Wabi-Sabi, Goats and Chickens

January 16~

Wabi-sabi... imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete is the perfect description of my state of being, and blogging. It's all uncertainty, and missteps, wariness, and a timidity about most everything. But I am so fixed and determined on recovery, on reclaiming activities, making plans, feeling confident, overcoming.

I decided to begin simply, and without too much concern about what's left unsaid. I am frequently comparing myself with how I used to do things, or what I imagine I would have been doing, if... but that's only building up a wall, an obstacle that keeps me from trying anything. Maybe I have a new normal, maybe I will find my way back to before, but even as I type that, I can see that we never really do go back to before. It's March, a new year, and life is wabi-sabi.

So, here are some goats and chickens.


Tasha Tudor Goat and Ada Lovelace Goat, and they are both nearly 7 years old.



January 24~

Mako, my darling girl. She still lays eggs, though she is nearly 6 years old.

February 2~



We have a lot of rain this winter. A lot. It's made the garden lush and happy, it's made me cozy and happy. It's made the goats dismayed and forlorn. I've done a lot to address their concerns, like giving them extra treats, laying down dry bedding, and finding breaks in the weather to let them run loose.

February 5~

February 9~
Here is Emma Thompson leaving the nest, and Pepper, in line to lay her egg.

Right after the new year, the hens started laying again. I was surprised. I am still surprised. They were looking beleaguered and bedraggled in the fall, and I worried about how they would fare through the winter after such a messy molt. They are not young hens, and I assumed these would be their retirement days. Happily, the hens are plucky as ever. Neither their age, nor the weather has slowed them down.


Pretty Koa.

February 12~

Fiona, our buff orpington, went through a brief rough patch of her own, and I was concerned. She was unwell, and hardly ate. Now, she's back to her old self, and I am glad we will have our cheery, golden girl with us a while longer.


Pippi looks so elegant and spry, when Alex saw her picture, he asked, "Is this one of our chickens?"




Definitely, one of our goats! I love when I can capture these hilarious expressions.

February 17~

Hello, Liberty. She is just the same as when we named her. She is quiet and calm, and satisfied to go off on her own path, no bother to anyone.

Pepper and Pippi, or perhaps Pippi and Pepper. I tell the two silver-laced Wyandotte hens apart by their toes.

February 25~

Geoff is in San Francisco this week, so my technical hiccups with uploading photos will have to wait. I have tried to fix the problem, and as usually happens, I only succeed in stumbling upon more problems.

Max is taking his last final of winter quarter, and I will be bringing him home soon. Maria is ready to stay after school and participate in the Elective Fair for incoming students. She wore her Paradox uniform. Guess what... they earned a place at Championships! Yes, there's a lot we haven't kept up on, good things still to share. Alex is at work... he and Bambi are saving and preparing for their trip to Japan, later this spring. William has been 3d printing, and researching something he and Geoff are looking into... some other kind of 3d printer, a prospect that makes both of them light up.

The garden is wild. And the bees and butterflies, bunnies and birds, thank us. Maria, Alex, and I are devising plans to bring in more native plants, and that's something that makes me happy, too.