Well, everybody did their thing through the spring and after patiently setting her eggs for a month (28 days, actually) mama goose unveiled her darling brood of four perfect little Toulouse goslings.  They're toddling around the yard with her and she's such a good mama -- chasing away the raucous ducks, chickens, dogs and cats who are all going about their business.

Babies on a farm engage the whole farm population.  For the first couple of weeks we kept mom and babies in a "nursery" and everyone (geese, chickens, ducks and guineas) gathered round the pen for hours every day to admire her treasures.  She'd show them off and everyone pressed their beaks against the fence honking and clucking at how beautiful they were.  I had to laugh ... it was just like visiting the nursery at the hospital and "oohing" and "aahing" over all the babies learning to function in their bright, noisy, big "outside" environment.

Now that they're out and about during the day, mom and babies are followed around by a small flock of guinea fathers patiently awaiting the hatch of their broods.  The moms are patiently setting their nests letting out occasional squeals (very unique to a brooding guinea hen) and otherwise focusing intently on bringing their huge nests of eggs to fruition.

We also have a young Muscovy hen setting a nest of about 15 eggs ... they're due in another couple of weeks.  We learned that Muscovys have an extra long incubation period (35 days!!!) when we were forced to collect the eggs from a couple of other nests and bring them into the house to finish.  Their moms are young hens that made their nests under a couple of the chicken coops, which made them fairly well protected (at least from the hawks), but we realized we might have a problem when we found a partially consumed chick (chicken chick, which hatch in 21 days) near one of the waterers.  Looked like a bluejay or mockingbird had gotten it. [-[

Yes, bluejays and mockingbirds are hell on baby birds.  Last year we had one hen that hatched about 20 guinea keets and these nuisances took them all in less than an hour.  Sooooo  we decided to move the duck hens and their nests.  Unfortunately for us they didn't like that very much and abandoned their nests (yeah, we figured that was a pretty likely outcome, but we had to try).

We're hoping that any ducklings that do hatch will be accepted by the other nesting hen when her little ones hatch (she's nesting in the yard, so we don't have the same bird problem here).  By that time we should be overrun with guinea keets, too, since the hens were much wiser about selecting their nesting sites this time.

It's been especially trying for my husband, since I'm inundated with work, but I think he truly loves helping nature along.  And being a Gemini (an air sign) he loves the birds!

Well, back to work for me ... just wanted to share the news.

Oh, and btw, Ricky, if you read this ... I'll be watching the skies tonight ... looks like a nasty lightening storm coming our way and I've seen some pretty interesting forms in the skies.  With all the procreation going on around here, I wouldn't consider a visitation out of the question, lol!

May your heart be lifted.

The air is thick with tension that is overwhelming ... pressure building and tumultuous winds of change buffeting me.  Suddenly tenuous in my daily steps, I find myself the object of derision and criticism ... even the most beloved of family twisting the knife in my heart.  Yes, life has been challenging these past several weeks, and I wonder what brought us to this point and how to gracefully move on.

People can be cruel.  It's the pack mentality -- that survival mode -- that served us well over the ages.  We see it manifested in the behavior of the birds of the sky and the four-legged herds and packs that recognize the value of "safety in numbers."  This may serve well for those who are established members of the pack, but what about the new guy ... the one who just wants to help out and alleviate the load of other members of the pack?  Regardless of the possibility that accepting the new guy might make things better, a sense of jealousy and suspicion overtakes the pack, whipping it to a frenzied throng that postures, nips and bites the newcomer into submission.

This is the atmosphere I've been working through lately.  Not only in my extended family unit, but in my work life, as well.  Somewhere in all this "stuff" must be a lesson that I've just not yet been sharp enough to grasp.  Everything reached a crescendo on Friday when I just gave in to the feelings of failure and disappointment and found that I couldn't have a conversation or take two steps without tears silently spilling out of my disillusioned eyes.

There are those that were not-so-secretly tickled pink to see that I'd finally cracked, and there were others who wanted to protect me and strike out at the bastards that brought me down.  But in truth, it's circumstances, not people, and the way that I respond to the pressures that must be understood and managed.

Having been raised in a home wherein I never felt that I was quite "good enough" (hard to stand out in a good way in a family of six kids), I grew up convinced that I must be "the best" at whatever I do.  Over time I've learned to be a bit more gentle with myself and now accept that the old adage is benchmark enough:  anything worth doing is worth doing well.  I strive to do the best I can, help as much as possible and find joy in helping others succeed.  I don't mind standing in the background.  In fact, I shy away from the limelight, but by the same token I abhor the behavior that drives some people to take credit for my hard work or innovative ideas.  Kind of set myself up for failure there!

Well, I know I'm not alone ... these trying times have heightened pressure on everyone.  The work environment the world over has become extremely competitive as workers feel their jobs threatened by the continued backsliding of our economy.  This puts pressure on families as moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas and other family members dip ever so tentatively into their irreplaceable savings in an effort to keep their loved ones from losing hearth, home, kith and kin.  But even this dynamic has suffered under the current financial storm ... criticism and judgment eats away at the foundation of the family unit, increasing the risk of individual instability.  What comes next?  At-risk behavior ... drug and alcohol dependency problems ... mis-placed anger as another victim drops into the bucket of societal collapse.

It's taken a couple of days, but I'm finally picking myself up by my bootstraps and getting ready to face the world once again.  In my world, these extremely painful experiences are a reminder that while I envision myself an enlightened spiritual being who adheres to the foundation rede: "Live and let live; fairly take and fairly give ... and it harm none, do what you will," not everyone employs the same standard to discerning what's fair or what denotes harming another.  And it's not my place to judge ... rather, it is my task to set a good example and learn to move past these disappointments.

The events of the past few weeks have linked semantics to challenge these core values.  I initially wanted to withdraw completely ... quit my job, quit my family and toss in the towel on my personal businesses.  Of course, none of that is possible as those actions would be contrary to my own survival, would not allow me to live up to my obligations and would be a huge spiritual step back on a path that I've been focused on my whole life.

So how do I get past all the hurt, put on a brave face and get back in the fray?  I look for the little pleasures in life.  The way my husband stepped forward the past few days to ask if I'm doing okay, whether I need anything and backed off to let me have my space (trust me, not typical for that talkative New Jersian!).  The way the goats turned a pineapple top into a toy and played for hours tossing, chasing and romping around their sweet treat.  And the darling nest of goslings that we discovered last night under one of our broody geese.  Do I need more of a reminder that it's the little things in life that make it all worthwhile?

Try as I might, I still get wrapped up in the "game" of life ... the challenges and semantics that cause us to revert to the pack mentality.  But in reality, the pack mentality follows the leader ... if the Alpha decides that vicious behavior is not conducive to an efficient pack, she takes immediate, unarguable action to establish new ground rules.  This is what I must do from my quiet place ... not change my behavior, but show that no manner of external pressure will sway me from my course.  It's not a "victim" behavior, as one must truly release the emotion tied to the experience in order to move on.  I do speak my mind to let people know what happened and why I felt it was hurtful, then drop the issue and move on.

Does everyone have to agree with me?  No!  But by standing up for myself and getting back to the business at hand I regain my sense of self.  And perhaps I can help one person stop and think about their own values and inspire them to rise above the "bad" things that happen and find joy in the little things in life.

Step outside and look up into the sky.  Feel the sun, rain, wind on your face and enjoy the sensation of being alive.  From this place, you can do anything.