Day: April 5, 2012

If the divine lives in a broken heart, then surely he lives in the very small life of a chicken.

Meg lived a large life for a chicken. She did not adhere to the world’s chicken boundaries.

She was obnoxious, loud and pushy sometimes. Donkeys and cats and dogs

fled before her.

She adored the camera, as all ambitious chickens do.

She pecked at it two or three times, but I whacked her in the head with a small stick,

and she stopped pecking at my lens. Meg was wise.

Meg understood the basic truth of the chicken:

people bring food. Be near people. She followed it religiously.

She had faith in food. Bugs, ticks, flies and worms, too.

She never passed up a worm she could eat.

I understand that the lives of chickens are short and fragile,

but was very sorry to imagine Meg locked out of a barn and snatched

by a fox. No trace of her, not even a feather.

I imagine she gave the fox a fairly good run for his money,

and then made a good amount of noise.

It is the fate of chickens to be dinner, although we do not eat ours.

We live in the real world of real animals, and I am no farmer,

but live on a farm, and do not spend too much time mourning for a chicken.

Still, I am sad to lose Meg.

Godspeed, Meg, I hope you had a safe and happy journey to

wherever it is chickens go.

This window tells it’s own story, messages of love and connection from another time. But still powerful.

I’ve been fortunate to have taken some photo’s from Florence’s window. She died in December, and some of her things remain in her meticulously maintained old farmhouse. I love this house, and her spirit, which is present in every room, and today the family was good enough to let me inside to take some photos from the other side of the window.

I took my first photo lessons today with Christine Glade, a professional photographer from Pawlet, Vt. She knows her stuff, and I have a lot to learn, especially about how to use and understand the complex and creative machinations of my new Canon 5 D. I have almost been allergic to lessons in my life, and Christine really knows photography, is direct and understands that the inside of my mind is not nearly as efficient a place as a Canon autofocus. There is no autofocus in my head. We started out talking about aperture and shutter speed, and I stopped on the way home to do my homework – taking some photos on AV, the aperture setting. Started out with this maple syrup line in Rupert, Vt.

She works in two-hour sessions, and next week we’ll focus on shutter speed. I was astonished at the many things this camera can do that I did not know about or take the time to know about. I am so excited to work with Christine, can’t wait for next week’s lesson. Tomorrow, I am going to run around and try some new stuff. Hang in there.

I told Meg early on,

that curious hens do not live long,

as many things eat them, and most

are smarter than a chicken.

Meg was the Hen Of Entitlement

She wandered around by herself,

explored the far corners of the pasture,

refused to live by the expectations of others,

for a chicken.

She followed Maria around like a puppy,

Walked by Frieda in the yard,

She rode on donkeys, chased off barn cats,

loved her worms.

When we came out to the barn in the morning,

she waddled at full speed to greet us, clucking

excitedly for her food. When she didn’t get any,

she complained loud and long.

Last night, she succumbed to the

oldest story in the world, the fox and the hen.

I am sorry to lose you, Meg, but I salute you,

You decided to be more than just a chicken,

and did not shrink to anyone’s expectations for you.

And were an unusual hen. So long, Meg.

(As you may have guessed, Meg didn’t make it. Foxes are smarter than chickens, for sure. Chicks arriving April 27)