The changing realm of Camilla Chicken, or what happens as the world turns

Camilla Chicken from a couple days ago. Photo courtesy of my daughter.

It's lovely to have family present; my eldest and the grandgirls are here for the week. My oldest granddaughter likes checking on the chickens, while youngest grandgirl treks about with Grandpa on trails. Meanwhile I've learned about KPOP Demon Hunters, how AI can produce gluten-free, dairy-free, iron-fortified, red-meat free meal plans in the blink of an eye, not batting an eye in also excising seafood, tofu, and coconut milk from said menus. Definitely twenty-first century living even tucked away on the North Coast.

Rain has fallen, then was immediately sucked into the parched ground, more rain arriving today. Temperatures have been pleasant, sun shining even. The chickens weren't sure what to make of all the precipitation, and by last night my husband was wondering if Camilla, our largest and usually most confident pullet/nearly hen was experiencing a bit of an identity crisis. When he went to check that all chickens were done for the night, Camilla was jostling herself along the wall, then flew down to the coop floor, pacing a bit. She returned to the roost, then a Barnevelder flew down, then returned up. Yesterday I checked on them in the run; all were pecking about the grass while Camilla dust-bathed in a spot that hadn't been drenched. Part of owning chickens is the marvel of discovering their personalities and habits. What will this change of season mean for Camilla, and for the rest of us as well.

On this last morning of September, I am seated in the living room, a clear sky behind me, but clouds will muscle in soon enough, and yes, more blessed rain will make for an indoors kind of afternoon. Maybe some sewing; the grandgirls gleefully sorted through my Christmas fabric yesterday, planning copious projects. After an hour of using my machines, those ideas were lessened in scope, and I'm intrigued at what they might actually stitch together. I certainly can be distracted by an attractive shiny, lol, so they come by their enthusiasm naturally. Camilla is the most eager for treats, always scouting out the next possible spot when my husband distributes goodies in the run. Yet there is a benefit from being circumspect, in being humble. Expectations can alter as one examines the landscape, putting things in perspective. Easy for me to say at fifty-nine years of age, much harder for ten and seven-year-olds or chickens, who understand FAR LESS of the world than youngsters. Chickens are blessed with amazing instincts, but they hung out under an overhang yesterday as rain pounded the ground, too intimidated to return into the warmth and comfort of the coop until after the storm passed. And you can't admonish a chicken, lol. How they'll fare this winter, with all our Humboldt soppiness, will be a lesson for us all.

Camilla dustbathing yesterday afternoon.

Will Camilla remain as queen of sorts, hehehe. Cami, the Welsummer who looks much like Camilla but is smaller, is an independent pullet, and I think she always will be. In cleaning out the coop on Sunday afternoon, Cami was the only one who didn't sashay back inside, pecking the floor as straw was scooped out. A couple of times she approached the opening to the coop from the run-side, but only to see where her sisters had gone. The rest were fascinated by bits left behind, although as new straw was brought in, they scurried out, yet immediately returned to examine this new element. They like the new straw, where they will probably be for much of the afternoon today as that's when the rain is slated. Or maybe they'll brave the wet. Hard to predict are these chickens, much like trying to assess what will occur in our own day-to-day.

The beauty of this life is a mix of embracing the new and releasing the sorrow. Sounds like a recipe, trying to combine elements that might not swirl together as we'd like, yet what else can we do? Camilla might be finding her role as top chick altering, while I'm grappling with dietary restrictions. I'm not an AI fan, but I certainly appreciated how easily my daughter harnessed information. My granddaughters may not fashion Christmas placemats and coasters, yet I am sending them home with ones I made a few years ago, which might later pique their interest to create complimentary linens. And by later I mean years, lol. They'll recall the thrill of pairing fabrics, and we'll see how the memory of sitting at a machine, sewing practice seams, frames that reference.

So much we want to do; create beauty, instigate world peace, love one another. Write some books, ahem, get my shoulder sorted so I can return to hand-sewing, teach my granddaughters how to make their own cozies IF they desire to acquire that skill. I can't do jack for Camilla, other than observe how she fits into the evolving sphere of chicken-happiness, and unfortunately a lot of life is just as hands-off. Yet I pray for more love, more peace, more awareness that there is more to this life than KPOP Demon Hunters, even if I had to know what happened at the end.

In the end, after much hand-wringing and unnecessary violence for a movie aimed at kids, the good gals won, the demons were defeated. Another allegory for you, if you're looking for one.