I am an Easy Mark

I said farewell to Astrid the Rooster a few weeks ago. After a fairly terrifying drive down to meet Aimee in Denver, during which time I literally feared for my life due to the way Astrid was staring me down, she now has a new home where I was promised she won't be eaten. As I was walking away from Aimee's car, I heard the seductive words that all animal lovers both crave and fear, aimed specifically at the target on my back that states I will take in any of your stray and/or unwanted animals: "These poor [insert animal species name here] sure do need a home." So I slowly turned around and saw two hens in the back of her car. How could I resist? Poor Mike. I came home that evening with two new chickens. Persephone is an easter egger and Athena is a dark brahma. I had never heard of a dark brahma. After some cursory research, it appears that I have adopted one of the largest breeds of chicken available. I am afraid that I may have a chickizilla on my hands.

Athena

Persephone

I get a lot of inquiries about chickens. Evidently the backyard chicken movement is a global phenomenon. In that spirit, here are my girls rockin' out to Cibo Mato's Know Your Chicken.

Note to self: refrain from feeding the chickens red bell pepper. It just makes them mad.

Heartbroken

Yesterday I drove to Southern Colorado to meet Andrea so that she could take Moses home with her and officially adopt him.

Milo and Moses have not been having an easy go of things lately, and Sunday night they got into a terrible fight. Milo did not win. As the emergency vet said, "Looks like Milo starts the fights and Moses ends them." That pretty much sums it up.

If Steve and Andrea weren't the wonderful people that they are and hadn't so readily agreed to take Moses back into their home, we may have been living in a split household, with Milo in one half of the house and Moses in the other. It would have been close to impossible to give Mosey up to people we didn't know and love. But we know that Steve and Andrea love Moses like he was their own, and there is no better home for him. When I called Andrea on Monday morning, she did not hesitate to say that they would love to have Moses again. Thank you, Andrea. You are my hero.

We are completely heartbroken over this, especially me. Milo is Mike's dog. Ivy is Milo's dog. And Mosey was truly my dog. He followed me everywhere I went, and either had his head in my lap or was laying at my feet. I don't know if I'll ever find another dog who I feel so connected to, but being an eternal optimist, I know I'll keep trying.

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Counterclockwise from top right:

Pidgeon Red Flowering Kale;
Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley;
Italian Large-Leaf Basil;
Thai Lemon Basil;
French Lavender;
Dirt.

It takes a super long time to grow anything at this altitude, so when I see sprouts I get excited. When I see actual herbs I'm pretty much over the moon. When I see a giant dirt hole where the lovely Purple Sage used to be, it's not exactly a red-letter day for me. But it seems that it was for Ivy.