Abundance is the word I’ve meditated on the most this year.
Here’s a story that recently happened.
Yesterday one of my chickens survived an attack from an American Kestrel (a small falcon).
It’s very lucky or “meaningful coincidence,” because I happened to be outside. I’m usually not outside these days. (Yesterday we were not home all day). Last weekend we went away for the whole weekend to Kansas City and left the three chickens to their own survival.
But to put a timeline of events together. It all started about a year ago. I saw an ad on Craigslist for a bunch of plant pots, compost and gardening tools, for $50. I answered the guy and met him down in Chicago to make the trade. I felt all the tools were worth more, so I gave him three $20 bills and told him to keep the change. We ended up talking for several hours in the parking lot where we met, telling each other our stories.
A year later, I got a call from Chicago from the same guy. I didn’t even remember his name anymore, and barely recall the situation. He saved my phone number! He asked if he could drop off some more supplies, that he was moving, doesn’t want money, and just wants to see them go to a good home. I said sure and I gave him my address.
He never came that night, but when I woke up the next morning, there was a large pile of stuff in the driveway! Four rain barrels, and maybe 50 some potting planters. He must have brought them in a truck, and all the way from Chicago at that!
That morning I was trying to organize and put the planters in the garage, when all of a sudden I heard one of the chickens crow out a bone chilling crow from the backyard. I ran around the back of the house to see what was all the commotion. One chicken ran for it’s life across the yard, and the other wasn’t too far behind. I looked onward to see the third chicken was being mounted by a kestrel. The kestrel and I made eye contact. The kestrel knew I’m at the top of the food chain and immediately flew off in to the sky.
The chicken tried to stand up and walk, but it was very wobbly and kept falling over, in to her own plucked pile of feathers. I jumped over the fence and stooped down to hold her down, calm her down and talk to her. The side of her head pushed out a few droplets of blood. I put some pressure on the wound with a finger to help stop the bleeding. The chicken started calming down and closed her eyes. I wondered if she is going to live.
The other chickens came back to check on their sister, probably to make sure if she lived or died (interesting how they know death). In which I put them all back in the coop and run. I gave some nutrient dense food in the run (chlorella, spinach, kale, collard greens, spiralina, apple, celery, mint, ginger–these chickens get better medicine then most people), the two good chickens started pecking, but the wounded chicken wobbled inside to the coop and rested.
She probably had a piercing, concussive blow from the kestrel’s sharp beak. I imagined the Kestrel talon’s crushing the breath out of her lungs. I felt terrible all day thinking about the terror she experienced.
Several hours later I came back out to give some more nutrient dense feed. To my delight I found the chicken bounced back to life, full of energy, and wanted out of the coop and run prison, as if nothing happened. Chickens are very forgiving.
I’ve had several moments like this and last week. Life is full of abundance and God has blessed me. I should have lost these chickens to predators three times over now. The life of enjoying abundant blessing, is there any other way to live life? These chickens should be and could be dead. I’m not sure why God, or the universe, give me these blessings, maybe so I can turn it back to joyful worship.
I made a youtube video, can see some dried blood on the chickens head.
Nutrient Dense Farm 