Today Is My Birthday

It would be nice to sleep late on my birthday, but it didn't happen.  I figured since I got up so early I may as well write a little.  My mind clicked on this morning and I was laying there thinking of all of the things I need to do...or want to accomplish in the next week or so.  We are due to have some pretty bad storms in a few hours, but since it is pitch black outside, I don't want to attempt chores outside yet.

Our owl is back, and they like to hunt early...usually, and I have already lost one rooster to the owl, or a feral cat that has been hanging around in the yard.  I could go outside and put feed out, but since it is going to rain, I prefer to put the feeders in the coops so the food doesn't get watered down...they won't eat it then and if I open the doors they will come pouring outside.  I will have to wait until the sun rises...be patient and just have some coffee I guess.  I have already had one mug of coffee, about to go get a second one...I will probably need it today.  Today I will more than likely get wet, about the time I go outside we are supposed to have an 80% chance of rain and it increases to 100% by 9:00am. It will be a rain coat and rubber boots kind of day.  I am glad I got straw spread yesterday and a few of the smaller coops mucked out.  I did not have my garden cart to haul the muck away though...so I made a couple of piles and need to get it into a muck bucket and hauled off.  Not exactly a glamorous or fun thing to do on your birthday...but neither is falling into the muck which gets rather slick when it rains.

This past year was kind of tough, my husbands business has dropped off some which is not a good sign.  I sold some turkeys, ducks, chickens and geese this year...but not near enough to make up the difference.  I need to get my breeding pens finished and get rid of a ton of excess roosters...OK, maybe 50 roosters or so, they are eating machines and they gang up on my hens and the egg production is way down to his time of year anyway.  They need to go.  I have one coop with 13, one coop with 21 and three pens with about 22, but need to select a few to keep.  Then I need to pen up some others that I want to keep to thin the numbers down...who am I kidding, I probably need to get rid of 100 roosters or more!  At least it was just a mixed breed rooster that got eaten last week, my Double Laced Blue Barnvelder just disappeared...but he may have jumped the fence and got picked off by something, I just didn't find any of his feathers.

Since it is raining today, we may take down the Christmas tree...I usually leave it up until the day after my birthday, but since my husband is home today...maybe we can get it done quicker together and haul the decorations out to the shed between storms or later today.  My husband doesn't normally take anything but Christmas Day off, or New Year's Day, but after several days with no customers he decided since everyone else was closed downtown, he would close too.  When it rains, he rarely has any customers either.  Here lately we have actually been talking about moving to a different area, a town with a bigger population.  I imagine if we do, I will be selling off my flocks...or leave them for who ever we sell the house to.  We are going to give it another year, but if business keeps dropping...it will be tough going with so many mouths to feed.  But, spring will be easier to reduce my flocks numbers too...people just don't normally want non-laying hens over the winter.  I started looking at housing prices and what is available more in central Texas around Tyler and Temple, but if he is going to continue with his computer shop we need someplace that has a bigger customer base and high speed internet...not satellite.  Since the town he has his shop only has a population of about 5,500 we probably need at least a city of 20,000 or so.  I still want to live in an area that has land though, I would love at least five acres so I can have some chickens.  I guess we shall see what happens, maybe with a different president things will get better.  If not, I will continue to search small towns and see what might work for both of us.  I don't have to have chickens, but if I don't...I want a nice workshop/studio space.

Anyway...I hope you are as happy about living another year as I am!  I am thankful for every day I have on this earth.  I use to take life for granted...things change when you get cancer and live through it.  Flowers smell sweeter, the grass looks greener, rainbows look brighter...you enjoy the sound of the rain on the roof more.  So, today on my 58th year of life...I want to wish each and every one of you reading this a Happy Birthday!  It may not actually be the day of your birth, but I hope you discover the joy of being alive one more year too, because each day we live is full of promise, yet each day is not promised...so make the most of every day you wake up to see!