It’s that problem you have when the day before the ground was solid mud but today it’s all snow covered and frozen.
When you are accustomed to being a glorious white but the mud has lingered and you are are hardly fit to be seen.
When all the puddles and ponds have frozen and all you have left is a water bowl.
And it’s just too small for a decent bath.
A few years ago my mom broke her arm. Of course, Murphy’s law never to be discounted, that happened to be the day her baby chicks arrived. I picked them up at the feed mill on my way to go help her out, letting them know who I was and why my mom wasn’t there herself. “You bring these right in and put them on her lap” said the woman. “Baby chicks make everything better.”
They didn’t miraculously heal a broken arm that day, but they did bring out a lot of smiles.
Ever since the woman at the feed mill put it into words, I’ve found it to be true. Baby chicks, in many ways, make everything better.
This weekend I had big plans, my brother was going to be visiting and we were going to Get Things Done. The kids had plans with other kids, John had a crazy workout challenge event, it was going to be great. And then my brother hurt his leg (he’ll be fine), the kid plans canceled because it tried to be winter again today (spring will be back soon), John did his event (and had a great time despite the weather) but I was not feeling the “great” that was this weekend.
And then I got a slightly out of the blue offer of 18 baby chicks to be delivered ASAP. After rummaging around outside (in the ice/snow/sleet/rain/wind) for supplies, hauling straw and shavings and digging an extension cord out of the ice, the brooder house was set up and the baby chicks arrived. I stood in the warm brooder house, out of the wind and rain and sleet and snow and ice, looked at my new babies peeping in the straw and suddenly everything was quite a bit better.
But that’s not really how I know baby chicks make everything better.
How I know is this…
A few hours after they arrived Clara, Jane and I all went out to check on (read snuggle) the babies. After a bit I, thinking that I should get something done, left the girls out in the brooder house and spent about an hour in the basement on various chores. I came upstairs and it was suspiciously quiet. Did they go back out? … or… uh oh…
The brooder house has a door with a hook and eye latch on the outside and on the inside. The door, particularly in weather that is trying to make you believe it’s still winter, will not stay closed by itself and baby chicks complain to management when it gets too drafty. The door is always latched, from one side… or the other…
I hustled back out to the brooder house. Sure enough, the door was locked from the outside. I opened it up and went in, bracing myself for yelling and crying and wondering if my apologies would have to go as far as promises of ice cream and movies. There were Clara and Jane, lounging under the heat lamp. Jane had a half a dozen baby chicks sleeping on her lap, Clara had a few more along her legs and one tucked under her hair, resting on her shoulder. Clara just looked up at me and said in a voice usually reserved for teenagers, “Really Mom?
Then they ever so slowly shed the chicks from their laps and got their boots and jackets on while Jane excitedly told me how they opened a window so they could yell for me and what their plan was in case the brooder house caught fire while they were locked in it (it totally would have worked by the way). They each gave just one more chick one more snuggle and then they happily pranced off through the sleet to the house.
And that’s how I know that baby chicks make everything better.
The tree frogs are back out again!
Hang on there buddy!
Photo blogging my way through the alphabet with:
Did you know that honey bees are actually unrepentant photobombers?
It’s true, just look what this little lady did to my picture of a leaf!
She’s trying to steal the show but this “L” picture is all those baby leaves.
The leaves that uncurl daily at this time of year always seem to be overshadowed by their flowery companions (and photobombing bees) but I think that mist of green that covers everything shouts, “Spring is here!” louder than any flower (or buzzing bee) ever could.
Speaking of shouting, I’d also like to share a little story about listening, in honor of the letter “L”, of course.
(Ivy brings me a container of small bulbs that have started to sprout and asks what they are.)
Me: “Those are the blue-flower bulbs.”
Ivy: “I don’t know what those are.”
Me: “Do you remember which flowers I’m talking about it? We plant them in pots…blue flowers… Granny and Gramps have them on their porch too…”
Ivy: “Oh! Are they red?”
Me: “Did you hear me call them blue-flowers?”
Ivy: “No.”
Me: “Sometimes, when we have conversations like this, I wonder if you actually listen to me when we talk.”
Ivy laughing: “No. I don’t really.”
Me: …
Speaking of conversations like these, I’d also like to share another favorite “L” word – liquor.
Photo blogging my way through the alphabet with:
Sometimes when I’m taking pictures, I catch the moment while missing the “perfect” picture.
Often those are perfect pictures anyway.
Jane delighting in spring weather, running with a stick over her head like a flag and a dog following behind her was joy incarnate. It was only after yesterday’s post that I realized that “Jane” herself could be my letter “j”. Apparently I forget what my kids’ names are on a regular basis…
I am photo blogging through the alphabet this month with…
I’m photo blogging from A to Z this month.
Just in case you were wondering what it is like spending spring break with your best friend and your combined six children, I’ll tell you.
It’s like this…
…but louder.
Much louder.
In the best of ways.
In the winter we live in a world dominated by black and white. Then, come spring, when your eyes finally spy those first green shoots, you can feel something sigh within you as your gaze rests on the welcome color. For awhile each new spot of green in the landscape is a welcome sight but now, now are the days when the earth explodes.
Last week we were still enjoying the soft fuzz of new leaves, spring flowers, growing grass and emerging plants. This week, after a few days of rain, the amount of green is no longer a relief to the eyes but an assault. 
Plants have grown inches, new leaves are everywhere and the spring flowers that were the focus of the landscape have become hidden under the flush of growth. There is no doubt about it, the growing season has arrived!
Look at you!
Standing in an apple tree full of blossoms.
What do you have to be grumpy about?
Oh.
That is your happy face.
Sorry.
Carry on then.
Behind the Willows 