Weeds and Chickens

[kaph]

 Yesterday afternoon I let the chickens out of their spacious outdoor pen and then took my garden tools to the garden to weed.  Sasha, the hen at the top of the pecking order, ran after me into the garden, where she pecked and shook each weed that I pulled up, moving away after about 10 minutes in search of juicier bugs.  Redneck stayed by me the

Comments

[idasusan]

Lovely post. Is that burdock the one that Japanese cooks use? I have eaten it in the restaurant down the street in soup and in sushi.

[kaph]

Thanks! :)

I'm not that familiar with Japanese veggies - I know they use daikon, which is a big taproot, but I believe that's a radish. ??

One Asian vegetable I know I like is lotus root. Have you ever had shabu shabu? Lotus root in shabu shabu rocks. :)

[bruorton]

Right on! I like the idea of making peace with the weeds on more than one level. Of course, you know I've been thinking about the topic and this is a nice new angle.

I wish you were in my nature writing class! It's a little lonely sometimes, with nobody else who has a sense of farming or gardening. For instance, nobody understood the mention in my essay of our duck that died at 12. I took the reference out in the revision, b/c everyone just marked "?" or "is that old?" or "longer than in the wild?" It's wearying to realize how obscure your knowledge of the world has become, that you take for granted.

[emusnare]

Ha! I was just telling a co-worker about your ducks last week, explaining that some of them probably hold the record for oldest webby-footed fowl ever.

[kaph]

I wish I were in that class, too.

If you try to publish that essay, I'd put Spunko's age back in, because for the people who are familiar with keeping waterfowl, it would be an awesome bit of perspective!

[emusnare]

What a great post. Making peace with the weeds. I love it, and can totally relate to the thinking and sentiment. Also pleased as punch that raspberries will be part of your permaculture.