Not So Hot

I keep hearing how hot it is in Austin. The triple digits have been reached already and summer was still a few weeks away. Meanwhile, I am enjoying little exposure to that sort of heat. I have always believed that Austin is hotter than it should be because of all the concrete it sits on.

Every summer in Austin I would remember this one day I spent out at a friend's house in July. My friend had rented a 150 year old ranch hand's cottage on what use to be the outskirts of town.  The property owners left her chickens to enjoy but not tend to so when she invited me to come see her new rental, I was there. I remember driving out and passing by what looked like clearing for new homes and then fields and then a winding road that lead to a stone cottage with a low roof line under three huge oak trees. I arrived beet red and soaked because my little Toyota had no ac and it was July in Austin.

When I got out of the car I was greeted with a cool breeze and four hens. I my friend came out and said she thought we could sit outside a bit. A bit? I was so hot and couldn't

I see chickens in my dreams...

Earlier this year my husband interrupted the pleasant little life I shared with chickens, kitties and bunny by asking me for a divorce. The day I heard those words I began to mourn all I would lose...animals, home, garden and the person I thought I would be with for the rest of my life. It was only in recent years that I felt established in Austin and had what I felt was a forever home, hence the chickens. I don't think there is a better sign of happiness with one's home and family than a backyard flock and a garden. I was happy but he was not.

I found my flock a great home with a loving owner who had been wanting her own flock for a while. On a beautiful Saturday morning we loaded up the 800 lb coop and I tearfully said goodbye to Astrud, Evis, PeeWee and Fuzztop, they were moving to San Antonio.  Piki, who I had come to really love was adopted by a sweet animal lover and friend of a friend. She is good hands. I was so looking forward to her first egg because she is a Brown Leghorn. I miss fresh eggs just as much as I miss my girls. I knew what to feed my flock to get the buttery flavor I loved in my eggs.

I have heard that everyone is doing fine and laying eggs. I find myself dreaming of my flock. The other night I dreamt I picked up Elvis and hugged her. One night I dreamt I was feeding my hens watermelon and feeling just how much I loved them. Last night I dreamt I owned two hens and they both looked like Piki. At the moment chickens are a part of my old life, one I never thought I would have but the unexpected is a part of life. That being said, love has found it's way back into my life just as unexpectedly. I hope to one day have chickens {kitty, bunny and maybe a goat} again but in the meantime I will enjoy  traveling with a dreamy pipeliner who has said he would like chickens one day as well.

Update : That pipeliner became more of a nightmare as the months rolled on. I don’t regret meeting him because had I not I would not have found  my Sweet Perfect and lil love of my life, the reason I am here, my little girl. We tried to make the pipeliner see how beautiful life can be but he was darkness and stagnation, addictions and negativity. I often tried to escape the marriage but abusive relationships become complex and I forever thought I would be hurting my daughter by leaving her father. One day it became clear that he was a real danger to her. I refused to continue to live with him. Once he left, our lives started to put out these little blooms and we found that we are so loved by those around us and started the process of healing. Chickens may once again be a part of that.