A Little Rambling

It's been a while I think, since I rambled on here, that is. I've been drawing a lot of blanks lately when I try to write. You should see my "April" folder in my journal, it's conspicuously empty. I haven't been rambling anywhere...

Except in pictures.

I got a new mountain bike this week and have been enjoying it Immensely! My old comfort street bike now looks like a tank. With the lighter weight and, of course, being a mountain bike (you know, how the handlebars relate to the seat is different) I've been cruising up hills with, um, relative ease. Nate took me out on one of his trails through the woods today. It was a little scary dodging trees and riding over roots and around tight corners and down steep hills, but fun too. I was excited to have done something a little challenging and to have stretched beyond my comfort zone (as far as "safety" I'm a little afraid of crashing into a tree or going over my handlebars) It felt good. And riding with Nate I worked a lot harder than I would have on my own. By yourself the climbs just become work and it's harder to go as far as you know you can, at least for me. My whole body was tired when we were done, but I was happy to think I am getting stronger all the time this way.

I will be so glad when we are done hatching eggs for the year. I knew I went a little overboard with all the eggs I got, it was exciting at first though. The main problem has been that our hatches aren't going so well this year. We've had lots of eggs that didn't hatch and some chicks that died soon after. One of our chicks I peeled out of the egg because he had dried out and the shell and membrane were stuck to his body. There was no way he was getting out on his own. I'm not quick to help them out, the saying is if they're not strong enough to make it out of the shell they're not strong enough to survive and you don't want to mess with weak birds which is perfectly true in nature but in an artificial environment where the fault could be mine (i.e. incorrect humidity in the incubator) it's impossible for me not to help. It's also stressful wondering if they're going to make it out of the shell or not, and do I help or not etc... But, just today we had two chickens and a turkey bust out of their eggs no problem, so I'm feeling quite relieved tonight. I have ducks and turkeys due in a week and more ducks two weeks after that. Then No More This Year. Nate is trying to talk me into guineas. I keep telling him I'm not hatching any more this year, I'll hatch you some next year. And he's started making noise about peacocks. Just how many birds do you want to feed??? :)

I know this is not news if you know me, but it's come to me again lately that I feel more alive when I write. Even a little journal entry is enough to keep the blood flowing, so to speak. And I feel alive when taking pictures. I need to remind myself once in a while to make sure to keep these two simple things in my life on a regular basis. It's amazing to me how easy it is to let even something you love and know you need go neglected because you're tired. Or overwhelmed by life in general. It's hard to be creative when your brain is going numb from the demands of the day.

We are planning to make a dash to the beach tomorrow, in spite of the cold. It has just been too long since I've been there. I need to see the ocean!! I'm hoping to get the boys to cooperate for a little photo shoot while we're there, it's high time for some portraits. Although, I'll probably end up using my favorites, candid 'portraits', for what I have in mind anyway :) We'll see how it goes...

When next we meet it should be over some great beach photos. See you then ;)