Today, as usual, our garden therapy began in the cool early morning. As the sun got higher, we shifted to harvesting some herbs and flowers for the drying racks. And then when it got really hot, we settled in the shade to try our hands for the first time ever at making sage smudge sticks.
What was fun is how our neighbor’s free ranging chicken decided to join us for most of the morning.
She’s a rebellious little free spirit that materialized one morning next doors about 2 weeks ago and has been there ever since. Yea, inquiries were made to the other neighbor known to be connected to the neighborhood network of chicken keepers, and she’s not heard of any gone missing. So. It’s a mystery where she came from, although it is much to my neighbor’s delight– they hope she’ll stay.
Me? I hope she’ll lay eggs.
After a scare with a dog the other day, the chicken found her way here and I’ve been seeing more and more of her — what with being out early in the mornings, and our gooseberries now becoming ripe… *ahem*
She’s a feisty little one tho. Never lets us get close.
But I find when we busy ourselves in whatever we are doing– weeding or harvesting sage, she has cozied right up to us, just nearby, still doing her own thing– just now with our company. As seen in this photo Sinden captured while I was busily harvesting some sage.
I just hope… she’s not eating up all the swallowtail caterpillars? Cuz… chicken do do that, don’t they?
After all, as a “Certified Wildlife Habitat,” I do intentionally let some of my milkweed patches go wild for the butterflies– as well as some parsley and dill for the caterpillars. I’m sure my yard has got to be a chicken haven….
Calendar Notes: yeah, the Swallowtails have arrived; I haven’t seen any Monarchs yet– although given the amount of milkweed blooms now peaking, I really ought to have.)
Anyhow. That chicken, she’s a total hijack, isn’t she? Back to what we were doing. . .
Today’s Herbal Therapy was Sage
We weeded the sage patch, began harvesting some of it. Some of the harvest went onto drying racks. But I have- so much more than I could possibly use! (Dina! Whatever happened to you?) The rest, just for experimental’s sake, we bound.
And these are our first attempts at binding sage smudge sticks.
Honestly, the chicken was fun company tho. At one point I looked over the edge of the table to see the chicken laying as if dead in just a spot of sunny barren soil where the Creeping Charlie under the table hasn’t gotten to yet– being in the dappled shade as we were– and gasped. Sinden! The chicken’s laying here dead! With a slap on the table as Sinden jumped up in alarm, the chicken popped its head right up. Oh no nevermind– she’s not dead! She only looked it. Really looked it. She’s good.
