i had forgotten, in the scurry and the rush of the fall, in the urgent need to be getting somewhere else soon...that this year was planned for me as a break, a time to slow down, a time not to rush, a year to practice doing less. how easily i forgot!
in these last few weeks, since my return from the thanksgiving holiday, i began to again create the space to slow down. to be present. to be satisfied with what is. to be here now. to want nothing more than what i have around me. a slow, mindful plodding through life. how good it feels to be grounded again. how much more in touch i feel with my intuition, ability to be honest with myself, ability to gracefully move through the days when i am mindful of every step. it makes moving forward feel right and it makes looking back feel peaceful. how my understanding of my role in this world falls into place.
in remembering why i created this space for myself this year, i've been enjoying my days more. i stop to listen, i allow distraction, i sleep in sometimes! this afternoon, in the kitchen, making backyard fresh french toast, listening to npr...i stopped in the middle of the linoleum to listen. the guest on day-to-day, james carroll talking about his recent op-ed in the boston globe: surviving the dark winter solstice. i was enamored. their banter, the call-in guests, all of it (gasp, even the part about the economy!) wafted gently through the air to settle in all the right places of what i have been thinking of lately. the audio of the segment can be found here, on the npr website.
i can't begin to do justice to the thoughts i the essay. i think they just hit me where i am right now. the juxstaposition of being present and longing for something else. the balance. the interplay. so i'll just highlight his words here.
"...But perhaps darkness is less the source of our anguish than the medium in which it is most painfully felt. Memory and expectation define the days of December - nostalgia for holidays of yore, the letter to Santa - because the past and the future are the unpolluted zones of consciousness. The present is always less than we imagine it could be, and that aspect of awareness most profoundly shapes the human condition.
I began by saying that darkness defines one pole of the psyche. Darkness is not its axis: there is something else. The double-mindedness that insists in the time of long nights that long days are surely coming back is itself the antidote. Humans cannot have the experience that something is missing without supplying it through an unwilled act of imagination. That is why, finally, longing and desire weigh so much more than nostalgia and regret. To want, in the true economy, is already to have. What we know of the light, we learn in the dark."
my favorite thought from the program being that of a caller (from portland!) who was talking about the tide, how we focus on the ebb and the flow, but we forget the moment of stillness when the water is neither coming or going. the edge. i like that thought, especially after a long personal focus on impermanance and the constant change in life. maybe it's a good idea to recognize and feel the silent spaces and the small moments when life stands still.
i will be in charlotte for the solstice on december 21st. practicing holding still and feeling the moment and the love. the darkness that shows us the light!
6.12.08
christmas card pictures?
i have been toying with the idea of sending out not only christmas cards, but christmas card pictures. it's a long standing tradition in my family, and i thought i could make something humorous that involved chickens, dogs and me. i thought about sending pictures of just chickens and dogs, but then i thought that people who lived far away and haven't seen me in a while would just be confused. "is she the chicken or the dog?" they would ask, and then that would take a lot of explaining. anyhow, liz and i refurbished the chicken house this afternoon (this glorious, sunny, dry afternoon!) and i asked her to take some pictures that might work for a christmas card.
ABSOLUTE FAILURE!
not only am i the antithesis of photogenic, but my camera is crap. so, i will post one picture, which is the best of the bunch, which says a lot about the quality of the bunch. you'll also notice that this is not my dog in the picture...but at least you can see the chickens.
oh well. we do what we can!
what a day. fierce is conked out on the sofa, limbs agog! i got up early for saturday mediation and yoga which i have missed for over a month now with so much travel and working. it felt so good! then some lovely chatting! and then liz and i took fierce and cleo to kelly point park for some stick tossing and swimming and it was marvelous and i got to finally talk to long lost east coast pals. all before 3pm! then liz and i worked on the coop - expanding the chicken run. and then i went on a little (ie, totally insufficient) practice ride in the park for the race tomorrow. i can now successfull get on and dismount the bike without fear of disaster. which is a good sign. i am so excited to be racing tomorrow and trying something new and having a little excitement. and it's at 8:45 in the morning so i can still go to the green eggs & ham party and the cozy backyard cottage welcoming party.
here's what it comes down to...it's nice to have a weekend at home! it's nice to have a weekend of relaxing and not having to worry about getting anything done. lovely, lovely, lovely! life is good!
time to shower and then off to scrabble! i haven't played scrabble in ages.
ok, ok, just one more pictures. it's an exciting picture because i am actually holding big bird. the only reason i am holding her is because the dog got out while the chickens were free-ranging and fierce scared big bird onto the neighbors roof. liz hopped the fence to get her and handed her to me. since the girls are so skittish and we don't get to hold them often, it called for a photo.
ABSOLUTE FAILURE!
not only am i the antithesis of photogenic, but my camera is crap. so, i will post one picture, which is the best of the bunch, which says a lot about the quality of the bunch. you'll also notice that this is not my dog in the picture...but at least you can see the chickens.
oh well. we do what we can!
what a day. fierce is conked out on the sofa, limbs agog! i got up early for saturday mediation and yoga which i have missed for over a month now with so much travel and working. it felt so good! then some lovely chatting! and then liz and i took fierce and cleo to kelly point park for some stick tossing and swimming and it was marvelous and i got to finally talk to long lost east coast pals. all before 3pm! then liz and i worked on the coop - expanding the chicken run. and then i went on a little (ie, totally insufficient) practice ride in the park for the race tomorrow. i can now successfull get on and dismount the bike without fear of disaster. which is a good sign. i am so excited to be racing tomorrow and trying something new and having a little excitement. and it's at 8:45 in the morning so i can still go to the green eggs & ham party and the cozy backyard cottage welcoming party.
here's what it comes down to...it's nice to have a weekend at home! it's nice to have a weekend of relaxing and not having to worry about getting anything done. lovely, lovely, lovely! life is good!
time to shower and then off to scrabble! i haven't played scrabble in ages.
ok, ok, just one more pictures. it's an exciting picture because i am actually holding big bird. the only reason i am holding her is because the dog got out while the chickens were free-ranging and fierce scared big bird onto the neighbors roof. liz hopped the fence to get her and handed her to me. since the girls are so skittish and we don't get to hold them often, it called for a photo.
20.11.08
fierce loves mail
i wish, i wish, i wish i had pictures from about 10 seconds before these ones. the sun broke through the clouds at the same time the mail carrier came. i took it as a brilliant opportunity to stretch my legs and fetch the mail. i brought in the pile which included this large envelope from my family (aka fierce's grandparents). i put the pile on the tape and sorted out the junk mail. fierce nosed the pile and immediately, and very delicately, pulled out the large envelope from my parents. she carried it to the sofa and daintily started to chew it open. i know i should have stopped her right away, but it was the most curious and adorable thing that i have ever seen. in particular, i really like the way she hugs the envelope in order to get into it. the shenanigans stopped there, by my order...but she looked quite sad. silly dog.
yay! yay! yay! li'l red does it!
oh friends and sometimes-readers of this blog! (aka, oh al!)
exciting, exciting news!
my little hen, the little rhode island red, started talking on sunday. i got home from maupin and noticed she was making a little bit more noise than usual. using her lungs, practicing her chicken squawks. she hadn't laid an egg yet...and i was worried that she was a nervous, anxious chicken (i could imagine getting chased around a pen by a dog all day would do that to you) and she might never lay eggs. but her voice got louder througout the week which is one of those down-home signs that a chicken is going to start laying eggs. and this morning there were all sorts of peeps and squawks and i didn't see li'l red in the run...and i hoped she was inside ,in the nesting box, getting down to business.
well my friends! after a long day (a kind of emotional day) i came home, put on the xtra tuffs and ventured into the backyard at 9pm with my headlamp and a camping mug full of geverztraminer. i hoped to find some sort of small brown egg in the nesting box, but fearing disappointment, i was excited merely by the thought of just getting to hold the chickens. [they are docile when they sleep on their perch, practically the only time they hold still long enough for me to pick them up]. i opened the coop door and squeeled with delight when i saw two large white eggs (big bird has been productive!) and one, tiny, brown egg! joy of joys. it was the tiniest chicken egg ever. almost as small as the smallest bantam egg we put in the incubator last spring. tiny. miniscule. i guess that means li'l red is a bantam!? i'm not sure. she could be (the egg she hatched from was medium-small) but she is also the same size as big bird (who is not a bantam, but very small for her leghorn size). regardless...brown eggs! brown eggs! ahhh, i couldn't be more excited! so, of course, i refreshed the girls' water and watched them drink. if you have never watched a chicken drink water...you really should. it is one of the most precious things i have ever, ever seen. and, of course, if i like it---you'll like it too.
back to point. the late night egg harvest, the photos and the ohh-ing and ahhh-ing woke the girls up and they ventured out in the run to eat and drink. they are so cute! li'l red was using her voice some more (if an egg just came out of my butt i am sure i would be talking too!) and i have never been so proud of my girls. growing vegetables is one thing...but raising animals that provide the food i eat (read, fried egg on buttered toast!) is unbeatable. i just love it. it deepens my understanding of science, agriculture and our food system...and it also makes me believe in miracles.
the fancy nesting box that i finally built for the girls. i'm so glad they know how to use it. yay for chicken instincts.
big bird on the left. li'l red on the right. they are still pretty tiny even though they are both almost 7 months old.
fierces favortie job: chicken duty. she likes to herd them. sometimes i'd really like to be inside her brain.
see! see how small it is! teeny, tiny! delicious!
and not to neglect my favorite mammal...fierce is doing splendidly. we've been bonding alot lately. she does amazing things like she comes when i call her (really, this is amazing...you didn't know her a year and a half ago). we go for off-leash runs by the columbia river...and i can let her in the front yard, to the car or even leave her out at maupin without fear that she will run off. she also just got 'evaluated' at the local boarding house cause she's going to have to spend some days there during the turkey holiday and the decidious tree holiday while i travel. such is life (my heart is torn in two by this, actually). and for the sake of equality (you all know we are very pro equality here)...check out these classic fierce (and cleo) photos from the last week.
cleo up front. fierce in the back.
exciting, exciting news!
my little hen, the little rhode island red, started talking on sunday. i got home from maupin and noticed she was making a little bit more noise than usual. using her lungs, practicing her chicken squawks. she hadn't laid an egg yet...and i was worried that she was a nervous, anxious chicken (i could imagine getting chased around a pen by a dog all day would do that to you) and she might never lay eggs. but her voice got louder througout the week which is one of those down-home signs that a chicken is going to start laying eggs. and this morning there were all sorts of peeps and squawks and i didn't see li'l red in the run...and i hoped she was inside ,in the nesting box, getting down to business.
well my friends! after a long day (a kind of emotional day) i came home, put on the xtra tuffs and ventured into the backyard at 9pm with my headlamp and a camping mug full of geverztraminer. i hoped to find some sort of small brown egg in the nesting box, but fearing disappointment, i was excited merely by the thought of just getting to hold the chickens. [they are docile when they sleep on their perch, practically the only time they hold still long enough for me to pick them up]. i opened the coop door and squeeled with delight when i saw two large white eggs (big bird has been productive!) and one, tiny, brown egg! joy of joys. it was the tiniest chicken egg ever. almost as small as the smallest bantam egg we put in the incubator last spring. tiny. miniscule. i guess that means li'l red is a bantam!? i'm not sure. she could be (the egg she hatched from was medium-small) but she is also the same size as big bird (who is not a bantam, but very small for her leghorn size). regardless...brown eggs! brown eggs! ahhh, i couldn't be more excited! so, of course, i refreshed the girls' water and watched them drink. if you have never watched a chicken drink water...you really should. it is one of the most precious things i have ever, ever seen. and, of course, if i like it---you'll like it too.
back to point. the late night egg harvest, the photos and the ohh-ing and ahhh-ing woke the girls up and they ventured out in the run to eat and drink. they are so cute! li'l red was using her voice some more (if an egg just came out of my butt i am sure i would be talking too!) and i have never been so proud of my girls. growing vegetables is one thing...but raising animals that provide the food i eat (read, fried egg on buttered toast!) is unbeatable. i just love it. it deepens my understanding of science, agriculture and our food system...and it also makes me believe in miracles.
the fancy nesting box that i finally built for the girls. i'm so glad they know how to use it. yay for chicken instincts.
big bird on the left. li'l red on the right. they are still pretty tiny even though they are both almost 7 months old.
fierces favortie job: chicken duty. she likes to herd them. sometimes i'd really like to be inside her brain.
see! see how small it is! teeny, tiny! delicious!and not to neglect my favorite mammal...fierce is doing splendidly. we've been bonding alot lately. she does amazing things like she comes when i call her (really, this is amazing...you didn't know her a year and a half ago). we go for off-leash runs by the columbia river...and i can let her in the front yard, to the car or even leave her out at maupin without fear that she will run off. she also just got 'evaluated' at the local boarding house cause she's going to have to spend some days there during the turkey holiday and the decidious tree holiday while i travel. such is life (my heart is torn in two by this, actually). and for the sake of equality (you all know we are very pro equality here)...check out these classic fierce (and cleo) photos from the last week.
cleo up front. fierce in the back.31.10.08
traveling...again
why is it that i am finding myself on the road more than at home lately? it's an exciting way to live (out of a backpack...my favorite) except for the poor dog who is hanging out at home with her surrogate family. come to think of it, she's probably just fine. she has cleo and the chickens and lots of people to take care of her...all without an annoying mom to nag here. what could be better. i guess i just miss her! but at least i can get excited about the jumping, excited greeting i'll get upon my return home next week. that's what's so great about dogs...they are good at making you feel loved when you come home from a long day at work (or a long trip out of town). if only dogs could fly more easily (if only dogs had wings?).
i am in the denver airport. procrastinating a some grant writing and enjoying all the flight crews in halloween costume. thank goodness for wireless internet and computers. would i have to sit still and actually deal with myself if not for these wonderful distractions?
maybe it's time for some airport yoga. handstands anyone?
happy halloween & happy almost november.
i am in the denver airport. procrastinating a some grant writing and enjoying all the flight crews in halloween costume. thank goodness for wireless internet and computers. would i have to sit still and actually deal with myself if not for these wonderful distractions?
maybe it's time for some airport yoga. handstands anyone?
happy halloween & happy almost november.
24.10.08
upside down dogs
tonight liz sent me a link to upside down dogs. fierce has found her people! fierce is the ultimate upside down dog. infact, the second picture on the link could be fierce...except that she's not really known for holding round items in her mouth like that. who knew there were a whole slew of upside down dogs out there? and they are all so cute.
here is a recent picture of fierce drying off after a late night willamette river paddle. she stayed in the boat, but was really really curious about the black stuff we were floating on. such a cute dog!
new york city
last weekend i had the pleasure of joining my family and my extended family on a journey to new york to discover our family lineage. it was so much fun! fun to visit ellis island and the tenament museum. ok, fun might not be the best word. we had a fun time with each other...but those places and the stories they tell are quite somber. it was a moving experience. it was also great to see my dad and brother...who i don't get to see often enough. (portland sort of does that to people). this is a picture of kirk and i on ellis island. we were aiming for 'christmas card picture' quality...but i think mom is going to be disappointed again.
and this is the whole clan. i was so glad to find the roots of my liberal blood (kirk's height and my voting record don't match anything else in our four-person family).
and this is my dad's picture of st. patrick's cathedral. he is proud of it, so i thought i might as well post it here. kirk and i each lit a candle for grandma, how could you not?!
and this is the whole clan. i was so glad to find the roots of my liberal blood (kirk's height and my voting record don't match anything else in our four-person family).
and this is my dad's picture of st. patrick's cathedral. he is proud of it, so i thought i might as well post it here. kirk and i each lit a candle for grandma, how could you not?!
as promised...birthday pictures
fierce knows where to find the frosting
ooops, this isn't rotated the right way. however, that wouldn't help this picture look any better. thank goodness all the faces are obscured.
jana flies shannon. that's a good takeoff. the landing wasn't so smooth.
28. a respctable age. a respctable spelling.i voted! i voted!
ok, ok i know the photo is blurry. however, the filled in bubble is not blurry and this vote is going to count! what i love about being an oregon voter is our vote by mail system. it means that i can sit at the kitchen table, drink some ginseng peppermint tea and vote while i listen to the dog snore and heater kick on. what could be better than that?this was a pretty easy ballot to fill out. the only one that gave me trouble was east multnomah soil and water conservation district, director, at large 2. it doesn't help when one of the candidates isn't in the voter guide. i resorted to the weekly's description. anyhow, it's done! i will drop it off at the library tomorrow. make sure it gets tucked into that special box real careful.
i can't wait for election night! or election day for that matter! yay yay yay!
15.10.08
birthday thank yous
thank you friends and family for all the birthday wishes last week. it was so nice to have so many lovely e-mails and phone calls. it was a lovely birthday and i am so excited to be 28! i am convinced that 28 is going to be the best year of my life. so far, so good. i had a little birthday shindig on friday and as soon as i get the photos back (from the disposable cameras we all used) i will post some pictures (gasp, something other than dogs and chickens?). so, thank you friends near and far...you all make life worth living.
yay!
yay!
7.10.08
can someone explain?
i am coming down with something. by something i mean the gauze and cotton monster that has decided to crawl inside my head and nest in my sinuses. i am sure it has to do with the change of weather and the onset of rain and the slight craziness in my belly and the running around lately...but now?! come on! i am self-medicating with thai food and love actually and hopefully acupuncture. and tomorrow i am going to see the western doctor...because desperate times call for desperate measures.
i will be well by wednesday night! i will make my body cooperate. i will, i will!
i will be well by wednesday night! i will make my body cooperate. i will, i will!
6.10.08
bike the what?
well friends, it looks like the documentary of the bike the vote will be coming out around election time this year. let me just do my duty and ask...are you registered to vote? at your current address? if not, visit this link, this one right here! and register yourself...or else i might just bike to your house and make you vote (unless you are voting for mccain, then i'll just stay put - how nice that i don't have to be non-partisan any more).
anyhow, the trailer is back up at the bikethevotemovie.com website. click here to see what it's all about. you'll see it open with our press conference in chicago which was the largest of the trip...and the one of the grannies biking for marriage equality...and so many things that i haven't thought of in a long time. and you'll also get to see me with no hair, my favorite part of the trip. i am really, really curious to see the documentary, partly because the ride took place over four years ago and now seems really far away and partly because i am easily embarrassed.
chris is looking to schedule screenings across the country. if you are interested in hosting a screening at your local theater or school or church or whatever you got in your town...drop me a line.
check it out. if you want a good laugh and maybe a little election inspiration.
(and leave comments! jana, i'm so glad you get that!)
anyhow, the trailer is back up at the bikethevotemovie.com website. click here to see what it's all about. you'll see it open with our press conference in chicago which was the largest of the trip...and the one of the grannies biking for marriage equality...and so many things that i haven't thought of in a long time. and you'll also get to see me with no hair, my favorite part of the trip. i am really, really curious to see the documentary, partly because the ride took place over four years ago and now seems really far away and partly because i am easily embarrassed.
chris is looking to schedule screenings across the country. if you are interested in hosting a screening at your local theater or school or church or whatever you got in your town...drop me a line.
check it out. if you want a good laugh and maybe a little election inspiration.
(and leave comments! jana, i'm so glad you get that!)
5.10.08
a love letter to garlic
i'm taking a writing class. apparently everything that i write sounds like a love letter, according to the feedback of my peers. i guess that's a reasonable thing, considering that i've been writing them for the past three months now. if i'm going to have a genre, i might as well master it, right?
in class on thursday we were each given a fresh herb as inspiration, a jumping off point for a three minute free write. here is my garlic writing (which no one from last night will remember asking me to post...i'm not sure anyone will remember anything...except joyful dancing, french fries, tattoo looking, losing $20 and hilarity.
spicy, pungent, moist.
cleaning out the stuck-ness in my lungs from these last few days. burning in my sinus cavities, i want your smell to be your taste to be my breakfast lunch and dinner. i can smell the earth on you. maybe even the rot of your next door neighbor, had she not been eaten for lunch instead of saved for february potato leek soup.
deep and powerfu, will you embrace me with your warm arms, climb up my nostrils and kiss the inside of my head, the back of my tongue? i love the way your smell lingers on my hands, stubbornly, for days after eating you.
--
(maybe i'm just waiting for wednesday)
i might start posting more of my writing here. the next one was about cumin and it made
so hungry.
back to duct taping...clearly this is procrastiblogging.
in class on thursday we were each given a fresh herb as inspiration, a jumping off point for a three minute free write. here is my garlic writing (which no one from last night will remember asking me to post...i'm not sure anyone will remember anything...except joyful dancing, french fries, tattoo looking, losing $20 and hilarity.
spicy, pungent, moist.
cleaning out the stuck-ness in my lungs from these last few days. burning in my sinus cavities, i want your smell to be your taste to be my breakfast lunch and dinner. i can smell the earth on you. maybe even the rot of your next door neighbor, had she not been eaten for lunch instead of saved for february potato leek soup.
deep and powerfu, will you embrace me with your warm arms, climb up my nostrils and kiss the inside of my head, the back of my tongue? i love the way your smell lingers on my hands, stubbornly, for days after eating you.
--
(maybe i'm just waiting for wednesday)
i might start posting more of my writing here. the next one was about cumin and it made
so hungry.
back to duct taping...clearly this is procrastiblogging.
25.9.08
good news! good news!
oh friends, family and special people,
can i share with you the most exciting thing in the world? today i checked inside the chicken coop, partly out of procrastination and partly because i wondered if it needed a cleaning. it did need a quick clean out, those chickens sure can poop! but on further inspection...two medium, white, eggs-shaped foreign objects were nestled in to the far corner of the coop! "what are those?! who got into the chicken coop?" i asked myself. oh wait, vanessa, eggs, EGGS, those things you have been waiting for for almost five months now! the white leghorn hen, who is slightly larger than her companion [a rhode island red], had made a little nest in the straw and laid her eggs there [yea, i know, i am a bad chicken mom for not building nesting boxes for my girls, yet]. you could see the indentation where she snuggled her body in to the straw. how delightful! i am assuming she laid them in the last two days...and i hope that now she has her groove on she won't stop. and hopefully little red is on her way to egg production too.
i did not check the coop for eggs in the last week. the girls still looked so gawky and scrawny that i decided to give them more time...to stop expecting the eggs to come...to stop pressuring them with my small sighs of disappointment. and then, hee haw! as soon as i turn my back and stop thinking about it, the eggs appear! (i love it when life works that way)
oh heavenly day!
liz and i made fried egg sandwiches. liz doesn't like yolk, so fierce and cleo got in on the action too! heirloom tomatoes from a local farm, tasty bread, mayo, salt and fresh egg. delicious! and how cute the eggs are. they are a fairly standard size. the yolk was brilliant, more orange than yellow...and so tiny and cute. the tiniest yolk i have ever seen. it was beautiful. i can't wait to see how the egg size, shell thickness, yolk size and yolk color will change. so much excitement ahead!
please enjoy these egg, chicken and dinner photos. i believe they are self explanatory. i'd be happy to answer your questions if they are not.
yay! eggs! chickens! fall! dogs! writing class! brown leaves! crisp air! apple harvest! could life be any better?
bye lady...we're going back to our coop!
sometimes i wonder what the chickens think. are they confused when an egg comes out for the first time? i'm sure they were confused by my cartwheels and waving and giggles and exclamations. eggs are such a miracle. maybe not for chickens. maybe they just think, oh drats, another egg. but i think: miracle! and to think...she will lay about an egg each day for us. how can i show enough gratitude to these ladies?
thank you chickens! thank you for your eggs! (and the amazing flour-less chocolate ganache birthday cake i am going to make for myself with them).
can i share with you the most exciting thing in the world? today i checked inside the chicken coop, partly out of procrastination and partly because i wondered if it needed a cleaning. it did need a quick clean out, those chickens sure can poop! but on further inspection...two medium, white, eggs-shaped foreign objects were nestled in to the far corner of the coop! "what are those?! who got into the chicken coop?" i asked myself. oh wait, vanessa, eggs, EGGS, those things you have been waiting for for almost five months now! the white leghorn hen, who is slightly larger than her companion [a rhode island red], had made a little nest in the straw and laid her eggs there [yea, i know, i am a bad chicken mom for not building nesting boxes for my girls, yet]. you could see the indentation where she snuggled her body in to the straw. how delightful! i am assuming she laid them in the last two days...and i hope that now she has her groove on she won't stop. and hopefully little red is on her way to egg production too.
i did not check the coop for eggs in the last week. the girls still looked so gawky and scrawny that i decided to give them more time...to stop expecting the eggs to come...to stop pressuring them with my small sighs of disappointment. and then, hee haw! as soon as i turn my back and stop thinking about it, the eggs appear! (i love it when life works that way)
oh heavenly day!
liz and i made fried egg sandwiches. liz doesn't like yolk, so fierce and cleo got in on the action too! heirloom tomatoes from a local farm, tasty bread, mayo, salt and fresh egg. delicious! and how cute the eggs are. they are a fairly standard size. the yolk was brilliant, more orange than yellow...and so tiny and cute. the tiniest yolk i have ever seen. it was beautiful. i can't wait to see how the egg size, shell thickness, yolk size and yolk color will change. so much excitement ahead!
please enjoy these egg, chicken and dinner photos. i believe they are self explanatory. i'd be happy to answer your questions if they are not.
yay! eggs! chickens! fall! dogs! writing class! brown leaves! crisp air! apple harvest! could life be any better?
bye lady...we're going back to our coop!
sometimes i wonder what the chickens think. are they confused when an egg comes out for the first time? i'm sure they were confused by my cartwheels and waving and giggles and exclamations. eggs are such a miracle. maybe not for chickens. maybe they just think, oh drats, another egg. but i think: miracle! and to think...she will lay about an egg each day for us. how can i show enough gratitude to these ladies?
thank you chickens! thank you for your eggs! (and the amazing flour-less chocolate ganache birthday cake i am going to make for myself with them).
8.9.08
crater lake!
oh dear! just when you think you're brain can't hold on to any more beauty in this life...you run across something like crater lake. i've seen pictures of crater lake, aerial photos, but nothing compares to coming around that first curve and seeing the HUGE lake spread below you. so blue, so vast, so darn icy looking. mmm! what a fun weekend of camping, yoga, lounging, hanging with fierce, laughing, singing and being! i am quite exhausted but also pretty darn joyful!
3.9.08
life as i know it...
this post is in honor of darce...who is looking for this blog as we speak. darce, you may be the only person who reads this, other than me.
dogs...
i missed fierce ferociously while i was gone, some of the time. the rest of the time it felt really nice to be on vacation and not be responsible for another living being. much thanks goes out to liz for being kind enough to care for fierce while i was gone. however, i was glad to see fierce when i got home. we did some serious snuggling. then the best thing happened on our tuesday morning walk.
fierce kissed a cat.
technically, the cat kissed fierce, but it was adorable. you see, fierce has a pretty strong prey drive and she will chase anything that moves (read: cats, squirrels, motorcycles, skateboards). on our morning this adorable kitten just pranced up to fierce, rubbed up against her, kissed her on the nose and then tried to climb up her face. it was amazing! fierce just stood there, absolutely frozen. then she started to sniff a little, but was totally into the little furry beast that was checking her out. finally, hope that fierce can get along with cats. it was the cutest thing ever and i spent the next few blocks giggling and laughing out loud at the joy this world has to offer us. then this morning fierce was chill enough to hang out with two new cats while we were walking! yay. she has also become quite calm with the chickens and won't chase them if they get out in the yard. success, what more can a girl ask for.
chickens...
the chickens are getting much bigger. they are four months old now, which puts them in range of laying. they are starting to get a bit noisier, which is a good sign, but they don't look nearly filled out enough to start laying. or maybe they are just waiting for me to actually build their nesting boxes. i am a neglectful mom. and on a sad note, while i was gone tootsie (the small, sad-footed bantam) had a run in with voldemort and didn't make it. poor liz, she's always the one who has to deal with the scary chicken situations. i hope tootsie is in a better chicken place, maybe one where she has full use of both of her feet. the remaining two girls seem content, but i bet they secretly miss the little one.
picture time...i include this one because the fuzzy beast looks so wet and furry, and because it's nice to include some pictures of me looking like the worlds biggest dork (is that any different from every moment of my life?)
it's time to take some new pictures. the chickens are huge (but not huge enough to not fly from their pen) and fierce is super cuter. hmmm, i'll get around to it eventually. time to close up the coop and put something nutritious in my body...since ice cream doesn't count and my iron was too low to donate blood today.
dogs...
i missed fierce ferociously while i was gone, some of the time. the rest of the time it felt really nice to be on vacation and not be responsible for another living being. much thanks goes out to liz for being kind enough to care for fierce while i was gone. however, i was glad to see fierce when i got home. we did some serious snuggling. then the best thing happened on our tuesday morning walk.
fierce kissed a cat.
technically, the cat kissed fierce, but it was adorable. you see, fierce has a pretty strong prey drive and she will chase anything that moves (read: cats, squirrels, motorcycles, skateboards). on our morning this adorable kitten just pranced up to fierce, rubbed up against her, kissed her on the nose and then tried to climb up her face. it was amazing! fierce just stood there, absolutely frozen. then she started to sniff a little, but was totally into the little furry beast that was checking her out. finally, hope that fierce can get along with cats. it was the cutest thing ever and i spent the next few blocks giggling and laughing out loud at the joy this world has to offer us. then this morning fierce was chill enough to hang out with two new cats while we were walking! yay. she has also become quite calm with the chickens and won't chase them if they get out in the yard. success, what more can a girl ask for.
chickens...
the chickens are getting much bigger. they are four months old now, which puts them in range of laying. they are starting to get a bit noisier, which is a good sign, but they don't look nearly filled out enough to start laying. or maybe they are just waiting for me to actually build their nesting boxes. i am a neglectful mom. and on a sad note, while i was gone tootsie (the small, sad-footed bantam) had a run in with voldemort and didn't make it. poor liz, she's always the one who has to deal with the scary chicken situations. i hope tootsie is in a better chicken place, maybe one where she has full use of both of her feet. the remaining two girls seem content, but i bet they secretly miss the little one.
picture time...i include this one because the fuzzy beast looks so wet and furry, and because it's nice to include some pictures of me looking like the worlds biggest dork (is that any different from every moment of my life?)
it's time to take some new pictures. the chickens are huge (but not huge enough to not fly from their pen) and fierce is super cuter. hmmm, i'll get around to it eventually. time to close up the coop and put something nutritious in my body...since ice cream doesn't count and my iron was too low to donate blood today.
12.8.08
procrastiblogging...
tonight was the best night ever. some pals and i went out for some dusk paddling in the multnomah channel. it was lovely. the air temperature was perfect, everything felt quiet and it was so much fun to snoop on all the houseboats. why have i waited this long to organize such a trip? i'm not sure, by i'm glad it finally happened, even though it is mid-august. and now the canoe and kayak live at home and i'm sure that will make me much more likely to use them. yay!
and this is procrastiblogging. it's last and i still have to finish my lab (not to mention all the reading and studying i should do too). at least i made it in front of the computer with the intention of writing my lab, but the e-mail-vanessajean check in-facebook-blogger distractions were just too powerful.
i had ice cream for dinner tonight. i biked over 15 miles to and from class. i got to go to new seasons. could like be any better?
picture of the day:
fierce is so good at lounging...i should take some pointers from her.
and this is procrastiblogging. it's last and i still have to finish my lab (not to mention all the reading and studying i should do too). at least i made it in front of the computer with the intention of writing my lab, but the e-mail-vanessajean check in-facebook-blogger distractions were just too powerful.
i had ice cream for dinner tonight. i biked over 15 miles to and from class. i got to go to new seasons. could like be any better?
picture of the day:
fierce is so good at lounging...i should take some pointers from her.
7.8.08
the drumming never stops
tonight i went to see some drumming. i've happened to have seen a lot of drumming this summer. tonight it was this neat portland group, the lions of batucada. on the fourth of july i saw one of a kind drum line in vancouver, wa with my family. then there is the group portland group that marches in all the parades, but i don't know their name. anyhow, i've found myself inspired by drumming all summer...and maybe it's just time for me to finally pick up an instrument in my life (ok, other than the two years of piano in middle school!). there is just something magical about the energy lots of drums create when they are all making noise at the same time...i just love it!
no more procrastiblogging...of two write about biology. specifically blood pressure and ekgs. the exciting part about lab yesterday was that i got to be hooked up for an ekg and watch the electricity and my heart beat doing crazy stuff like resting, running up stairs, holding an inhale, holding and exhale and a fake exhale. wow. science is pretty cool.
dog picture of the day:
oh my gosh! she is actually athletic! fierce is the one lunging at the ball. she can fetch (only in competition if there are other dogs around).
no more procrastiblogging...of two write about biology. specifically blood pressure and ekgs. the exciting part about lab yesterday was that i got to be hooked up for an ekg and watch the electricity and my heart beat doing crazy stuff like resting, running up stairs, holding an inhale, holding and exhale and a fake exhale. wow. science is pretty cool.
dog picture of the day:
oh my gosh! she is actually athletic! fierce is the one lunging at the ball. she can fetch (only in competition if there are other dogs around).
6.8.08
the signs are all around!
oh my gosh! are you ever just so full of joy - just brimming over - that it is hard to keep it all contained? that's how i feel right now. i have this theory that the world is full of energy and we are either flowing with it or pushing against it. when we are flowing with it, that's when we are in tune, when life feels easy, like floating down a river in the middle of boise in an inner tube. and it is at precisely those times, when we are just going with the flow, that if we open our ears and our hearts and our minds that we can see the everything and the nothing that exists in the world. it's then we can see that everything, everything serves as a sign, a beacon, an omen, the dial on our compass, and when we feel that energy...there is so much we can intuit!
i love it! it's like when my dad and i have esp. or when there is just enough energy around an issue that you just know something is going to happen. and it does. and maybe it doesn't mean anything...but still something has happened. vague? yes! sometimes it just takes slowing down, floating along, opening up our hearts and feeling the world around us to know, just know.
on my bike ride home tonight (way past my bedtime, ie it was dark out) i was pondering the wonderful conversations i have had with friends (such lovely, lovely friends) in the past few days. i will admit, i have been in a slump, one of those slumps that occurs when your heart feels something icky and then your brain proceeds to nosedive into a pit of despair. anyhow, biking home i starting to feel the joy bubbling up again, and my sense of excitement and peacefulness coming back. and all of the pieces of the puzzle fitting together. and for the first time ever, biking home on the dark streets, portland felt like home. i felt like one with this city that has never quite fit right. oh the joy.
i am feeling peak gratefulness to all the wonderful people in this life who make it what it is.
chicken picture of the day:
the babes a few weeks after hatching. darn they are cutie pies. roosty roo (back left) the bantam araucana is the boy who had to leave our flock because roosters are banned in the city and he was starting to make a lot of noise. don't tell the girls, but he was the prettiest and had the best personality! and don't tell fierce that the chicks get mention and she doesn't.
i love it! it's like when my dad and i have esp. or when there is just enough energy around an issue that you just know something is going to happen. and it does. and maybe it doesn't mean anything...but still something has happened. vague? yes! sometimes it just takes slowing down, floating along, opening up our hearts and feeling the world around us to know, just know.
on my bike ride home tonight (way past my bedtime, ie it was dark out) i was pondering the wonderful conversations i have had with friends (such lovely, lovely friends) in the past few days. i will admit, i have been in a slump, one of those slumps that occurs when your heart feels something icky and then your brain proceeds to nosedive into a pit of despair. anyhow, biking home i starting to feel the joy bubbling up again, and my sense of excitement and peacefulness coming back. and all of the pieces of the puzzle fitting together. and for the first time ever, biking home on the dark streets, portland felt like home. i felt like one with this city that has never quite fit right. oh the joy.
i am feeling peak gratefulness to all the wonderful people in this life who make it what it is.
chicken picture of the day:
the babes a few weeks after hatching. darn they are cutie pies. roosty roo (back left) the bantam araucana is the boy who had to leave our flock because roosters are banned in the city and he was starting to make a lot of noise. don't tell the girls, but he was the prettiest and had the best personality! and don't tell fierce that the chicks get mention and she doesn't.
5.8.08
bio schmio
i did not realize that taking a one-quarter, college-level principles of biology class would kick my butt so hard...and it's only day one. i think mostly i have been in a period of extreme relaxation (laziness?) and it's hard to direct my attention to the things i should be doing (like taking a biology class so i can be qualified for grad school-why didn't i take bio i college?) instead of doing the things i want to do (a two hour catch up phone chat with jessie? looking at darcy's wedding photos, visiting jason and amber's chickens?). you get the point. the next three weeks may be painful...but the upside is lots of procrastiblogging. which is good news for this blog's loyal 1.5 readers.
here's a little dog and chicken story of the day. there isn't really any background to this yet, so i will say this...fierce likes the chickens. she likes them so much that she can't take her eyes off them and if they weren't fenced in she would like to snuggle them to death. and although fierce is generally a wonderful dog, she gets pretty excited about things that squawk and meow and move quickly and she stops paying attention to anything i ask of her.
today i got home very sweaty after (finally) getting to ride my bike home. the girls were chillin' on the sofa and i let them out in the backyard. i assumed (to assume is to...) the hens were in the coop, but the coop door was open and the two big hens had hopped the fence and were unprotected from the dogs wandering around the back yard. and i realized this as the dogs were charging out the back door! cleo, the most responsive and wonderful dog headed back in the house at the commotion i made. my immediate fear was the fierce was going to charge a chicken and grab it by the neck and bad things would ensue. instead...she curiously followed them for a couple seconds (probably stunned beyond belief that they were free) and then she stopped and sat down when i asked her! she followed my instructions instead of the dog voice inside her head that was saying "get the chickens". it was glorious! the dog might have manners! she might not want to eat chickens after all! it was glorious and i felt like my dog training was victorious! so many exclamation points!
ok, so that might not be as exciting to you all, kind reading audience, but it was a victory for me. i'm just waiting for the day when i look out in the yard and there is a chicken snuggled next to fierce and they are napping in the sun. ok, a girl can dream.
dog photo for the day:
she is so sleek.
here's a little dog and chicken story of the day. there isn't really any background to this yet, so i will say this...fierce likes the chickens. she likes them so much that she can't take her eyes off them and if they weren't fenced in she would like to snuggle them to death. and although fierce is generally a wonderful dog, she gets pretty excited about things that squawk and meow and move quickly and she stops paying attention to anything i ask of her.
today i got home very sweaty after (finally) getting to ride my bike home. the girls were chillin' on the sofa and i let them out in the backyard. i assumed (to assume is to...) the hens were in the coop, but the coop door was open and the two big hens had hopped the fence and were unprotected from the dogs wandering around the back yard. and i realized this as the dogs were charging out the back door! cleo, the most responsive and wonderful dog headed back in the house at the commotion i made. my immediate fear was the fierce was going to charge a chicken and grab it by the neck and bad things would ensue. instead...she curiously followed them for a couple seconds (probably stunned beyond belief that they were free) and then she stopped and sat down when i asked her! she followed my instructions instead of the dog voice inside her head that was saying "get the chickens". it was glorious! the dog might have manners! she might not want to eat chickens after all! it was glorious and i felt like my dog training was victorious! so many exclamation points!
ok, so that might not be as exciting to you all, kind reading audience, but it was a victory for me. i'm just waiting for the day when i look out in the yard and there is a chicken snuggled next to fierce and they are napping in the sun. ok, a girl can dream.
dog photo for the day:
she is so sleek.
4.8.08
mr. obama as mr. darcy?
ok, if you didn't know that i have an undying love of pride and prejudice (not to mention anything jane austin or colin firth). i just reread and rewatched the bbc version so it's fresh in my mind. someone (aka green pants) sent me a ny times link to a maureen dowd article implying mr. obama in the role of mr darcy. it's a little bit of a stretch, but it connects all my favorite things together. read it here.
...and it wasn't until last night that i realized i haven't watched all of arrested development in this world. oh my god! how i thought my life was complete and there was no more happiness to be had...but there is...oh how there is...oh how i love season three. i will savor each and every mole destroying a small city, every time michael gets clobbered by a puppet and anything george michael says or does. god bless america.
dog photo of the day...
cleo has fallen in love with fierce's dungeon. it takes a lot to get them both in there.
and this is my favorite classroom picture from this year. because of the nature of a garden classroom, there are a lot of funny things written on the board and the kids ask for help spelling lots of funny words. so we end up with lots of very funny things on the board.
...and it wasn't until last night that i realized i haven't watched all of arrested development in this world. oh my god! how i thought my life was complete and there was no more happiness to be had...but there is...oh how there is...oh how i love season three. i will savor each and every mole destroying a small city, every time michael gets clobbered by a puppet and anything george michael says or does. god bless america.
dog photo of the day...
cleo has fallen in love with fierce's dungeon. it takes a lot to get them both in there.
and this is my favorite classroom picture from this year. because of the nature of a garden classroom, there are a lot of funny things written on the board and the kids ask for help spelling lots of funny words. so we end up with lots of very funny things on the board.
2.8.08
the joys of snoring dogs
ok, ok, i know. it's been a really long time since i have posted to this blog...and a really long time since i have even thought about it. but you know what? i think it's time to bring back some vanessa jean blogging action. and i will give you two really, really good reasons: 1) dogs and 2) chickens. i will forgo the thought that this blog even has anything to do with duct tape anymore. i think it will be all dog and all chicken all the time. get used to it and quit your whining.
no, really. tonight i sat down to update vanessajean.com because, let's face it, the fact that the index page still referred to christmas '07 was a pretty big sign of neglect. and oh what a process! i have a new hard drive and no dreamweaver...so it took a while to actually get to the point of having the software to change anything. but i got there and spent a lovely night watching charlie bartlett and editing vanessajean. it was great fun to actually look at the site and some of the old press, like this clip from wtnh news in new haven. that was so long ago and so much has changed since then! and this blog, that started about FIVE years ago...and actually used to be full of meaningful things...just to think how much has happened between then and now...and now i am here, on the dogs' sofa, enjoying the gentle snoring of two exhausted black dogs.
buy really, let's get on to the good stuff...pictures of dogs and chickens. who cares about what i have to say, it's about the animals...
fierce herbott, just relaxing
fierce, on coop installation & chicken release day, before she knew how her life would change forever.
enter...the girls. ok, there was one boy too. he lasted for about a week, until his early morning pre-pubescent crowing got so loud that i had to find him a new home. it was sad, but it seems like he has a nice life in scapoose now. the rooster was a beautiful bantam araucana...oh how i loved him! anyhow, after spending the first two months of their lives in a melon box in a classroom full of loud kids, the girls didn't know how to react to this 'natural' environment.
one big happy family...until the chickens started moving...and the dogs got excited...and we had to put up a second fence.
no, really. tonight i sat down to update vanessajean.com because, let's face it, the fact that the index page still referred to christmas '07 was a pretty big sign of neglect. and oh what a process! i have a new hard drive and no dreamweaver...so it took a while to actually get to the point of having the software to change anything. but i got there and spent a lovely night watching charlie bartlett and editing vanessajean. it was great fun to actually look at the site and some of the old press, like this clip from wtnh news in new haven. that was so long ago and so much has changed since then! and this blog, that started about FIVE years ago...and actually used to be full of meaningful things...just to think how much has happened between then and now...and now i am here, on the dogs' sofa, enjoying the gentle snoring of two exhausted black dogs.
buy really, let's get on to the good stuff...pictures of dogs and chickens. who cares about what i have to say, it's about the animals...
fierce herbott, just relaxing
fierce, on coop installation & chicken release day, before she knew how her life would change forever.
enter...the girls. ok, there was one boy too. he lasted for about a week, until his early morning pre-pubescent crowing got so loud that i had to find him a new home. it was sad, but it seems like he has a nice life in scapoose now. the rooster was a beautiful bantam araucana...oh how i loved him! anyhow, after spending the first two months of their lives in a melon box in a classroom full of loud kids, the girls didn't know how to react to this 'natural' environment.
one big happy family...until the chickens started moving...and the dogs got excited...and we had to put up a second fence.
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