chasing wild hares

in the still grey light
i wake
nestled in the soft coat
of the beast who sleeps
curled against the curved sliver of the moon
and dreams of
chasing the wild hares of jupiter
we will share the dream of the day
hunting together
making game of wonderment

the carpenter's fable

there once was a carpenter who lived in the mountains. he worked hard every day to care for his family. at night his children would ask him for a bedtime story. tired, from his long day of work, he would tell them the shortest story he could think of...


''there once was a man. he lived and he died. the end.”


the children were disappointed at such a short story that seemed to have all the excitement left out of it. though they didn't realize it, their father was passing along a valuable lesson in that story. the story of the man who lived and died is everyone's story. we all live and we will all die, it is up to each of us to make the part in the middle something special.


the carpenter is still swinging his hammer. every day the work he does brings something special into the world, into my world, and to our life together. 

live in love

i listen to the wind whisper
urging me to give myself to something
to give myself away
feel the sun's warmth speak silently
of letting go my name, my struggles, my separateness
and so i humble myself
daily
bowing
brown-backed
beneath its shining grace
and looking upon the earth
hear it ask of me
and so i make an offering
of seeds and water
sweat and stewardship
and from the earth
a green and vibrant garden grows
and the animals are drawn to this new oasis
asking for food and water and shelter
and i offer them this
their share of the bounty
and one day
a man comes into the garden
and some part of him
asks that i give away all that remains of who i think i am
to love
to be loved
and to let love's union
be
a letting go
and so i go on each day
bowing
brown-backed
beneath the sun's shining grace
making offerings
and giving myself away
that i may live in love

popcorn

grew a few little ears of popcorn this summer...

it made a nice afternoon treat.

your poetry

in morning calm
your slumbering breath
i read your poetry

autumnal equinox

today is the first day of autumn.  there's a definite chill in the air this morning and the ripening gardens are showing signs of summer's end.

a little rain

we were greeted by a little rain this morning. 

green run gate

i'm still developing the duck area little by little.  this morning i built a gate for the green run.  i got the gate put together pretty square but the opening where it will hang is flanked by a couple of pretty twisty 4x4 posts so i'll probably have to do a little more work to get the fit right before i can hang it. 

making lap joints

ran out of the heavy 1'' wire i used on the rest of the run and the other gates so this one got 1/2'' hardware cloth

the gate will go here once i get it fitted and round up some hinges

 

on the move

a couple poems

did a little writing this morning and ended up with a couple poems...


morning's pace

morning's pace
set by the rising sun
a pale disk
struggling
slowly upward
through an almost endless tangle of trees
hot coffee
raspberries infused with chill morning air
bare skin
fur
blankets
shared warmth
spread in lingering drowse
outside
in the green and gold
birds wake the garden
sipping nectar from red-orange blossoms
setting leaves trembling in the wake of invisible wings
plucking seeds from the centers of golden wreaths
carrying treasures
one by one
to a nearby perch to tease meats from husks
creeping quietly in shadows
amongst stems and stalks
beneath clinging vines



sunlight's song (the monarch)
 
the glory and grace of sunlight's song
sung
through stained-glass wings

peaches

there is just nothing like a tree-ripened peach...

'indian free' peach

this variety is not particularly attractive on the outside but the flesh is quite beautiful...and tasty!

staal's birthday breakfast---they pair very nicely with bacon and coffee

very nice as a baked dessert too---the cobbler i made for staal's birthday which included some of our blackberries and figs

we've got a few more on the tree.  what a lovely way to say farewell to summer.

happy birthday, staal

i know you don't want a big fuss or lots of gifts, but i still want this to be a special day for you.  i want every day to be a special day for you.  i want you to know that i appreciate everything you do for me and all the work you do to make this a nice home for us to share.  you give to me daily with your work and loving companionship.  i try to give to you everyday too.  my gifts aren't anything extravagant, a handful of freshly picked raspberries or cherry tomatoes, a meal made from the bounty of the gardens, a willingness to work beside you, a listening ear, a devoted heart.  they're humble gifts but i hope you know they're offered in the unwavering love i have for you.  
may this day, and all the days to come, bring you some joy and happiness.  thank you for sharing in this life with me.  

happy birthday, staal.  i love you.  madly. 

for you, love, blurrily but sincerely

egg sales

egg sales got off to kind of a slow start at first but after a couple of weeks we had a pretty steady stream of people stopping in to buy from us.  really neat to have such a positive experience with it. i've gotten a couple of emails recently from people wanting eggs and i've been sorry to have to turn them away.  the ducks are busy molting right now so all of their energy is going into feather production and egg laying has pretty much stopped for the time being.  i do find an egg or two in the shed every couple of days but those are all going to household use.  i'm not sure when laying will pick up again but when it does i'm sure we'll have more eggs than we can eat and we'll be back to selling the extras.  
my thanks to everyone who has bought eggs from us.  i hope you'll keep an eye out for our sign and stop by when sales start again.

finding lots of feathers these days but not so many eggs

duck, duck, drake

the ducklings' voices have finally changed enough for me to tell what sex they are.  ducks (females) and drakes (males) have very different voices and varieties of vocalizations.  drakes do not have much variety in their vocalizations, they're pretty monotone and really only have two basic vocalizations, a croaky (sometimes mumbly) sort of "wack-wack, wack-wack" that they use as a sort of running dialog, and a more drawn out "waaaaack, waaaaack, waaaack" that they use when they are alerting to something.  drakes are also less vocal in general than are ducks.  ducks have a very wide range of vocalizations, many different kinds of quacks, grunts, squeals, and clucks.  and unlike drakes, ducks are almost never quiet.


duck...

our chocolate duckling has become a very vociferous duck...takes after her mama, brownie, who is probably our most vocal of the older ducks

duck...

blondie is a bit quiet and shy but definitely a duck...and a very pretty duck

drake...

he took his time growing but oscar has become quite a handsome young drake

they've all been running with the rest of the flock for a few weeks now but they still get chased a little by the older ducks and drakes so they tend to stick together.  with a little more time i'm sure they'll find their places in the flock.