What Do I Do With My Empty Nest?

Why, fill it with chicks, of course!

Every pet I've had in the last 30 years was Kelly's fault.  At least, that is what I always say.  In actual truth, she is merely my co-conspirator in pet acquisition.  (I suppose she had nothing to do with Suzy Q...the Boston Terrier, except she DID mention that old dogs get a second wind when you get a new puppy!  Not true, by the way!  Old dogs do not like puppies interrupting their naps and their space!)

We had many pets over the years; which in itself is funny, since our home has always been neat and organized.  Throughout our homeschooling years we raised hamsters, mice, guinea pigs, lots of rabbits, bantam chickens, a pygmy goat, pigeons, parakeets, cockatiels, ducks, fish, turtles, tortoises, lizards, cats and dogs... I drew the line on rats and nixed the pot bellied pig idea.

Vanessa in the rabbit corner at about 11 yrs

No, we didn't have them all at once, but I remember having rabbits in one corner of the yard, chickens in another, a goat in a third, and pigeons in the fourth.  In one particular corner (the one where we had a rabbitry) our third daughter was married last summer.

Here is the same corner last summer, when she was married "under the stars.

                                                                           But  I digress.

This post is about filling my empty nest.  You see, being a mom of four girls and a host for all their pets and friends was a delight.  I knew how to do that.  But now that they are all grown and gone...I'm not sure what to do.  It feels like "the corners of my life"  need filling. All the girls know that I've been flailing around in search of what I'm supposed to do next.  So what did they do?

 Rachel got me blogging,

Emily got me setting goals and office hours. 

Vanessa showed me, by example, that I could do something big and new if I put effort into it.

What did Kelly do?

She talked me into filling the rabbit corner with chickens!
 Okay, so I did say," I want some chickens," when she got hers.  That became possible -- thanks to her husband for building my new coup, and for making it so I could stand up inside it.

Two of my granddaughters in the coup with me.

 

Left to right: Coconut, a Rhode Island Red,
Banana Chip, a Buff Orpington, and Cashew, a Red Sex-Link
at three weeks.

Today, Banana Chip discovered her first perch.

As with all the other pets, Jim resisted.  But bless his heart he let me have my way.

The moral of the story?

Cherished and guided by my rooster and our chicks,  life as an empty-nester isn't so empty after all!