It’s Another New Year
I don’t really buy into the whole new year, fresh start, clean slate bit. All of me at 11:59 pm on December 31 carries across to 12:00 am January 1. Chances are high that I’m not changing. Not really. That Costco box of Cheez-its will still be on the counter the next morning, and I will still be sneaking 2-3 crackers at a time and letting their tangy goodness dissolve in my mouth. If you’ve never munched on chocolate and Cheeze-its at the same time (alternate bites, don’t cram them in together), you really should. It will blow your taste-buds.
I do buy into slow, progressive improvement, reflection and re-upping intentions. I just looked back at my posts from this time last year, and I didn’t post any resolutions. I was up to my eyeballs in self-reflection, and over the year I feel like I deconstructed my personality towards an edge of a nihilistic spiral. I certainly learned a lot, but all that looking inward left me feeling empty, which makes sense. You can only halt living so long before the porous cup that is your life begins to drain. Is life the cup or the liquid in the middle? I don’t know. I suggest it’s the filling up, the pouring out, the being used for the purpose intended. Coming into 2019, I’m shifting my gaze to upward and onward. I’m longing for purpose and intention and also action. There was a great quote on NPR this morning… it was something like “You can’t buy a pound of purpose,” you have to make it. So this year, I’m gonna make it. I’m starting back at the pottery wheel. Now that we’ve sunk good money into switching out the aluminum wiring for copper, I can trust I’m not going to melt down the breaker box.
Back in 2017 I did three separate posts on New Year resolutions! My goals were to incorporate more native plants into the landscape, create hospitality through the gardens, and improve the habitat for wild birds (and other critters). I want to continue building into these goals as I add more vegetation into the landscape. The hilarious thing is, the Carolina Anoles around our house remind me that they aren’t too picky about the landscape. They are just happy for a little sunshine and protection.
We are on track to produce far more eggs than we can consume, which means we will get to share! After a short winter hiatus for molting and general grumpery, the hens have started laying again. Any day now, the pullets will begin laying as well. Another one of our pullets turned out to be a cockerel, so our flock of nine is down to eight, which is still pushing our chicken math for the size of the coop and run. The remaining pullets don’t seem too bothered by the loss of Daphne and may even be making strides to better integrate with the hens. We added the five back in September and while there was mostly peaceful coexistence, there were definitely two distinct flocks. Penny, the original Black Copper Marans, is still super bossy and territorial, but she lays the very best eggs. Daphne has a new home on a farm and will hopefully have an awesome life.
Finally, I really hope to get honey bees this spring. I’m not “resolving” to get them, but I am wishing. Over the past two years I’ve added a lot of perennial flowers in preparation, but I will admit there are already many hobbies and ventures around this little third of an acre to manage. So this wish may carry over another year or so.
Happy New Year, friends!
