I didn't actually realized I hadn't logged into my email in so long until I got a notice saying my account had been inactive for two years and would be deleted if I didn't log in. When I did, I found concerned emails. I'd been meaning to post to say why I was no longer blogging, but always had so much else occupying me. I very much appreciate the concern, truly. So first things first, I'm not dead and my cancer hasn't yet come back. In fact, I had a CT Monday to follow up on a spot on my lung from a couple years ago, and no change, just pneumonia. An enormous relief to find that out, and I was superstitiously delaying this last post until I got the results. I thought I'd leave an update and this time announce my departure like I'm an airport. So...
We finally got back to a little traveling post-Covid, taking two small ship cruises. One was a fjord cruise in Norway, from Kirkenes above the arctic circle down to Bergen. The scenery was spectacular and we saw reindeer roaming the streets.
The other was a sailing ship cruise to Barbados and the Grenadines. Also beautiful and very relaxing.
Mostly with time that I'm not working I've been focused on various projects related to the 33 acres we call home now. I make sourdough bread every week, for instance.
And I've learned to can, so I've been putting up batches of broth, marinara, pie filling, jams and so on.
We've acquired two hounds from the local shelter - a Treeing Walker Coonhound and a beagle/Aussie mix. We have finally thankfully passed the chewing stage so now they are noisy but less destructive.
We're up to three stray cats who have made their way to us, who live in little houses on the porch which are heated in the winter. On the side, unintentionally, we also keep raccoons and possums fed.
And then there are the chickens. I've wanted them for years, but had no idea how much I'd love them. I brooded the little fluffballs in the garage for the first many weeks.
We built what a friend calls our bougie coop, and I have 11 hens in there. They come running to visit me when they are out free-ranging, often visiting in the garage, and some will hop into my lap when I sit down.
After a hawk attack, we added this big boy, Knuckles. He is attentive to his flock and seems mostly indifferent to me, but not aggressive. As long as he is keeping an eye out for predators (so far on out land hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and even a visit by a bear), I don't care if he isn't as cuddly as his girls.
And the chooks pay rent by providing me with 7-10 eggs a day.
And then I met a fellow-chicken obsessive in North Carolina and together we are working on a survival chicken project. In the spring I'm planning on starting a separate flock of entirely free-range birds. My younger son ,who is now a finish carpenter, framed both the coop for the original flock and the little shelter I built in the woods for them.
So that's it - I work, I garden, I cook, I can, I take care of many animals, I hang out with friends at our local winery, and I spend time with the son who lives nearby and my wonderful new daughter-in-law. In fact, when I was at their place one day helping with their homestead, my son said, "I hope when I'm your age I can still work as hard as you do." Coming from a man who is hand-digging a pond on his land, and is one of the hardest workers I know, this was an enormous compliment. It's a full life and I'm keenly aware it wasn't guaranteed to me and deeply grateful for every day I get. I just don't have the extra energy, at least at this point in my life, to blog and keep up with friends' blogs. I continue to work from home so I am in front of a computer all damn day and just can't bring myself to commit the hours of computer time it takes. Instead I do the easy thing of occasional posts on Facebook. Any of you on that platform who want to connect, shoot me an email at cms1100@gmail.com (because you know it will probably be another couple of years before I check this email account).
Sending everyone here love and light, and thank you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment