Everything Takes More Courage

One of my White Rock hens.  Photo by John Ewing

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Can Flowers Change Your Life? VI. January 24, 2016

Then ice came. The first day I put down
wood ashes and then crunched my way
through it to feed the hens.  I saved wood
and used the heat pump.  The electricity
did not go out Friday or Saturday,
though I had prepared.  All around me
ice had brought down power lines.
We were told not to travel.  I didn’t
even go out the front door.  I asked
Shawn to help me clear the ice off
the back steps, and when he walked
along the icy path to the coop, I 
followed with feed.  The hens had
already laid three eggs in the dark.
Everything takes more courage, but I 
do keep summoning it.  Today sun,
and no more ice showers.  I left the
small flaps open for the hens for light
because the cold coop doesn’t deter
them.  I ate warm muffins for breakfast
and meditated on the rest of my life.
Things settle into a routine again,
but there are frequent interruptions.
I’ve committed to stop the coal ash
if it’s humanly possible, to finish and
publish my Russian story.  I teach and
edit to pay the bills.  My physical strength
holds as long as I use it.  My balance
is better.  The sun is melting the ice.
The hens will reach the orchard.  I’ve
ordered seeds and will buy more bird
food.  People keep writing: Are you
warm?  Yes, warm, sane, determined to
live a good life, to age well, to be as
ingenious as ever, and as ready to love
those who reach out to me
as well as I can.

***

Judy selling books in Goldsboro's Wayne County Library, spring, 2015. Photo by Mary Susan Heath.