Hazel, Buttercup and Jade

 These are "the Ladies".

We rehomed them in September 2021 and they quickly became part of our family.  On arrival there were 1 or 2 eggs but we had been alerted to the fact that egg-laying wasn't really their thing so the intention was just to let them live out their golden years with love, a safe yard, some companion animals and us. 

After all, they provided endless amounts of friendship, entertainment and cuteness and that's enough. And yep, I believe they grew to love their new home with us. The frequent "blowing out" of feathers has pretty much ceased. They have short claws now as a result of daily scratching around for bugs and they come when called... sprinting across the yard.

Sunbathing!

In 2022 both Hazel and Buttercup started laying spring, but Buttercup stopped after a late spring snow and never restarted. We were lucky to have gotten a couple dozen eggs all year. Jade was still "decorative only". She was also quite the conversationalist!

This year just as daylight savings kicked in, so did the ladies. All three. Jade is no longer, decorative only!

We are getting 3 eggs every 2 days or more. Enough to supply us and relieve the pain of buying $9/dozen eggs at the supermarket. And I have learned now, which chicken is responsible for which egg based on the color and size.

How cute is this?!

Is COVID over?

 Not so much... But today the US government declared the COVID-19 public health emergency to be over.

It has been 3 years and 2 months. 

This was my first blog post to do with COVID in mid March 2020:  https://dallice.blogspot.com/2020/03/just-to-clarify-before-anyone-becomes.html

I blogged the pandemic from my viewpoint. Trying to keep positive, safe and be responsible - trying to record something to look back on that showed me I didn't lose 3 years or become so changed by the circumstances of the pandemic that I can't find my old self.

The truth is I was changed by the pandemic. I didn't get COVID, I didn't lose my business or my mind (much) and I have a lot to be grateful for, including the time I had during the pandemic to actually stop and recognize it. 

However, I'm also aware that "COVID episodes" of my favorite shows make me bawl like a baby, that I became semi-permanently saddened at the realization of black and brown people being disproportionately affected, that friends lost parents and partners and we lost friends. I turned into a lady who was hesitant to spend time with others, preferred being home with my person and our fur-babies... and even though I know it's way past time to reverse course on this, I'm really struggling to do so.

So yeah, I'm happy COVID-19 is not a public emergency any more - but there are still plenty of little and big fires to be put out. The mental health crisis that has followed this pandemic is insidious and serious. We pulled back the curtain and saw fellow humans living with too few resources. And when the shit hit the fan, we collectively politicized a virus and pitted people against people in arguments over what should have been just science lessons and the chance to support each other.

2023 is the year I focus on healing and well-being for myself. It took a while to get here and it will take a while to undo, too. For now I just give thanks to the people who are supporting this search for renewed purpose and healing - they are many.

True charity beginneth first at home,

Heere in your bosomes dwell your deere-lov'd hearts,

Feed them with joy; first crowne their appetites,

And then cast water on the care-scroch'd face,

Let your own longings first be satisfied,

All other pitty is but foolish pryde.

~ John Marston

Spring at Home

 Winter was long.... Well, it felt long even though we traveled and missed some of the more severe weather this year. Snow is pretty but we witnessed it and it's magic at least every other week for several months AND it was a lot colder than I remember winter being in previous years.

Then came the time when I just longed for the muted blues, greys and browns to give way to color already! I missed a yard full of bugs and critters, the color and smell of spring, softness in the grass and just sitting out there, basking under the blue sky and sunshine. I was OVER the whole 10 minute procedure of layering up and preparing to face (and somewhat enjoy) the cold elements. I wanted show my skin the great outdoors again!

Spring is definitely a "process" in Colorado though. You might know it by its common name: Bait and Switch.

At first Mother Nature throws a couple of 80+ degree days - to trick the humans and the plants. Then we plummet below freezing, endure a heavy blizzard or two, mourn the passing of spring's most courageous and ignorant blossoms and start to grow our hopes toward the second coming. (Also a false prophet!)

Early tulips do bounce back from this!

As April draws to an end though, there is more significant proof of life, color and a new season than there are 'surprise' weather patterns to disrupt it.  Almost overnight the garden becomes a magical wonderland, the pets trade in their hibernation coats and habits in favor of frolicking and sunbathing. Baby critters dart in front of traffic and frogs can be heard - a cacophony of mating calls that simultaneously make you smile AND make your ears bleed! 

She's alive! The air is filled with the smell of flowers and my energy is all-of-a-sudden on the upswing again. Hallelujah!

This is how I see my world right now....

Phlox

Tulips

Daffodils

Catmint

Cushion spurge (I think)

Phlox

Redbud

Redbud

Aspen flower with ladybug

False spirea

Chokecherry buds

Cherry blossom

Lilac

Apple blossom

For sure, there are still things in the yard that look deader-than-a-doornail. But it's early. If I've learned one thing gardening here for almost 20 years, it's this; Give. It. Time. I literally designed the garden to flourish and perform through October and that just means some things are intended to get a late start and steal the show after the spring blooms have peaked and wilted.

Patience is a virtue I never claimed to have but every year the garden challenges and teaches me to exercise my patience muscles just a little more... And it's good for me! What better place to just take a few deep breaths or literally stop and smell the roses?!