I sat on my bed Christmas morning looking at the catalog sent to me by Heifer.org. It was a little pamphlet that was called, "Beyond Hunger" On the inside there were a few statistics. 852 million people around the world are chronically hungry. 3 billion people live in poverty. Hunger and poverty claim 25,000 lives every day. 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day. There was an article by Barbara Kingsolver who went on a field trip to see the results of Heifer.org. Heifer.org through our contributions distributes farm animals to the very poor and gives them education on care so they can provide food for themselves. Barbara Kingsolver was there for the yearly exchange where the people who have received animals give an animal from there received livestock to another waiting individual. They do this in a ceremony. The givers take the animal to the receiver. So Barbara went up to a lone woman waiting for an animal and asked her if she had ever owned an animal before. The woman said, " I have never owned anything, I am poor"

I have sent purchase money for a number of animals this past year and like thinking about the better lives the chickens, llama's and goats are providing . Making milk, hauling water and wood, making eggs, wool and meat, creating ferilizer for the garden and young to share with the community. My Christmas gift to myself, the joy of knowing I have made a difference in someones life.

I had dinner at my daughters and we sat and watched Shrek and Ice Age. Nice to be with family and enjoy a meal. How comfortable we are. I picked up a magazine from the side table and there was an article that said that $22 plus million had been spent on mascara in America. Somehow I feel we have our priorities all wrong. Not much tinsel in my life this season just thoughts.

It is a pretty day here, clear, but somehow I feel like the tropics. Came across this picture
and decided it made me feel like walking right into the picture. Spring is on it's way
after the shortest day of the year is past.

Not my picture. They say the early bird gets the worm. This morning looking out my window by my computer a small hawk sat on the fence post. I kept watching it and thought about taking a picture. I knew I couldn't get close enough and might even frighten it away if I stepped out the door. So I just enjoyed it's stately beauty. Then it disappeared. Next glance up from my computer I caught sight of something moving in a bush. At first I thought it was one of my chickens but as I looked more I realized it was the hawk. On the other side of the bush I saw something else move, sparrows. Ah, the hawk was thinking of breakfast. So I watched with mixed feelings. Quiet, patient, I watched the hawk and the hawk watched the sparrows. Should I call out?
As the question weighed on my mind, interupt nature or let nature take it's course, my daughter drove in the driveway. The sparrows were saved and the hawk flew away .

Goldie in her pen
It's cold this morning. There always seems to be something to see from my window. Yesterday it was a burrowing owl gliding and swooping with full wingspread. Graceful, seeking a few tidbits before retiring. Today it was a roadrunner pacing along the fenceline, making throaty vocalizations to the peacocks. They sometimes hang out together on a fencepost.
The yellow grasses and grey green desert shrub gather light. The chickens scatter busily scratching here and there. I have much to enjoy from my window by my computer.

Seem to have lost this picture on the first blog.
Lil Carlos on the roof, Snow Prince on the ground.
This is the haybarn and chicken house 

My Bathtub garden area in the snow. I have found that with chickens
running loose and rabbits the best way to garden is in containers. I use
pvc pipe to make holders for chicken wire to cover the tubs so I keep
critters out of the garden. When the garden is done I take off the wire
and the chickens take dust baths and stir up the dirt in the planters.
I add more soil and chicken manure and start a new garden. These are
mostly salad gardens and spinach patches as I love greens in stir fires
with rice and fresh salads. See the little white silkie hen in the foreground? There are also aloes and iris's planted in front of the tubs to give it some
style. Young fruit trees are growing behind the tub gardens.


We usually have one or two snows a year.  

Sunset from my backyard 

In the Courtyard in front of the house Snow Prince and Lil Carlos practice fanning their not full grown tail feathers. Come this Spring they should have tail feathers with a six foot spread. They are showing off for a couple hens and you can see mom, Luchia, behind the olive shrub. I will need to find a couple young peahens for their spring dance. They will be two years old this summer. Their Dad, Carlos, was stolen when he was in full feather one day when I went to town but fortunately he and Luchia had mated so the boys, as I call them, are the result of her setting on the eggs. This year she set on 6 eggs but there was of course no results due to the fact there is no father figure.
You can see the open space surrounded by mountains. Part of my 16 acres is back in the open desert you see in the picture. I love walking in the wash behind. On occasion a very brave coyote will come and stand by the fence. You can see the white gate behind Snow Prince to the right. That is where the coyote will stand. The boys will run up and go face to face with him squaking and fanning their feathers. The coyote stands there and only runs when I come out and wave it away. I have seen it's dug out and occasionally I see the shadow of her movement in the back field. There are lots of rabbits and quail living in the field. In the evening my dog, Manna and I go through the white gate and out back to the wilderness behind for our walk. 

Here is my little house. I live here on 16 acres. This is a mobile home that is ground set. I love the open desert and quiet neighborhood. My house is set back from the road so I see traffic from a distance. Last Spring I had a backporch put on and loved sitting out there early in the morning and in the evening. Sometimes I even slept out there at night. Lots of stars but neighborhood dogs bark continually . I realize that is part of a dogs job, but I sure do wish they wouldn't spoil the night quiet.  

Sage. This is my little burro who I adopted when she was 9 months old. Behind her is Cheriki my adopted mustang. They are close companions.

Sages Great adventure.

About a week ago I went to town. As I came around the corner I noticed Cheriki all excited because I was coming up the road. She was racing around the pasture and kicking up her heels. Sage was running too. It made me laugh, what a greeting. What I didn't notice was that Sage wasn't in her pasture but on the other side of the fence. Cheriki being very protective was doing her part in letting me know that something wasn't right. Once in the drive I could see that Sage was over in the neighbors field. These neighbors haven't been too kind to me but I figured I had to get my burro home. First I walked the fence to see where she might have gotten out. No open spaces but a couple places where the fence was sagging. Finally I hopped into my truck and drove into the neighbors drive. At first Sage was glad to see me and was willing to follow me but when she got close to the neighbors house she would run away. The neighbor came out and he was being nice for a change and so we spent a good hour trying to get her to go through a gate. I finally asked the neighbor if it was possible to cut the fence in a small section as I felt that was the only way she would go home, if she had an open space right between the properties. With a promise to him that I would see that it was fixed the neighbor came out with fence trimmers and opened a space between his field and Sages field. Within seconds Sage was happily home. All she really wanted. She had to stay in the corral a few days until I could get all the fences strengthened. She and Cheriki have over 2 acres to roam in so she wasn't happy staying in the corral. I would go out and pet her and scratch her and she called me whenever I went out the door. Sage has a nice call, she doesn't do a loud noisy hee haw but a gentle little call. For two wild and roaming free critters they do like home. Isn't she pretty? 

A Breezy December Day:

This is my first post here. I have a blog on motime.com called The Simple Life but I wanted to learn how to post pictures. So finally I have a picture up. This is my hay barn and horse shelter built out of old garage doors and railroad ties. The western front was from old lumber I found while hiking in the wash. Next to the haybarn is the chicken house made from fence panels and behind that the chicken yard. I like to let the chickens run loose during the day. I love getting up in the morning and first thing I head for the horse corral and feed my horse and burro, I open the chicken gate and the chickens run out happy and busy for the day. Evenings they all head in to roost.
In the picture you'll see the boys. These are my peacocks hatched by their mother Luchia. Snow Prince is pure white and when he is in full feather I'm sure he will look wonderful and lacy. Lil Carlos, named after his father Carlos, is the basic blue or purple peacock. They like to roost on the barn.
This is a beginning.