Snowy Speculations

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If I could paint, I would have tried to replicate the landscape very early this morning. Illuminated by the faintest hints of light and hours before sunrise, the cold, stark landscape lay completely still in its snowy blanket. Naked trees stood proudly and quietly against this backdrop, this palate of pure white an unforgiving place for any creature, big or small, to attempt to cross without drawing attention to its existence at this time. Even our ancient tire swing looked sleepy and droopy, suspended precariously close to the ground, as if the effort of hanging from a tree limb was too much for it. To the east, the only rays of light visible were the ones coming from the across the river, and even those seem hushed and muffled, like a child tired and murmuring not to wake them up just yet.  The young families down the road have gone all out with Christmas lights this year. Bright colours adorn the night skies and my neighbours even have a Christmas Cat and a Christmas Dinosaur that i
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Chicken Catch-iatore

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Chicken Catch-iatore

They say that moving to a rural property offers a simpler lifestyle since the speed of every day slows down considerably. I'm not sure how this is possible. My husband and I work full-time and our evenings and weekends are always filled. I have heard few complaints of boredom from people that moved to a rural property after the hustle and bustle of the city.

Never a dull moment here though!  A lovely young couple moved into the neighbouring house  at the end of last summer. Since Covid brought a lot of life as we know it to a screeching halt, the bread bakers of the world began to surface (me being one of them) as well as a distinct primal need to grow one's own food and be independent. That worked for a little while as cottage gardens sprang up and indoor trays of seedlings appeared on kitchen counters and in window spaces. And with that mindset, the serenity of the peaceful call of spring birds and gentle breezes was interrupted by the distinct pounding of the neighbour's nail gun for weeks on end as a chicken coop began to take shape.

A month passed as this coop remained without a single inhabitant as the neighbours waited for the arrival of their new brood. And when it did, the joy and pride of said arrival was akin to that of a couple announcing the birth of their firstborn! Chairs were set up around the coop as they watched the little chicks and a few ducks parade around the fenced-in area. The call of their children whooping around the birds and the excitement of their dog running around the perimeter of the coop, was a sight to behold.

A few weeks ago, we decided that it was a perfect night to make a small fire and enjoy a bit of downtime with just our family. With a few glasses in hand and a bottle of bug spray, we settled down at dusk to enjoy the simple pleasure of a bonfire for the first time this year.

The silence was interrupted when our neighbour's van pulled up and the family unloaded, making an immediate beeline to view their feathered friends. Having grown up in a family where chickens, pheasants, ducks and geese were always a part of our lives, I was used to the routine of opening the coop in the morning and ensuring that the chickens were locked up safely at night to protect them from foxes or coyotes looking for an easy nighttime meal. But this closure of the coop that night was not such an easy event for our neighbours! They chased and tried to catch the little chicks who were so much more adept at escaping and hiding under the elevated coop. Like naughty toddlers hopped up on too much sugar after a visit to their grandparent's house, these chicks dodged and bobbed the hands of their masters at incredible speed. The parents' jackets came off as body temperatures rose, faces flushed with heat and the dog's tail continuously wagging so fast that it could hardly be distinguished from the rest of its body. Their one-year-old, clad in his pajamas ready for bed,  sat on his toy car and watched the whole performance, clapping his hands gleefully in sheer joy every squawk!

This show went on for a good hour. They were literally running around like chickens with their heads cut off... When the parents both exited the pen in sheer exhaustion and firmly closed the gate behind them, we got up and clapped.  They were both embarrassed and probably ready to call it a night after that!

So even a peaceful evening, filled with swallows swooping across the field enjoying a power meal of insects in the night air and the circling of bats over the trees accompanied by the crackling of a nice bonfire, is not always quiet. Sure, we have our peaceful moments, but there is always something that occurs. You can choose to watch the show or you can turn your lawn chairs the other way, get lost in the magnificent colours of the flames, the intoxicating smell of the wood smoke and enjoy a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio made right down the road from you! I am not a chicken catcher. You don't have to be one to live out here. But the options rural life offers are many. Personally, I choose the chilled glass of Pinot Grigio around a bonfire with my family all around me!

Lolita Hale





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