It's been an unexpected weekend.
First: I didn't have to work Saturday, which was unexpected, and as a result of not working next weekend either I managed to swing into action and book the kitchen and place a dry goods order and secure a spot at the Gerringong markets for next Saturday! Exciting! We'll be selling Buena Vista Farm Bikkies including spiced Christmas trees, pastured eggs, and free range pork!!
Then we had a minor chicken drama. One of my Plymouth Rocks who has been sitting on eggs suddenly got off them. It's like she ran out of puff. Broody hens can sometimes have a tendency to not look after themselves, not get up to even have a drink, and with only about three or so days to go till her eggs were due to start hatching, she kinda conked out. I thought we might lose her, and she had mites right through the nest, probably due to her inactivity. We raced to a pet shop as the two nearby vets were both closed, picked up some mite dusting stuff and also fed her some whey. Very good for hens. She's looking a bit perkier, but had no interest at all in the eggs.
Meanwhile I tried to put another broody hen on them but she wouldn't have a bar of it, so I popped them in the incubtor. Tonight I thought I could hear a faint cheeping, but there are no cracked shells yet and I have a wildly overactive imagination. If any eggs survive that cooling down and then wiping down with a tea tree oil-soaked rag to kill the mites, collection into my hat and rolling into a just-turned-on incubator it'll be a miracle.
And then while we were sitting having lunch today we heard the sound of a nasty car accident, right at the bottom of the driveway. We rushed out with a phone and were the first on the scene, and Dad and Adam, having attended many motor accidents with the rural fire service calmly swung into action. The motorcyclists travelling right behind one of the cars (thank goodness they weren't hit) called emergency and said it was a head on collision with one driver trapped. Dad directed traffic and Adam spoke calmly and reassuringly to the driver of the worst-affected car who had her legs trapped and was understandably very frightened and in shock. I've never been close to an accident quite like that and I was so deeply impressed by that man of mine, he was so calm, he checked whether she was on any medication, described what would happen when the SES arrived to cut her out, called her husband for her, held her hand and reassured her as the fire service arrived, the police, the ambulance and then the enormous rescue helicopter which landed in our front paddock. The impressive SES eventually cut her out of the car and she was taken away in the ambulance, not the chopper, which I'm told is a good sign. She's a local lady, not someone we know, and I'm saying a little prayer for her tonight that she makes a full recovery.
You never know how long you have, do you.
Some of these days which feel like years, while we're struggling with very small children and trying to be engaged, positive parents, and running a business and working and worrying about whether the bees will swarm before we have time to add another super to the hives… so much of it is just noise and all that really counts are relationships. Finding your own truth. Putting your hand on your heart and following it.
Life's short. And choatic and blissful and changeable and inspiring and too much fun to miss.
Hand on heart.
Follow it.
xxx