The cirle of life, clad in feathers...

Those of you who know me or read my blog know that I am exceedingly fond of my chickens. I got my first hens 4 or 5 years ago, after wanting them for most of my life. I woke up one morning and thought, "What am I WAITING for?" and then arranged to start with four of my chosen breed, Silver Laced Wyandottes. I chose this breed because they are unusually pretty, large, round-ish birds, with white feathers laced in black. The are good egg layers, do well in a cold climate, and are fairly calm and friendly. I've added to my flock, lost a few here and there due to injuries or illness, and until yesterday I had 10. Before I left for work yesterday I did one last walk around to make sure all the animals had what they needed for the day, and I saw one of my older hens lying in the grass, obviously dying. People who know chickens have a saying, "They can be fine one minute, dead the next." That is about how it was with this hen. She had been looking absolutely fine up until that moment. I tucked her into a quiet corner of the coop so none of the other animals would bother her. When I got home the light had left her eyes.

My sweet husband told me he'd bury her for me, and true to his word came home after a long day and went right to work with the shovel, digging a deep hole. We thanked her for her beauty and her contributions to many happy breakfasts, sprinkled some of her favorite sunflower seeds in with her, and tucked her into the earth.

As I walked up the hill towards the house, hands in pockets, head bowed, something buzzed past me. The sound of its wings were familiar, yet I had to reach into the back of my brain to remember just what it was. While I was thinking the buzzing thing came back, and hovered before my face for one blink. A hummingbird! Perhaps even the very same one seen in the above photo. This is the bird I found, looking very dead, caught in a spiders web last June. I warmed it and fed it and it came to life long enough to sit on my fingers and preen before he flew away... a magical moment.

I rushed to the garage and got the hummingbird feeder out of storage and then mixed up some food and got it hung by the door. By this morning my visitor was adding his jewel tones to the beautiful spring day.

The circle of life is so very apparent when you surround yourself with animals. In this instance, just as I was grieving the loss of one life, I was reminded that it is spring time in Maine and new life is all around me, just waiting to be appreciated.