Safe and Secure

The other morning, I went to the coop and took down one of my hens from the roost

she had been sick for the last 3 days with something I could not figure out

she was a layer hen and we bought her at one of the agriculture stores in town

first time and last time I would do that

(I'll post on the whys of that another time)

these hens are not bred to last very long

I much prefer the local "mut" chickens that run around free

I have not had any local chicken get sick on me...

and they are hardy and smart

we keep chickens mainly for eggs...

and one of my local hens that we've had for a few years now...

still lays eggs

this little hen did not respond to medication...

but she wanted to be with her close-knit siblings...

so I let her sleep one more time in the coop with them

when I went into the coop to check on her the next morning...

she was trying to support herself on the roost with one wing on the post

I took her gently in my arms and cradled her

I wanted her to feel safe and secure, knowing she was dying

within two minutes, she peacefully and quietly passed away

she was buried down the hill below the cottage

and I got to thinking about how safe and secure the child of God is

in a world full of sorrows and wickedness...

how beautiful it is to know that I am safely cradled in the arms of my Saviour

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed

and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom.

To Him be the glory forever and ever.

Amen.

2 Timothy 4:18

He's Okay Now

This is what Big Red, my main rooster looks like in good shape

he's a handsome rooster...

very gentle and while protective of his hens...

he is never aggressive towards humans

my kind of rooster

then, one day, he started to look like this

his feathers and tail became droopy

not interested in much and straying from the flock

his comb, wattle and face started to pale considerably...

till they were a pale grayish pink

even his eyes lost their luster and alertness

not good

his comb fell over to one side

I could not figure out what was wrong

whatever it was didn't seem to affect the other chickens

when the other roosters started to pick on him...

and he was taken to sitting down and hiding...

I knew I had to do something for him

I really didn't want to lose such a good tempered rooster...

so antibiotics in a broad spectrum was in order

something I do only in an urgent time

whatever he was down with...

the medication worked

I suspect it may have been an infection

in any case, after two weeks, he now looks like this again 

and he is doing this again

keeping watch over his hens for me

and yes, he now makes sure all know he is once again king of the flock

I was even quite elated to hear him crow once again in the wee hours of dawn

yeah, Big Red

I'm happy, too

For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,

a great King over all the earth.

God reigns over the nations;

God sits on His holy throne.

Psalm 42:2,8

May your day or night find grace in the Most High King.

Two Things...

It finally happened...

my electric slow cooker decided to retire for good...

and, kicked the bucket

fine with me...

'cause I was looking for a good excuse to get a dutch oven

now, I realize the dutch oven pot is not quite the same as the slow cooker

but, it does what I want as far as...

off-the-grid cooking

we've been working slowly towards less usage of the grid

not because it's the "thing" to do...

(nothing wrong with being on-grid)

nor because it's more "spiritual"...

(nothing to do with worshiping the Lord)

nor because we are trying to be more "green"...

(no use trying to save a dying world; God will take care of that)

nor because we are trying to leave less "footprints"...

(although we do try to be good stewards)

no, no...not those things at all

it's because electricity rates are getting higher than the clouds...

and a slow cooker uses electricity many hours of the day...

and for the very reason...

I just simply...

like cooking on a "campfire"

it's fun and it's frugal, moneywise

so, my husband bought me a Lodge dutch oven...

got us a coalpot (seen below)...

and we have our own coals from wood chopped off our homestead

so, in my next post, I'd like to show you how I cook with them

meanwhile...

the pullets are now laying...

the hens have laid off of brooding for now...

even Penny...

the hen who seems hatched to forever love brooding...

and who finally went back to laying her wee creamy white eggs

it is a pleasure, indeed...

to have more eggs than we can use on Pilgrim's Farm...

and have enough to sell to a few egg loving clients

It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise

than to hear the song of fools.

For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,

so is the laughter of the fools;

this also is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 7:5-6

May your day or night find joy in the grace of the Lord.

Sweet Pleasures...

When the Lord God created the earth and all it's living creatures...

He did it for His glory and our enjoyment as well as our use

well...I sure did enjoy finding this sweet baby dove...

sitting quietly under the banana trees...

waiting for mama and papa doves to bring food

it is very rare to find a fledgling dove as they hide so well

I didn't linger too long so the parents wouldn't hesitate to come back quickly

we've got pineapples coming along

the pineapple blooms are growing into fruit...

and soon, they will lose their lovely pinks and purples as they mature into yellow-orange

the zinnias are going full force...

and since most of the flowers are in a favorite pink color of mine...

it behooves me to pick a few for my table on the veranda to enjoy

the roses are giving their beauty under the veranda...

I'll keep them on the bushes and once they pass their prime and wane...

and as the younger rose buds come up...

and delight with the promise of full blooms...

I'll pick the petals from the old roses...

and scatter them in the breeze for the chickens

while the chickens like the rose petals...

they ignore the zinnias...

and I always pay attention to what my chickens will and will not eat

they usually know what's good and what's not

so, I take advantage of this and bring my pretty zinnias...

to my veranda table for the pleasure of enjoying God's creative work

The works of the Lord are great,

sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

Psalm 111:2

May your day or night find pleasures in the sweetness of my Lord's grace.

All Things...

Early this morning...

I took a trip down the hill below the cottage to see what was to be picked

some of the grapefruit was ready...

those great big globes of lovely yellow

we've had quite a bit of rain lately...

and a papaya tree fell that took on too much water in the ground

but, I'm not about to let those papayas go to waste...

they are big enough that they will ripen over time...

and some I can dice and boil to make a green papaya salad with yogurt dressing

I did manage to find some limes and mandarins ready for use

my two little sick hens are keeping company together

one has the injury under her wing from a dog attack a few weeks ago...

she is still healing from that and no, it wasn't my dog...

but, she limps still and finds it hard to go far anywhere

the other hen has some kind of issue going on we haven't figured out

what ever it is seems not to be a threat to the others and probably...

has to do with the nasty genetics of some factory hatched layers

this one was a rescue from a caged hen pen

she seems to have improved a bit with treatments of...

garlic, papaya seeds, raw apple cider vinegar and lots of fruits

in fact, after doing nothing but sitting and not eating for two days...

she insisted on coming out from her confinement...

and this morning went out with the other chickens for free range scratching

I was glad to see that but, time will tell how she will come along

and these hens are waiting in line to lay their eggs in the same spot

what is it about my husband's work table they like so much?

after one lays, the next sits, then the next...

I kid you not

no bickering, no fighting...

they wait patiently and take their turns...

while all those cozy, private hen boxes we made them sit forlorn and empty

go figure 

the coffee trees got their turn at my attention this morning, too

after not visiting these trees for a while...

I was pleasantly surprised to see how many beans are on the trees

soon, they will be harvested for the morning cup of coffee

of course, I'll need to put them through the process first of drying and hulling

and really, who are those people that think vegetable plants in the front yard...

could be such an undesirable thing?! 

I can happily say it is an expected and admirable thing to grow gardens all around the home...

front, back and on the sides, here on this little island

why, they look just as pretty to look at as the next flowering plants...

and edible, too!

our fig trees are loaded with promising and luscious fruit...

I can't wait to have more of these on my plate

love cabbage leaves...

too pretty to pass up

for now, I must go and gather up some fallen passionfruit

and remembering that Christ Jesus...

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creations.

For by Him all things were created,

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-

all things were created through Him and for Him.

And He is before all things,

and in Him all things hold together.

And He is the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning, 

the firstborn from the dead,

that in everything He might be preeminent.

For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things,

whether on earth or in heaven,

making peace by the blood of His cross.

Colossians 1:15-20

May your day or night find Christ preeminent by His grace.