Category / Lessons from the Flock

Fixing a Hole in My Heart

November 26, 2018 by Melissa

I’ve been trying. I really have. Grief is a funny thing. One minute it’s not there and the next minute you find yourself with tears streaming down your face for no particular reason. Like falling leaves, the tears just simply come when you are walking out the mailbox, cooking dinner, spending time with loved ones. They just come. I guess you could say I have been heartbroken. As I looks back, I was lucky. It took me many years until I had to experience this deep kind of grief. I thought that I knew grief from so many years of helping others through it in my nursing career, saying goodbye to loved ones, grandparents, aunts, uncles and favorite pets. For the first time, I can honestly say that I have a hole in my heart.

Chicken Speak: When Fate Intervenes

January 26, 2018 by Melissa

I spent half of 2015 and most of 2016 writing, How to Speak Chicken. It was a labor of love and something that I felt needed to reach the backyard chicken community. During my research, one of the many scientists that impressed me was psychology professor, Dr. Evans. A leading poultry researcher, he dedicated his life to decoding chickens. Like me, he too wanted to know exactly it was that made them tick and he made some pretty amazing discoveries. Sadly, Dr. Evans passed away in 2011 quite prematurely, from what I understand was a motor neuron disease. A man who had dedicated his life to communication lost his ability to speak due to the progression of his disease.

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How to Forage a Backyard Flower Bouquet

September 8, 2017 by Melissa

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April 12, 2017April 28, 2017 by Melissa

Chickens Lessons from the Flock Stories from Our Nest

Mistakes, Miracles, and Belonging

December 16, 2016April 12, 2017 by Melissa

I think during the holidays, I seem to find myself thinking about the blessings that I am fortunate to have. I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes people happy. What makes me happy. I mean truly at the core. I’m not talking about the happiness that is fleeting, like when you buy a new outfit. I’m talking about the kind of happiness that lives in your heart and soul. What I am discovering is that despite being surrounded by “friends” on social media and interacting with them on a daily basis. Many people rarely touch on their loneliness and lack of belonging. I rarely talk about a dark time in my life. It was oh so long ago, but it was a time filled with self-discovery, mistakes, miracles, and the sense of belonging while on the brink of death.

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Chickens Lessons from the Flock Stories from Our Nest

Kindness Matters

March 1, 2016March 15, 2016 by Melissa

Pinless peepers kindness — Photo Credit: Scratch and Peck

A few days ago, a chicken with pinless peepers popped up in my newsfeed. Pinless peepers are these chicken-like glasses that block them from seeing directly what is in front of them. Chickens with these pinless peepers can still see to eat and drink. For the most part, they have had blinders put on them because of bad behavior. Some chicken keepers put these on those troublemaker hens. Usually it is as last ditch effort to prevent them from bullying or pecking at other flock members. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. After watching these chickens with pinless peepers, you realize that sometimes life becomes a whole lot more interesting when you live with blinders on.

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Chickens Lessons from the Flock Stories from Our Nest

Tiny Chickens and Full Hearts

November 30, 2015March 2, 2016 by Melissa

It has been a while now since Sunshine passed away. Slowly but surely I see Oyster Cracker getting along better as each day passes. For some time there, I wondered if she was going to be okay after the loss of her sister. But sure enough it seems to have gotten easier.

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