A NEW MOON

 

I went outside just after daybreak and the air was filled with bird noises. Loud, large birds; Sand Hill Cranes, crows and others in the background. Soon, the sweet songs of the smaller birds, will orchestrate, and then we will know Spring has arrived.

It was forecast to be mostly cloudy, but it is mostly Sunny. Great, we needed the Sun. It is turning out to be a marvelous day on planet Earth.

The chickens are loving the lack of snow. They come roaring out every Morning and greet the day with alacrity. I have about thirty hens and three roosters. I had only one rooster last year and the egg fertility rate did not seem to be high. If we want fertilized eggs, a ratio of one rooster to ten hens, is about right. That is for heavy breeds. Light breeds, like Leghorns, will work out with a much higher ratio- one rooster to every twenty hens, perhaps.

Last year, I ordered two Ameraucana Roosters along with the broilers, I may want to incubate some eggs. Americana is the correct name for what we have been calling Araucana. They are the ones that lay green, blue, and pinkish eggs. Ameraucanas, have Araucana heritage, but are interbred with traditional heavy breeds. Araucanas originated in South America. The colored egg trait is dominate, so any pullets, I would hatch, would lay colored eggs.

It is a little tricky having three roosters in the same small coop. So far they are not fighting. The old rooster, is maintaining his dominance, without bloodshed. They are getting along fairly well, but they are very alert to how the others are getting along with the ladies. When one tries to mount, the other two, are quick to interfere with the lovemaking. I am not going to get fertile eggs that way.

I threw out some whole corn for the chickens to eat yesterday. They picked at it a little and quit. Corn used to be a real treat to the chickens. It was like kids with candy. They would pick every last kernel. I buy my corn at a local feed mill. When GMO corn became popular in our area, I asked the manager of the feed store, what the ratio of GMO corn was in the mix. He said he didn't know. They just mixed it all together. That conversation took place over ten years ago. I have noticed, my chickens, have liked the corn I gave them, less and less, in the intervening years. It seems the majority of farms in our area now raise GMO corn.

So the chickens have a better instinct for what is good for them than Humans? Is it the Round-up? Is it just less nutritious? The corn I threw out is still laying on the ground. In the old days, it would have been gone, in about fifteen minutes. The good news is that it won't hurt them if they won't eat it. Of course, it is in their mash, too. I do not have a good source of organic feed. I have to drive twice as far and pay three times as much. I think I will be doing it anyway.

It is the New Moon. I went through, a period, dreading the New Moon. Here is the story. When we were living closer to the Earth, we had no electricity, or running water, we were more aware of the celestial happenings. I would always have a thrill, when I saw, the first sliver of moon in the West at Sundown. I realized that the preceding two or three days were difficult. I was either mildly depressed, irritable or things just were not going well. The visibility of the New Moon was a release from the negativity. It was a bright light entering my soul.

I started paying attention. Sure enough, it was an obvious cycle, I would experience some negativity around the New Moon, that would terminate when the Moon sliver became visible. It must have been happening my whole life and I didn't notice it. Sometimes the negativity would be mild; perhaps a little gloom, sometimes it would be accompanied by angry outburst. At the worst, it seemed like an attack coming from the outside. I realized, however, it had to be my own creation.

Being aware of it, helped me deal with it. It didn't happen overnight, but I learned to be watchful of my judgements and would not dwell on negative thoughts. It can still happen, but it is much better. I don't know if it is, because I am better at dealing with it, or it is my age. It seems like it will soon be only a memory. That's good. Interestingly, the Full Moon doesn't seem to have any effect on me.

Well, I have chores to do and I will accompany Jamie, to the Amish, to get milk.

Happy Monday!

Love and Peace, Gregg