Lesson 603 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

 

For too long we’ve been told about “us” and “them.” Each and every election we see a new slate of arguments and ads telling us that “they” are the problem, not “us.” But there can be no “them” in America. There’s only us.

BILL CLINTON

I know I’ve been a little AWOL this week. Been a tad on the busy side with swim meets, interviews (yup, looking for a writing job) and events like seeing Bill Clinton endorse Gubernatorial Primary candidate Maggie Hassan in Nashua. The above photo was taken by Marc at the event, I just wanted to show you that we really were there. And guess what? So was Fatti-Madi. She hasn’t made a political appearance since her last sighting with President Obama, so this catch was particularly exciting.

Here is Addy holding Fatti-Madi in front of President Clinton (that’s why I included the top photo, so that you’d know it was definitely him but let’s face it, it’s pretty easy to recognize Bill in a crowd.) What’s incredible to me is that in this photo my daughter is 3 people away from a former President of the United States.

But then my kids have already met Bill before (have I told you about how cool it is to live in New Hampshire?)

Oh Wait, don’t want anyone to feel left out:

And lastly here is a picture of Fatti-Madi and Maggie Hassan who is currently running for Governor in New Hampshire. (in my defense I had forgotten that I had worn my sparkly Barbie rhinestone sunglasses and that’s why I’m sporting such exciting head gear.)

We were asked several times about “the chicken.” What did it mean? Why did we have it?

We have the chicken because we’re chicken people and that’s just how we roll. No reason on earth why you can’t have chickens and fun at the same time.

See you next week.

*

As always, happy weekend everyone, health and happiness (and safety) to your flock.

Lesson 600 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

 

From our flock to yours – prayers and thoughts of strength go out to all those families in Aurora, CO, who are hurting this morning. We share your pain, we share your outrage.

One of my sons went to the premiere of the The Dark Knight Rises in our town last night, it pains me to think that even a fun thing like a movie may not be a safe place to go anymore.

See you next week.

*

As always, happy weekend everyone, health and happiness (and safety) to your flock.

Lesson 592 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

When one flock member gets injured you pull not only your weight but the weight of the other until he gets back on his feet.

Lessons learned from the Flock 

My son with the leg injury is at Boy’s State for the week so I haven’t seen him since Sunday. Go ahead and ask me how tough it was to drop him off at a week-long program two days after sinking an ax into his leg. But I recognized that he had to do what he had to do, and as a parent, I had to do what I had to do.

And I did. Mostly because I didn’t raise my kids to be chickens, instead I have and will continue to raise them as, well, “members of the flock,” having taught them many lessons as a direct result from our experiences of living with a flock:

• You do your job, every single day with a minimum of squawking.
• You look out for each member in your flock.
• Sometimes the fox comes but if you are lucky enough to survive, you learn from that experience and you never drop your attention around the fox again.
• When the sun shines you play, when the rains come you settle down and wait it out. Don’t worry, the rain always passes.
• At the end of the day, you welcome home and give thanks for your family. They will always be there for you.

From all reports, my son is doing well. Yesterday he graduated from walking with crutches to walking with a cane.

If chickens could fly, this one would soar.

See you next week.

*

As always, happy weekend everyone, health and happiness (and safety) to your flock.

Lesson 588 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

 

In truth a family is what you make it. It is made strong, not by number of heads counted at the dinner table, but by the rituals you help family members create, by the memories you share, by the commitment of time, caring, and love you show to one another, and by the hopes for the future you have as individuals and as a unit.

MARGE KENNEDY, The Single Parent Family

We had visitors to our flock yesterday. Two children that my kids are babysitting  this summer had heard (many) stories about our chickens and were counting down the minutes yesterday until they were going to be picked up and driven over to our house to see the birds. In particular they wanted to see Charlie. (well who doesn’t?)

“Griffin told me she is a black chicken. Charlie is a girl that loves jumping on the couch” the girl wrote in her short report. I had asked the kids to look up and write about chickens before they came over for a visit (yes, once a mom, always a mom.) I also got an incredible pencil drawing of a chicken in those reports.

We showed the kids our different chickens and our many colored eggs. They helped us clean the eggs to bring home and asked question after question about the chickens and eggs (do the eggs have baby chickens in them? Do they taste the same? Will Charlie let me hold her? Do they all have names?)

As they were leaving, the young girl turned to her brother, “maybe we can cook up some eggs when we get home,” she said.

The kids now want their parents to get chickens.

It’s all part of my master plan. One family at a time, one family at a time. 🙂

See you next week.

*

As always, happy weekend everyone, health and happiness (and safety) to your flock.

Lesson 583 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.
Aldous Huxley

It’s been hot up here in New Hampshire this week. We’re all kind of dogging it these days, drinking copious amounts of iced beverages and laying low.

The birds are keeping to the shade, the dog and kids to our one air conditioned room, and I am sitting in a darkened corner, writing and  patiently waiting for the heat to break.

Thunder storms are in the forecast for this weekend which will no doubt help to break the heat, but until then, it’s off to the freezer to get more iced cubes for my tea.

See you next week.

*

As always, happy weekend everyone, health and happiness (and safety) to your flock.

Lesson 578 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

“I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.”

Harry S Truman

Marc’s taken a few days off and while I’m still at the laptop cranking out my writing, he’s been able to spend time with some of the older kids. These days when everyone has jobs, different schedules, and sleep hours (ahem, video games until 2 am, really?) it’s rare when we can spend time with the kids on pure fun.

But that’s what Marc has done this week. Household chores (like fixing the mailbox) become kind of enjoyable when you do it with one of your sons.

Lesson 573 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

“Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.“

John Quincy Adams

This beautiful and gentle tree grows near the house in our front yard. Often when we are eating dinner we look out the side window to see hummingbirds flitting from one flower to the next.  Impossibly delicate, adorned with shimmering gossamer coats straight from a fable story, they defy that which is real.

Breath is always held at a sighting, voices lowered to a whisper, the fear being that if an exhale is too sudden the tiny creatures might disappear, desert mirages becoming sand. The scene creates a certain amount of magic, a sense of fairy spirits existing despite others claiming they do not.

As for me, when given the choice, I choose to believe in the powerful spells of these tiny sprites, for without them, how dull would life be?

See you next week.

*

As always, happy weekend everyone, health and happiness (and safety) to your flock.

Lesson 568 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

 

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill

We just don’t know what life is going to throw at us. Sometimes, as it was with our little Charlie, the hurdles seem too high, the obstacles too many. Success is not something that even seems possible.

And yet with the help and support of others, success can be reached, even under the most unbearable circumstances. Charlie can attest to that.

Always, always, remember that you are part of a greater flock that will be there to catch you when you fall. Lean on others when you can’t stand and accept an outstretched hand when you need some help getting up. Know that your flock has your back, at all times.

Lesson 563 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

To see far is one thing, going there is another.

Constantin Brancusi

One of the great things about being a local writer is that I get invited to cover local events. This past week I was invited to the unveiling of our Middle School’s “Grater Woods Mural.”  The mural was begun in 2008 and was just finished this past May. Running the full length of the hall, it depicts much of the local flora and fauna that can be found just outside our front doors in our New Hampshire woods and lakes.  (It even includes that darn pesky raccoon that all of us chicken owners are always on the lookout for.)

The kids and teachers did a terrific job. It’s beautiful, educational,  and you can’t help but smile as you walk it’s length.

See you next week.

*

As always, happy weekend everyone, health and happiness (and safety) to your flock.

Lesson 558 – Quotable Chicks

Friday’s Quotes for the Chicks 

This is not a rooster. I took this at the Aquarium.

“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.”

~ Richard David Bach

Can I just say that I had a great time last week with my 16 year old son while in Cincinnati? We spent a lot of time together and talked about everything from the weather (no, we really talked about the weather and how it differed from where we live and how those rain clouds over there looked rather fierce), to plants, to birds we didn’t recognize, and even to plans he has for his life.

I like my kids, I really do. I like talking to them and I like listening to what they have to say. They each have unique world views and insights which often make me question how I see things. My kids are smart, funny, courageous, and they stand tall.

And don’t for one minute think that I’m not eternally grateful for how lucky I am.

By the way, no worries about Charlie, the transitioning is going well, she spends the day out with the flock, has a protected area in which to be safe, and then comes in at night. It’s pretty funny when we go out in the evening, we open the door to the coop and all but one chicken marches right in. Instead of going home to roost, that one chicken trots right up to our backdoor so that she can come home to the home to roost.

See you next week.

*

As always, happy weekend everyone, health and happiness (and safety) to your flock.