau, s-i-l & g-son moved last July. We did go to their housewarming soon after but there was a crowd of rellies cluttering the house so we left early concerned about covid.
  • Good Morning. A terrific sunrise just now, with pinkness reflected on the remaining snow on the frosty fields. Still freezing temps here, but rising to 4 degrees today so I suppose we should be grateful!

  • We went to our Youngests yesterday, with about 8 pieces of luggage: many Christmas presents for them all, including those from Eldest, plus two big bags of redundant girls clothes for little Rosie from Amber, who is of course much older. We were greeted with joy & had fun watching the mad mass opening and chaotic paper fest.

    Good journeys there & back, although we encountered scary fog both ways. People do strange things: saw several vehicles without lights in the fading part of the day when the patchy fog was making visibility difficult.

  • Lindy - I have witnessed the same sunrise. I thought about taking a photo out of my front window but you would have got more houses than sunrise!!!!
    Diane - thanks for starting us off, I loved the tale of the chickens following you to the store!!!!
    Annette - that sounds like a lovely afternoon with your daughter by the ocean.
    AQ - I hope your daughter succeeds with her garden plans. Sounds like you had a good visit. Oh yes. A new school year in OZ isn’t it?
    I have another gentle pottering day planned. Still got lying snow here.
  • DIANE love the story of the chickens playing follow my leader.
  • Sorry, not had time for comments. Many thanks to Diane for starting us off again. You are so reliable. I had a laugh at the vision of your being followed by the chickens!! I wonder what they were thinking!

    AQ - You've done well in your ongoing battle with the weeds. They must be tough there, able to stand the heat & droughts. Glad you managed a visit to your daughter.

    Rusty, your outing sounded wonderful. Its so nice to keep in touch with long standing friends, and I'm glad the trains were kind to you so that all went well.

    Annette, I see you're still in a clearing out mood: I sent an entire dinner service to the charity shop the other day, as we haven't used it in ages and I've been getting out some large white plates for visitors instead. Now I need to get some side plates and pudding dishes, though, in case we need matching. At least with the new fashion for all white china it can be bought anywhere.

    The old set had matching cups & saucers, very pretty, but never used for twenty years. Ironically, now, cups, saucers and pretty cake plates are now back in fashion but I wasn't going to offer them to our children as I doubt they would have had a need for them. Edit: with the "new fashion" for serving fancy cakes, I mean. When I think of the several pretty cake stands I gave away a couple of years ago!

  • CHICKEN WORLD

    We live in our own, Chicken World:
    We have a dance where we all twirled
    We laugh and cluck
    And run amok
    We act so silly, but don't stop
    To think about the way to pop
    About in normal fashion, like the birds -
    We manage our world without words.

    Every chicken follows another -
    Every sister, every mother.
    On the path, we find a leader
    Who has to be the one who appeals
    To all of us, and so with squeals
    And clucks, we fall in line
    Behind the biggest chicken at the time.

    She may go off on long wild jaunts
    But we continue to follow,
    Sisters, aunts, even grandma's too
    It's just the thing which we must do.
    So follow my leader keeps us happy
    A whole lot of chickens, Happy Clappy!!