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Poems (mine and others), recipes, garden tips and ?s, my particular sense of humor, & MacGyver-type solutions to common problems. That's what you'll find here--and I hope that's what I'll hear from you. I look forward to your comments, Meryl Natchez.Social Media & RSS
Category Archives: Chickens
The chickens lend a helping foot
Yesterday was the last Saturday of the month, which is the day of the great Berkeley compost giveaway. From 7:30 in the morning till it runs out, energetic Berkeley gardeners can shovel as much compost as we want into whatever … Continue reading
Where metaphors come from
The young chickens–all four of them–have successfully integrated with the existing flock. Despite the dire predictions of my local chicken expert, the older hens did not kill or try to kill the young birds. I followed the advice of the … Continue reading
Posted in Chickens
Tagged cooped up, flew the coop, hen pecked, mad as a wet hen, pecking order, rule the roost
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Outfoxed
Metaphors aren’t usually driven home with the force that I experienced on Friday. I had brought the hen and chicks to a new cage in the garden next to the house, and (I thought) secured the area with bird net. … Continue reading
Newly hatched
We’re back, and on the day we returned, the eggs the broody hen had been setting on hatched. We have six new baby chicks, all offspring of Malawi and his hens. Surely at least one will be a rooster. Really, … Continue reading
Malawi’s memorial
After letting the rooster rest in the refrigerator for a couple of days, I turned him into stock and used the stock and some of the breast meat to make a memorial dinner. I was going to use just his meat, … Continue reading
Death in the morning, an elegy
This morning I woke to squawking from the chickens. I didn’t think much of it; they’re often noisy in the morning. But it went on, and I went out in time to see a large grey fox with feathers in … Continue reading
Cluck and Glück
I didn’t know that Louise Gluck pronounced her name to rhyme with “click,” but that’s how it is. She read on Thursday night at Moe’s (yes, we still have a few bookstores in Berkeley!). It was a pleasure to listen to her … Continue reading
Posted in Chickens, Poetry
Tagged A Village Life, Crossroads, louise gluck, plant protectors
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Slug fest
It was a misty, moisty morning, a perfect day for slugs (if not for banana fish). I walked the labyrinth several times, to pick them off the greens. Each time I gathered a handful, which the chickens got to enjoy … Continue reading
The peculiar behavior of chickens
I’ve been letting the chickens out into the winter garden to weed and fertilize. I cover or fence off the few crops I don’t want them to eat. But the chickens are curious and persistent. Yesterday, they managed to peel … Continue reading
First egg
At last, when I looked in the nest box yesterday, I found a small, green egg: Americana chickens lay eggs that range in color from pale blue to olive green. I carried it up triumphantly and Larry dubbed it “the … Continue reading