Category: Experience

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Slice of Life Challenge – March 29 – Happy Anniversary, Baby! Cheers to 15 Years!

Fifteen years ago today, I married my best friend. I still enjoy thinking back on our wedding day…..looking at our wedding album photos. Here are eleven of my favorite memories from that day that I’ll be sharing with Briar today:

  1. Those were the days I didn’t even own a hairbrush. I dried my hair on the way to the wedding in the wind by holding my head out the window of the car. Right before I went down the aisle, the wedding director told me I needed lipstick. So I put it on for everyone else, but not for me.

2. Both of our mothers dressed in blue and were alive and excited to see us happy, in love, and getting married. They are no longer with us, and we miss them.

3. We asked three ministers to tie the knot extra tight – your childhood pastor, our good friend minister, and my preacher dad. In one of my favorite wedding pictures, The Lord’s Prayer is playing and Dad is standing over us with a hand on each of us, praying for us.

4. The florist didn’t put the wires in the tulips (my favorite flowers), and shortly after the wedding began, they started drooping….and drooped….and drooped……

5. We turned our wedding around. We didn’t want our backs to our guests; we wanted them to feel like they were a part of the ceremony.

6. I’d wanted a simple pair of gold sandals to match the gold in my dress, not flats and not high heels, but I couldn’t find any that I liked. So I found a pair of white sandals I liked, taped the soles and footbeds, and spray painted my wedding shoes gold.

7. I wanted a fresher, more updated version of Canon in D, so I chose Lullaby by Bond as the processional for the entire wedding party including me, because it makes me feel good inside time I hear it. It just rolled on and we all did our best to walk slowly. I remember that everyone’s face lit up with surprised expressions during our recessional, because at the very last minute as I was heading down the aisle at the start of the wedding, I had whispered up to your brother in the sound booth, “I want to change the recessional music. Ditch the Trumpet Voluntary and play the Hallelujah Chorus, will ya?” And so he did.

8. I remember just having the BEST time planning our wedding to be exactly what we wanted it to be – a small gathering of friends and family, with a short and personal service followed by a catered dinner reception. And we spent hours together making our own wedding favors that matched the candles on the tables. We cut giftwrap to go in bands around the candles and added our names and wedding date. And we are still burning these, fifteen years later.

9. You smudged my nose with carrot cake icing. That’s my favorite cake – so we had carrot for me and chocolate for you. Every part of that day was so much fun, but ironically the only bite of cake I got was the bite for the picture. We tried to eat the topper a year later, but after a year in the freezer, the frostbite had set in and it wasn’t tasty anymore.

10. We each served our new mothers-in-law a slice of cake to earn some brownie points on the front end. And it paid off!

11. And right before we left on our honeymoon, we called all of our children, nieces, and nephews up to gather around us. I gave each of them a flower from my bouquet, and then we prayed for them. We also prayed for all of the students in our community attending prom that evening, that they would be safe.

I didn’t think it was possible to love my husband any more than I did on our wedding day, but fifteen years later……I sure do!

My processional music
Our SURPRISE recessional music
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Slice of Life Challenge – March 28 – Making Stones Crystal Clear

My daughter in her desert rockhounding playground, where she locates stones.

When one of my daughters moved to Nevada, she began taking a greater interest in natural foods and overall wellness through diet, exercise, prayer, and meditation. She suffers from anxiety, so the healing properties of Himalayan Salt lamps and hikes through the desert to calm the mind and familiarization with the properties of crystals to alleviate stress are all pathways of interest for her. I made a commitment in February to involve others in my blog posts throughout March, and I invited her to share some of her knowledge of crystals. In today’s first part, our dialogue is exchanged through texting.

My daughter has been teaching me about each stone and what it can be used for – here, she holds an amethyst, used to promote serenity and calmness, and even help with headaches that come as a result of anxiety and tension.

I asked my daughter if it was true that crystals and stones really have healing properties.

What’s fascinating, Mom, is that ancient civilizations all used stones and found the same benefits from them, and this was before the days of communication between these civilizations, yet they somehow still found that a crystal or mineral that could be found in both places had the same benefits.

We were texting about her knowledge of crystals as I was suffering from a tension headache that has been debilitating since February 1, and I was willing to try anything – anything – to get my normal head back.

And they were all using them, especially certain civilizations that were known for it – like the ancient Chinese. Jade is very precious to them (as are many but everyone associates the ancient Chinese with jade) and even Cleopatra would grind down Lapis Lazuli for her famous blue eyeliner. There is an impact glass that formed millions of years ago from a meteorite crashing into the Libyan/Egyptian desert sand (I have a piece of this impact glass called Libyan Desert Glass) that was found set in the breastplate worn by King Tut and was found when his tomb was discovered. The history of people using stones in the ancient world is even an interesting topic on its own. There are even mentions of stones in the Bible.

The hour-long text session was taking us through the twists and turns from history to actual uses of stones, and I found myself growing more and more impressed by her vast knowledge of the topic.

I asked her how crystals fit into religion, because several years ago, there was backlash that stones were being used in place of God.

Honestly, this is just my opinion, Mom – nothing researched – but after working with and meditating with crystals, I am pretty convinced that the prophets in the Bible, I believe they had the gift of prophecy from God, but I believe they used crystals to help facilitate this gift. In Exodus, the breastplate of Aaron was a sacred object used by the high priest in order to communicate with God. It had 12 stones set in it, for the 12 tribes of Israel. During some of my meditations using crystals, when I’m in my meditation and visualizing, sometimes I get very unexpected quick flashes of visions. For example, if I’m visualizing things in my head during this meditation and I’m going through a walk in the forest on this journey, I focus on that, but on several meditations, visions of things have come into my head like a flash, just an image, without me ever thinking about them. I can’t explain it but it’s very cool when it happens. I think the prophets used them for sure. I haven’t researched that topic, but I just believe that.

But what about the people who say crystals are the work of the devil? There are folks out there who believe that, so I asked if she’d explored the reasons and the case for Biblical uses of crystals.

Mom, that’s because some people think they are associated with the occult. But why would God put them in such abundance on this earth if they weren’t for us to use? There are things that I don’t like or wouldn’t ever use when I go into a metaphysical shop that sells crystals because of my beliefs. For example, tarot cards. I don’t know much about them, but there are things in there that fall too far on the extreme side for my beliefs. I would never ever want a psychic reading. First off, you never know if you’re being scammed and second, that’s just not something I need.

She continued her line of reasoning.

As long as people don’t practice idolatry when using crystals, they’re fine. But that can be said for literally anything in the physical world: cell phones, televisions, anything. And why would he put them here on earth for us?? Okay, I’ll play devil’s advocate for a second and say the same reason he put Adam and Eve in a garden with forbidden fruit but he said not to eat the fruit, he never said not to use the crystals. That’s coming from humans, not God. He just said never to worship anything/anyone other than him.

I was following her thinking, even as my eyes landed on the prescription bottles in the kitchen window. What was the difference in using chemicals ground with a mortar and pestle, swallowed to enter my bloodstream to combat the effects of this severe tension headache and using the magnetic properties of stones to alleviate a headache? I had to believe in whatever remedy I was doing either way, but that didn’t mean God was knocked off the top pedestal of priority any more than when I consume the food I eat to sustain my life.

There are those who associate mediation with a variety of religions, like it’s different from prayer, so how do you think meditation is the same or different?

I believe that prayer is powerful, but I also believe the energy the crystals emit from vibrations can help calm you down for more focused prayer, uplift your spirits, help with appetite, anxiety, blood circulation, everything. When a lot of people are passing on into their eternal life, I’ve heard of people laying crystals on them as they’re dying and in all of the instances, it’s a calming peaceful last few hours/minutes. My boyfriend’s sister did that for their grandmother when she died too.

There are extreme minds who will not for one second wrap their mind around accepting the use of crystals in their lives, though, and will even go a step further and disparage anyone who would. How do you respond to these folks?

Mom, people use crystals and don’t even know. Watches are powered by quartz. When you use a barbecue lighter, it’s piezoelectric energy from hitting a quartz that sparks the flame.

I had to admit – – she had enlightened my thinking in a way that took me away from all of the negative connotations associated with crystals and had my mind turning. What could be harmful about a crystal that could have a worse reputation than headache pills? I was opening my mind to the new possibilities……

Stay tuned for Part 2 on Thursday……

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Slice of Life Challenge – March 26- Savoring Saturdays

In January, members of my family and I became intentional about savoring Saturdays with coffee and things we enjoy. We’ve developed a whole new affinity for coffee shop culture – the aromas, all the coffee blend options, the food offerings, the buzz of conversation, the lingering togetherness and our own coversations percolating on the day’s possibilities.

I’ve recently downloaded the Roadtrippers app and saw right away that it was worth the upgrade from the free version to Roadtrippers Plus. Now I can locate coffee shops on the road trips we plan and add them as waypoints to our destination for any of the day trips we plan. So when we set out for St. Simons Island, Georgia on a recent weekend, I filtered the app to show me all the coffee shops along our chosen route.

Queen Bee Coffee in Forsyth, Georgia off I-75 seemed like just what we would enjoy. It was right on our way, and it opened about the time we’d be at its place on the map. We parallel parked on the street and went inside. The sign on the steps assured us we were in the right place. We chuckled, veering a hard left.

Inside, we chose a couch with a coffee table. We sunk into the comfort of both cup and couch and noticed the place – the way it appealed to all five senses and awakened us to this new place!

Yesterday, we spent the day in Winder, Georgia and had coffee at La Gabrielle, a little cafe with a European vibe. I fell in love with the light fixtures! My husband said they reminded him of the television show Bewitched.

I checked my Roadside America app to see if there was anything of significance nearby, and found that either the shortest or the second shortest road in the United States (shortest in Georgia for sure) with a traffic light was a mile and a half from our coffee shop. So we checked it out. It’s basically a named street in the middle of other streets, and one and a half cars can fit on it at once. John Bowen Way.

Been there, done that.

And that’s the way we love spending Saturdays – whether we are on the road, at a campsite, at home, or out of town on business, we enjoy coffee to start the day and something to pique our interest afterward. Even if it’s a short little road right in the middle of everywhere.

Savoring Saturdays has quickly become a self-care habit, woven into the tapestry of our weekends.

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Slice of Life Challenge – March 25 – Savoring Saturdays in Pine Mountain, Georgia at F.D. Roosevelt State Park

We savored last Saturday, March 18, in Pine Mountain, Georgia on F. D. Roosevelt State Park Campground. Here’s a slice of our day, in pictures.

There’s something amazing about this door. It feels like a time warp. I think it weighs 500 pounds.
Rock buildings in the mountains on a cold morning give me a feeling of belonging.
Here we are!
We were looking for a coffee shop and found history.
Simply a delicious breakfast. The muscadine muffin was off the chain.
The windows overlooked the valley below. Gorgeous spot to start the day.
We took the boys on a short walk down the trail.
They enjoyed all the new smells and looking over ledges.
y’all.
Boo Radley found a slice of sunshine after his long walk.
Ollie sunk down into the comfort of the bed for a nap. We love camping!
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Slice of Life Challenge – March 25 – Updating Dating

Ken and Jennifer flying kites on Amelia Island Beach in Florida, February 2023

You might remember these two faces with hearts full of love for each other. That’s my baby brother, Ken, and his girlfriend, Jennifer. I featured them on Valentine’s Day on the blog and shared their winning Godiva chocolate preference (dark chocolate lava truffle) after their taste test in March. They were set up on a blind date early last fall by mutual friends, and the rest is history.

As a way of involving others in my blog posts this month, I recently texted and asked Ken and Jennifer one question: if you were giving advice to a new couple on how to plan a great date and spend time really getting to know each other, what would you say?

My brother responded first:

One of the things we did was to try and find things that were new to both of us, or at least that we weren’t experts at – like the painting party. Neither of us were experts at that, but we’d do another painting activity now. Also, something active is good, outdoors. Stay away from cliche’ and make sure there are plenty of opportunities to talk.

Jennifer responded a little while later:

I really loved riding bikes on Jekyll Island on one of our first outings together. We rode about ten miles, then stopped for lunch and a beer. It was a beautiful, sunny day outside, and they had live music. It was amazing. You really learn a lot about someone else by their spontaneity.

They really did follow their own advice. They’ve played golf, they’ve run a 5K, and flown kites on Amelia Island at the beach. They’ve been on bicycling adventures and ambled down Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee checking out the honky tonks. They’ve also attended each other’s churches, finding ways to make two faiths meaningful for both of them as a couple.

They’re adventuring.

They’re sharing life – investing in each other.

They’re savoring moments.

On a golfing adventure
Running a 5K
Attending an Ash Wednesday service

Ken and Jennifer on Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia
On a bicycling adventure
Ornaments made at Paints & Pints

Cheers to Ken and Jennifer for reminding us to be active at adventuring and talking – whether we’re dating, married, or single and loving it!

Long live love!

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Slice of Life Challenge – March 17 – Green Glass Beads on St. Patrick’s Day

Water nymph

Throughout my childhood, I was obsessed with one particular book. I spent hours on end reading it – – even took the flashlight into my closet so I could read it in there too and not be bothered while I was mesmerized. I not only fell in love with the words in the book, but also with the pictures – they were enchanting. I studied every detail of the pages in Childcraft Volume 1 – Poems and Rhymes – with the pink band on the gold-numbered spine.

One poem in particular was my favorite among favorites.

Overheard on a Saltmarsh by Harold Monro (14 March 1879 – 16 March 1932).

I lived near salt marshes in those days, on a coastal island in Georgia. I’d never seen any nymphs and goblins in the marshes, but I wondered – – could they really be there? How had I missed them?

Overheard on a Saltmarsh by Harold Monro

I fixated on the goblin and the nymph in the illustration. That’s a water nymph – – they often have plants growing from their heads, I learned. She’s not afraid of that ghastly looking goblin, either. She is confident in herself there in the moonlight, wearing her green gown and green glass beads.

That’s what I’d wanted to be when I grew up – a beautiful nymph with a shapely figure, wearing a flowy gown and green beads, telling my goblins NO.

And so to celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day, I will not sport a shamrock. I won’t wear a green flowy gown or drink a green beer or flash a Kiss Me, I’m Irish t-shirt or paint my face green. Or get a tattoo.

Instead, I have framed my favorite childhood poem and will nymphatically wear these green jasper beads.

Hush, I stole them out of the moon.

A framed childhood favorite poem, with green beads
Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers!

Please join us at http://www.ethicalela.com Saturday through Wednesday for the March Open Write. We’ll be writing poetry for the next 5 days. Come write with us!

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Slice of Life Challenge – March 14- Epsom Salt Overall Review: My Favorite Soaking Solution (Part 3 of 3)

Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers for giving writers space and voice

I was a strange child.

Still am.

When I worked on a 50 States project in 5th grade, I wrote to every state capital’s Chamber of Commerce requesting brochures I could include in my presentation binder. I learned far less about the states from that project than I did about the power of written communication, and writing the letters was not an assigned part of the project – it was something I enjoyed doing because it enriched the experience – – much like bath salts enrich the bathtime experience. Today, I’ll share my favorite variety of the bath salts I have used.

I also learned that written communication could get me free samples of products – and more mail with my name on it. Back in the day, magazines would list where you could write for free samples, and I had every free beauty product they offered, whether I needed it or not. Mom always got me stamps when she knew I was writing for a worthy cause – plus, it kept me out of other trouble. I had lipgloss, eyeshadow, and even a jar of Gerber’s Dutch Apple Dessert when their campaign persuaded buyers that it wasn’t just for babies, but that people of all ages could enjoy it as a snack. I also got coupons for cool products like Lemon Up Shampoo and Conditioner – and I got in trouble for using the entire bottle of each in one bath on my angel wings “because it smelled so good.” I’ve learned through epsom salt reviews that there are far less expensive ways of taking a great-smelling bath!

Lemon-Up Shampoo from the 1970s

Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak Restore & Replenish – this variety is a mineral soak that contains pink Himalayan salt along with bergamot and sweet orange essential oils to help rejuvenate the body. It has a grapefruit-y smell, and the salt crystals seem less coarse and smaller than the other varieties I have used. It smells amazing, but again – this one is one that does a better job of awakening than relaxing, so I would not recommend it before bedtime.

Vapor Bath with Menthol, Camphor, and Spearmint Essential Oil – this one is for a special purpose, and it isn’t for sleep when you can already breathe freely. But when you can’t breathe, this one will work to help open sinuses and airways. It’s so powerful that you have to sit in the bath with your eyes closed, because it will flat out make your eyes water like you’re slicing an onion. I would definitely recommend wearing swim goggles when soaking in the vapor bath.

Today’s favorite between these final two varieties is Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak, simply because the vapor bath is more for medicinal purposes.

This brings the overall competition to my three daily favorites – Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak, Cannabis Sativa Hemp Seed Oil, and Calm Your Mind.

My third favorite bath salt is Pink Himalayan Mineral Soak.

My second favorite is Calm Your Mind……

…and my favorite aromatherapy soak is Cannabis Sativa Hemp Seed Oil Soaking Solution.

I did not review any of the foaming bath counterparts that go along with these products, and I did not review all of the varieties. There are still other varieties that need bloggers’ reviews. Here is the Dr. Teal’s website with all of the products and varieties (I am not selling their products, just providing the link for the ones I did not review).

And here I am, the cleanest I’ve been in years – – probably the cleanest I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve learned that epsom salts have multiple health benefits, but more importantly, I’ve learned that it takes a deliberate mindset to shift the balance between baths and showers. While I still prefer showers because of my busy lifestyle, I will continue to carve time for soaking as a way of regulating the pace of life.

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Slice of Life Challenge – March 13 – Epsom Salt Bath Review Part 2 of 3

My Epsom Salt variety review continues and includes several more of Dr. Teal’s Soaking Solutions in today’s blog post.

One of my librarian friends recently purchased a gorgeous wooden bath tray that stretches from one side of the tub to the other. She can rest her book or her Kindle on the shelf and even set her glass of wine on it as she stretches out to read and soak.

I’d been considering making a similar purchase as a way to inspire myself to relax in the tub with epsom salts more often, but when I showed up for toddler time at the library, my friend suggested that I might have to lead the dancing to Tootie Ta that day. Turns out, she’d dropped her heavy wooden bathtub tray on the top of her foot and was concerned she’d broken some bones and couldn’t dance.

I’d broken my own ankle last September, and it suddenly flared up at the thought of dancing. I couldn’t lead Tootie Ta, either ( I missed out, big time). I also concluded I didn’t need the risks of a wooden bath tray. I manage to find my own injuries without help.

I continue to look for ways to relax in a bath, since I’m more of a shower gal, so I’m using epsom salts as a measure of good self-care and experimenting with the variety I like best as I re-condition myself to pause and enjoy more moments and give my muscles the TLC they deserve.

In yesterday’s post, I compared Black Elderberry and Calm Your Mind, and I liked Calm Your Mind best for its citrusy-berry fragrance that left me and the bathroom smelling great! Today, I’m adding more varieties to the mix.

Melatonin Sleep Soak – a relaxing fragrance, and the benefits of this kind of aromatherapy are for real. I did feel far more relaxed as I soaked and smelled the calming bouquet of this mixture. I felt the tide turning a bit on my bathtub outlook when I stepped out of the soak, dried off, put on a soft, clean nightgown and headed bedward to drift off into a peaceful night’s sleep – maybe I could grow to enjoy a bath from time to time, I thought, diehard shower girl that I am.

Relax & Relief with Spearmint and Eucalyptus – in addition to the relaxing component, its fragrance wasn’t overwhelming but was fresh and clean and stayed with me through lunchtime the next day. I kept catching wafts of the scent and thinking that somehow, the soaks stayed with me longer than my soap from the typical morning shower.

Calm & Serenity – this one has rose essential oil and is made with milk protein to help soften and nourish skin. The rose scent is not overpowering but is pleasant and more subtle than some of the other fragrances of the bath salts. For bedtime, this fragrance welcomes relaxation and peaceful sleep. As a child, I used to have a white cotton nightgown with little pink roses embroidered on it, and this reminded me of that nightgown that was my very favorite in the summertime heat.

Glow and Radiance – one of my favorite fragrances in the entire world is fresh orange. It reminds me of winter and summer sunshine all at once. This variety has Vitamin C and Citrus Essential oils and is designed to uplift the mood. As much as I love this bath salt variety, I would recommend this to morning bathtime soakers, which won’t be an option for me until retirement at the earliest. It does tend to awaken, and not to relax.

Cannabis Sativa Hemp Seed Oil with Essential Oil Blend – this one is made from Hemp Seed Oil for intense moisture and white thyme and bergamot “to quiet the mind.” Let me tell you – – the aromatherapy benefit from this blend of scents alone was over the moon stress relieving. It’s completely legal, and while it may carry a Kerouacian connotation, I can assure you that I endorse it only for soaking – – not for smoking! It doesn’t contain any ingredients that would compromise the body or mind or call one’s character into question. What it does do is loosen the worries and stresses; it washes them down the drain, leaving only pleasant scents and a relaxed mind, ready to sleep.

Clarify & Smooth with Witch Hazel, Aloe Vera, & Essential Oils – this one contains aloe vera and Vitamin E to nourish skin. It has a fresh, light scent – – much lighter than many of the other varieties. Since smell is the sense most closely associated with memory, I understand why I like the scent so much. If you’ve ever been five or six years old and opened a new doll with shoes and clothes sewn onto the card in the container and smelled the new plastic, really just inhaled it and inhaled it to smell all the new freshness and excitement of a new toy in the back seat all the way home from the store, this may take you back to that time once you have stepped out of the tub and dried off. That’s the scent that lingers. It brings back great memories of the plastic that wrapped the toys of my childhood.

Today’s favorite in these reviews is the Cannabis Sativa Hemp Seed Oil variety. Maybe it’s because I feel a twinge of preacher’s kid rulebreaking reputation when I soak in it, but it truly did relax me in a way that none of the others did.

Tune in tomorrow for my final 2 reviews and overall favorite epsom salt aromatherapy variety of all the ones I have reviewed, and please share your own epsom salt preferences as well. I’m learning new things about the benefits of epsom salts and welcome all the knowledge and expertise that you care to share!

Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers for giving writers space and voice
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Slice of Life Challenge – March 11 – What’s in a Name?

I was shopping in Senoia, Georgia (home of The Walking Dead) when I noticed all of the plants in one of the stores had names. I took photographs of the name tags and noticed a pattern – – they were all named for famous black women. I struck up a conversation with the owner behind the counter and learned that this shop was a local black-owned business. I enjoyed an added dimension of discovery as I thought of all the women who were being celebrated. It’s reassuring to see how far we have come as women over the past century, and I cheer minority women who have overcome obstacles and stayed the course all the way to success and smiles behind the counters of the businesses that they own today.

I’m taking this innovative idea of naming my fairy garden succulents, which will be the last picture in the lineup – with a fascinating history of the names that were selected for these tiny front porch gardens. First, here are 6 of the 17 pictures I took in the Greenhouse Mercantile, with links underneath to the women for whom each plant is named:

Harriet Tubman

Oprah Winfrey

Madam C.J. Walker

Condoleezza Rice

Coretta Scott King

Cicely Tyson

Earlier in the week, I shared my succulent garden and asked for help naming my new fairy gardens. Fellow blogger Fran Haley responded:

I would give one of these fairies a name from a baby’s gravestone I first saw when I was a child visiting my grandmother deep in the country (along the old dirt road, you know-). The name: Leafy Jean. I might name the other fairy Lacey Jane. 

I loved the unique sounds of these sweet names with matching long vowels. I named the fairies Leafy Jean and Lacey Jane.

I wondered if I could find out a little bit of information about Leafy Jean, and so I looked on the Findagrave website and found the photo of this headstone for this baby girl “Gone Home”:

I’m betting this is the grave that Fran saw when she was with her grandmother. It’s located in Beaufort County, North Carolina in the Mixon Cemetery. Leafy Jean Wilson was born on a Sunday – Christmas Eve in 1916, two years after the Christmas Truce called between German and British Soldiers during World War II, when they set aside their differences and came together to play a game of soccer, wish each other Merry Christmas in their native tongues, and sing Christmas carols. The Christmas Truce came five months after the war began……and little Leafy Jean was five months old when she died on a Friday – June 22. I wondered at first if Leafy referenced an olive branch, a symbol of peace and goodwill, but looked it up and found that Leafy means “Relief.” In Hebrew baby names, the meaning of Jean is “Gift from God.” It’s a name of French origin, meaning “God is Gracious.” Leafy Jean had a brother named Leon Russell Wilson, who died when he was 1, one day shy of a full month after his sister, and less than a year prior to the outbreak of the Spanish Flu that started in February 1918.

My heart ached for these parents and these precious children.

I knew what I had to do.

I ran upstairs to the toy chest and fished out a few miniature figures. I explained to Lacey Jane that she would be moving to a different container, so we packed her fairy wands, her wishing well, and her other belongings for a journey to a new magical land.

We had to make room for Leon Russell to remain near Leafy Jean.

Thank you, Fran, for the creative names for these gardens. I will think of you as I water them and care for them! I’ll give an update on how they’re thriving on a Slice of Life Tuesday sometime this summer! Perhaps by then I will learn more history about these babies who now have a special place in my heart – and on my porch.

Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers for giving writers voice and space
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Slice of Life Challenge – March 10 – Our Chicks Have Hatched!

A couple of years ago, we had a full-fledged farm – goats, hens, roosters, dogs, cat, pig. Our pig ran off one day, and we sold our goats when I took a different position that would require more of my evenings for a time. When a developer broke ground about a mile down the road and began a dreaded subdivision waaaaaay out here in the country, we experienced an influx of displaced animals – food-freeloading foxes, cunning coyotes, and hungry hawks. One by one, our chickens started disappearing.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that a hawk will not go into an enclosed space. That’s a myth. Even with chicken wire across the top of the coop, a determined hawk got in our coop and killed some of our birds. We ended up giving the last few away as an act of mercy until the wildlife on the move finished their great migration through here.

Now that the dust has settled, we aren’t seeing nearly as many predators as we did before. We do have two Great Horned Owls who have taken up residence in our trees and hoot back and forth at each other in the early mornings, but those are the only threats we have observed lately, other than the red-tailed hawks who swoop through to check in from time to time.

“Do you think we could spruce up the coop and try again?” I asked my husband a few weekends ago.

We got attached to our chickens in a way that didn’t happen with our goats or our pig, and we’d found ourselves sitting outside just watching the entertainment unfold every afternoon when we got home from work and would let them out for a few hours. Chickens are funny, and they have definite personalities. Pecking order is no joke.

My husband is a man who loves farm-fresh eggs, Smithfield original bacon, rustic potato bread toasted with butter and elderberry jam, and Eight O’Clock coffee two or three nights a week for supper. So when I’d asked about getting more chickens, I wasn’t surprised by his answer.

“Absolutely,” he replied, without hesitation.

“I’ll call my friend Laura with the Zoom-famous rooster and see if she has any chicks. We can build back from scratch.”

I wanted highly socialized chickens, and I was hoping she’d have some young chicks or some eggs ready to hatch soon. One of Laura’s extra-friendly roosters likes to come into the house and sit on the back of her chair as she is having Zoom meetings, and he is greeted just like he’s a voting executive who has read all of his minutes from the previous meeting and is ready to entertain a motion.

Turns out, Laura had eleven eggs in a brooder, ready to hatch within the week when I called her. She and her husband were going to be candling that weekend to see which eggs would produce. Nine of them hatched on my late mother’s birthday, February 19th. The other two never did.

There are seven hens and two roosters in this group of nine, and Laura texts me weekly updates on them. We can’t wait to bring them home later this month to introduce them to their new coop. For now, they are staying on Laura’s farm while they get a little size on them and we move into warmer days.

Meet our new babies! We can’t wait to bring them home to the Johnson Funny Farm! Get ready for picture overload and naming them once they come home to roost.

The first day I met the chicks at Laura’s house
Laura sends me updates on the chicks from time to time, with pictures to show how much they are growing.
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We’ll post plenty of pictures on homecoming day in about a week and a half, so stay tuned!