Chicks and Mud

Well folks, I sat down tonight not knowing what I'd write.  I figured something would inspire me and as I sat quietly waiting the faint sound of rain falling caught my attention.  I opened the window in front of me so I could hear better.  The rain sounds clean to me and the gentle breeze caresses my face and cools my lungs as I breathe in.  This place keeps you fully awake and aware.  Nothing about it is ordinary.

The plants surely do appreciate the rain.  All the dust that has collected on their leaves during the dry season is washed away and a celebration of green begins.  I know their roots are happy also, not only for the moisture but for the deep down cooling that the rain and the cloudy days bring.

I have a lot of new plants to get into the ground around now and the wet dirt offers up a challenge.  My post hole diggers sink into the wet soil easily and comes out just as easily, but it's a problem getting the sticky mud to release.  It gets tiring quickly.  Sometimes I tap the points of the post hole digger on a rock but it is quickly buried in mud too, and another rock is needed.  Slows me down a bit but it feels good when the plant is finally in its new home.

Mud is also a lubricant or in the case of my sandals a lubricant and a glue.  Yesterday as I was walking up the hill  to the house my sandals suddenly spun around on my feet and I found myself walking on the inside of their tops.  They were more mud than sandals and I ended up going barefooted which felt very good. One of tomorrows challenges will be to remove the 10 pounds of mud from my sandals.  The best choice of footware during the rainy season are shoes that lace up, preferably hightops.  They stay on better and you don't have to clean out the inside of them.

My niece Anne just had a baby boy on the 6th of July.  We also had a new baby boy on the 6th and, just by coincidence they are both named Charles Anthony.  Only their last names are different.  My great nephews last name is Jones.  Our new chicks last name is Chicken.  Charles Anthony Chicken - Charlie.  We also have chicks named Emily, Jack and Andrew, also named for my great niece and nephews.  All of the chicks are tiny little Costa Rican's.  They are very tiny when born and end up being about 8 inches tall when fully grown.  Eternally cute, like all our nieces and nephews.    I just added a nursery in the Costa Rican pen just to give the chicks a safe place to grow until they're big enough to fly up to a perch at night.  Little Charlie has two mothers to take care of him.  Sometimes another hen will move into the nest while the mom is sitting on the eggs and when the babies hatch they're co-madres.  Makes me want to name the mothers Anne and Jenny after my nieces.

Well, time to hit the hay.  See you tomorrow and thanks for all the nice comments and birthday wishes.  We've got lots of new chickens on the way and lots more without names if you have any suggestions let us know.  We'll post pictures of all the new chicks and tell you the stories of their lives as they grow  Bye for now.  Wally