farmdoc's blog post number 134

Shelley wrote ‘O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?’ In Australia, Spring begins today. Spring is a time of renewal, new growth, hope and, of course, spring cleaning. Part of all this is a taking stock of recent failures, shortcomings and achievements – with an eye to the future. So I’ve been thinking about me: what I have and haven’t done, and what I will and won’t do. And I’ve been metaphorically putting myself in the shoes of my nearest and dearest – wife, daughters, daughters’ partners, grandchildren – to appreciate what problems and challenges they’ve faced and are facing, and what they’ve achieved. I’ve found that they’ve each faced many more difficulties than I have, and their difficulties have been bigger than mine. But vastly more importantly, they’ve each achieved much despite, or due to, their problems and challenges. I always marvel whenever anyone does the best they can. Whether it’s on a world scale or in a small pre-school group, matters nought. Given our unique genetics and environmental influences, each of us has a different potential; the maximum we can aspire to is our best. I won’t embarrass anyone by going into specifics, but I can’t imagine more beautiful chickens than the Daylesford Organics beauties pictured above. Shelley, an ardent vegetarian, would have loved the eggs from these girls.