Black Japanese Bantam Hen & Chick
When the work schedule gets a little crazy and I spend more time in my office than on my farm it is easy to forget how lucky I am to have the life I’ve got.
Case in point: here on the farm we have two hens setting right now and in order to keep up with births and such I keep a fairly detailed calendar. According to that calendar, one of the hens was due to begin hatching eggs today. Our human calculations can only take us so far and sometimes Mother Nature needs to remind us that she’s still in charge.
When I checked in on the Black Japanese Bantam hen at lunchtime yesterday, I saw a tiny head poking out from under her. In that instant it was as if the stress of the day had disappeared as I was once again caught up in the wonder and beauty of the natural world.
That moment reminded me that for our own good, sometimes we just need to shut the hell up and breathe. For all the good that has happened over the years thanks to technology, nature can still take care of itself. Chickens will lay eggs, hatch eggs and perpetuate their species. Plum trees will grow and produce fruit. Of course some of any species are going to die, that’s how things happen. We can step in and try to help Mother Nature and sometimes we can be successful while other times the results are not what we would have hoped.
It is good to remember that life will go on without us. For me, that knowledge pushes me to appreciate my life and the life around me just a little bit more.
