Spring Coon

Coon showed up in the day time, violating the age old daylight coon
quaranteen, which really outraged our roosters, who alarmed the hens,
except for the ginger on the well head.

Copernicu eats Sumach

I sat in a tree and told the orchard not to burst its buds yet because
April is a cruel sonofabitch, but only some trees complied. You can't
tell chickens what to do either, and at this time of year a roosters
fancy, or that of our fancy rooster Copernicus, is to eat some bitter
red things, Just watch as he seems to be savaging the bloody heart of a
large mammal. During our invasion of Iraq I remember Sadam Husane
saying that he would capture our soldiers and see to it that Iraqi
roosters tore their entrails out.

But on this day here at Dog's Plot our rooster is attacking the
fruit cluster of a Staghorn Sumach tree. Sumach berries can be used to
curdle milk in cheese making, balance flavors when making cider, and as a
tea. It is common as a spice in the Middle East. Most everywhere ,
since about always, Sumach has been used medicinally for (like many
traditional medicines) most everything: as an antifungal
anti-inflammatory
antimalarial
antimicrobial
antimutagenic
blood thinning
prevents tumors
antiviral

prevents hardening of arteries
Copernicus knows what is good for him and, Good Lord, he';is going to be
one healthy rooster
Maybe we should sit back on a day like this and have some sumach tea.

Life in the Watercress Flow

In these dim days it's good to know

there's life out in the watercress flow.

A big old beetle's swimming around

and sucking up all the air-bubbles though.

Wally the Chuck

Nobody here but us rocks

Last Snow

The recent snow fall ... and Pooka hopes it is the last of the season
because she has not gone out and about for months now, being
self-confined, for her own reasons, but when this snow stuff is pretty
much over for the season (no trusting the seasons these days) she will
be out of here and not seen again for weeks or months. Not sure where
she goes or what she does, maybe down into Aurora to feed on birds under
the town feeders, maybe just to be at play in the fields of the lord or
whoever. Georgia has a suspicion that she just moves to another
household. Anyway, Pooka has taken a strong interests in some Starlings
that seem to be nesting again in the hollows of the Horse Chestnut
tree, where they used to nest by the dozen in years before the cats came
along.

Hen Takes the High Road

This way to the high country:

Winter Run

Davey Weathercock and Olive the rowing hen report from Dog's Plot