Being locked down gives us all far too much time to think, so I’m not going to philosophise ad infinitum, but I would like to share a couple of very small things which brought me an involuntary smile this morning.
I’m always encouraging people to celebrate their small wins, so here are some small things that I am celebrating.
Spring Joy
I just love daffodils. They are my heralds of Spring and bring early brightness to unleafy hedgerows.
They are great in the sunshine as their colour is heightened, but in dull weather they bring light into a grey morning.
In the wind, they bend and sway, but stand up again when the breeze lessens.
Cosy chickens
I love my chickens. They are all rescues and I’m happy just to see them in a good place. They can free range, and are cheerful in their scratching around the field or the barn – looking for tiny specks of food that I don’t even see. After a horrid fox attack on the outdoor coop, we bought them a garden shed which lives inside the barn now. We put nest boxes and a stepped set of perches in and I get real pleasure from seeing them happy in their little home. They chatter away while I work down there and get under my feet in the most unannoying fashion.
Egg in the nest
Another of the joys of having chickens as pets is that they lay eggs. Even after years of keeping hens, I still smile when I find an egg. If it feels warm I love to feel it against my cheek. A new gift from our feathery girls (and some had no feathers when they came to us) is always valuable. They have perfect nest boxes on their ‘shed-home’, but far prefer to wander around the barn and find a cosy, dark place with soft hay. They’ll sit there and throws bits of nest material over their backs and cosy up into their nest to lay. The challenge for me is finding the latest nest. (The queue of chickens can be a give away – they seem to like to sit in well-used nests!).
Early lettuce seedlings
A further thing that made me smile today was the sight of my lettuce seedlings just pushing up through the compost. Yes, I expected them to grow, but the promise of homegrown salad again is a wonderful feeling: especially when it is still cold outside (even in the greenhouse). These are brave little seedlings, daring to push out into a currently chilly place.
Small things, but lovely things.
