I finally made it home for awhile. I got to see what Sharon and the boys had been up to while I was on the road in North Carolina, quite an amazing site!
I counted chickens, and then I recounted chickens,...and then recounted, as a matter of fact I am not even sure how many times I tried to count them but there are a ton! We have the standard big girl number, that is 12. Easy to remember because we had 9 when we moved from Portland, (Merdle, Buns, Bianca, She-no, Judy, Cocoa, Tutti-Frutti, Jenny Penny, and Mohawk) then added a rooster and 2 hens(Boss, Phyliis Diller, and Tumbleweed). They have the luxury area. The coop has much to be desired, but they have an old, big, dog run that is fenced in, with lots of trees and shade and a crick that runs through it.
Then there is the teenage pen, (Snowy, Willard, Rusty, Uncle Jesse, Sparkle, Black Yeti, Beardo, Little Beard, and other un-named Layers) a little less luxurious with no trees and no creek, but then they have a really nice extra large coop. It is a little bigger run and yard area that runs along one of our sheds. We made it to hold all of the laying girls, eventually.
Finally, the Quail Library. This is also the holding area for the show birds, which aren't named yet, but i imagine names like fluffy and princess and maybe even Hunny Boo Boo will be in there. They are show girls after all! Maybe we will have a naming contest on here in a future blog! That will be fun!
As for me, back at it. Gone for a short run again soon. But for my relaxation before; I chopped a weeks worth of wood, fixed stuff, planted stuff, hammered stuff, screwed stuff, cleaned cages, petted the girls, put fences up, sat by the creek, drank a few Beers, drank a few whiskeys, had a bunch of laughs, campfire, weenies and smores, taught my oldest how to ride his bike and now he is "Rippin It", and a whole bunch of other stuff that one can only cram into a week on a farm.
As for the work part on the farm, I was told by a friend there is no relaxing at the farm in the summer... I told her that laying in the field in the middle of a weeding session to look at the clouds is good relaxation. It didn't take long to get back to the Thoureau-esque life. I miss every second of it when I am gone. My life is blessed. I have a beautiful wife and children, and I get to pursue happiness every day. I have a dream job for many, but then there is the being gone thing...But how can we deny our experiences? I know when I get to see my life flash before my eyes its going to be exciting! I will see the mammoth tooth with Bering sea waves washing against it, Dog teams gliding by with frozen breath billowing into the cold arctic air, Polar bear eyes turning to look into mine, mountains in sunrise from the tops of coastal timberlands, I will re-experience the feeling of flight, and nearly crashing, the experience of the sea, and nearly drowning, I will see young athletes live their dreams...
I will laugh. I will laugh and laugh and laugh.
There will be so many friends and faces and funny things....It's gonna be funny. I will pull both of my sons from their mother. I will let go of their bikes and watch them ride away. I will look into her eyes again and say I do. A frog will look at me in the llama pen and we will grin at each other, I will feel the cold pacific as I slide across her sand, 100's of dragonflies will look into my soul again as they land on me in the middle of Japanese rice fields. I will smell the amsterdam coffee shops, witness the alps go by on a train, swim in the Mediterranean.....so many things...Life is indeed Beautiful.
In the meantime, I will love this life and my friends and family. I will try and make the world a better place and I will keep laughing, and keep experiencing because whether here or there, there you are...Right Mr. Pooh?
Love and Hope from the Rowland Family Farm to you!
