Hello Everyone!
Oversleeping again, The passing of a rooster, Building up the new compost mound & Some pleasant hikes!
Alright, I am off to a late start with making this entry... because I once again overslept during my afternoon nap. Aside from having to scramble to do all my late day chores, I also had to brew some espresso and let the dogs outside... which of course pushed my writing time back even further.
Since the weather turned out to be a wee bit chilly again, I did not spend much time outdoors... and instead spent much of the day working on that fictional material that I have been pecking away at lately. All of which was rather nice, because I made a good bit of progress and (probably) more importantly... I have begun to hone in on the plot along with its ties to my little preexisting fictional universe.
Overall, (aside from the writing) the day was a bit of a drag... because I awoke to find that one of my silkie roosters had passed away in the night from what looked like natural causes. I am unsure if some sudden illness (or health issue) struck him... or what... because he had been just fine until he wasn't.
Per usual, I had gotten attached to the little critter and feel really sad about losing him... but I also know that such losses happen and it is just part of having a farm and/or homestead. The part that really bothers me is that, Yin (the little white rooster that died) was super docile and sweet and I had hoped to give him a really long life... but instead I feel like I failed him.
After feeling dejected about his passing for a while this morning, I eventually got a shovel, dug a hole in one of the garden beds and buried him in it. I had briefly considered putting him in the dog poop compost mound... but decided to give him a more dignified burial and in the end I was happy with that decision.
While I was in that area, I also raked up a bunch of leaves from the place in the gulch where I have been harvesting topsoil from... and added the leaves to that new compost mound that I have been working on lately. That particular mound, almost needs some kind of walls around it to keep it from 'spreading out'... but for now I just keep adding sticks around it to hold the leaves in place as I 'mound' them up.
On a different note, I have been forcing myself to hike around some each day and just look at what is growing and especially for what all is producing flowers. Aside from the relaxing effects of doing that, I am also trying to familiarize myself with what all is growing here a little better... and hopefully notice any fruiting trees that I might have previously overlooked.
During those walks, I have also been looking for mushrooms... but oddly enough... I have not seen anything popping up yet regardless of all the super warm (summer like) days we have had here. That said, it has also been super dry (aside from that recent rain) so perhaps the drought conditions are also playing a factor in why I am not seeing much in the way of mushrooms yet.
Anyways, the hikes have been good for me... and them combined with the work that I have been doing around the place... has slowly been getting me back into better physical shape. Heck, I am even getting into better mental shape because I am spending less time doomscrolling, more time on projects... and of course finding my morale getting boosted due to it all.
Well, I am going to have to call this entry 'good enough' and get on with the editing and posting before the hour grows much later. I hope that everyone is doing well. Ciao for now.
