Kissin' Chickens

Today is the luckiest day of the decade! Be sure to make a wish at 11:11!

Here's a picture taken by my roommate Hillary, who is in Ma'ayans photography ExCo, to tide you over for the weekend:


Darling is back with the other hens now. She is still snoring, but she's much healthier, and the other hens will just have to make antibodies. I have reason to believe they'll be okay. They were all exposed when Oviraptor was and have suffered no complications (Moses' sour crop is unrelated). Right now everyone is fine, except poor Darling, who isn't coop trained. I keep counting six chickens and going through the run over and over only to find her huddled under the garden shed. How did she even get out of the wire-fenced run? Who knows? She's a regular old Houdini. Silly girl.

A Long-Delayed Post

Sorry I stopped blogging for a stretch. Earlier this week, I took two exams (both solid Bs, at least -- stay tuned), cured a chicken of sour crop (hopefully), served as a site leader at the Interfaith Service Day and nursed a friend with something-awful-that's-not-strep. Blogging was not on the agenda, although it should have been. It will be considerably easier from now on -- I linked my Oberlin account to the blog too, so I don't have to rely on my secondary browser.

For the past few days I've been gearing up for Mom's visit. Homework done -- mostly. Room cleaned -- not quite. Crew switched -- well, not yet. I blocked out a schedule for the next few days, scrawling FREE in between classes and co-op work, and was glad to find more than I'd expected (but fewer than I'd hoped). Several servings of quality time, coming up!

I'm always so glad to have visitors, but sometimes it's difficult to know how to entertain them. My life is mostly interesting just to me. But Mom will get the early-November tour of campus, and if today is any indication, the weather will cooperate beautifully.

Yesterday my friend Ari and I went for a jog before dinner. We chased the light west to where College meets Lorain, dazzled by the dilatory sun. The light rain has sifted into mist by the time we got back to Phillips to stretch. I need to do more with my body. Such a beautiful machine.

Actually, I had a physical today so that I can start going to Tumbling club on Tuesday nights. My friend Ida goes every week. I told her, "I can't turn a somersault." She said, "Neither could I!" I said, "I walk into walls." She said, "I still do that! Come anyway!"

So I'm going. Maybe I'll learn to somersault into walls instead.

Anyway, I'll try to keep posting, but with Mom here I might be using my late nights for homework. I'll see the rest of you soon!

Useful Things

Today I sewed a patch on for the first time, after doing some more-pressing hole mending with strong thread lent me by my roommate. The patches have animals on them. The pants will be gorgeous. Pictures soon!

Relatedly, remind me to show you my knitting. It's a little lumpy, but I'm rather proud.

For You

Halfway through a lazy Sunday,
on the couchboat, eating Joe Joes;
watching virtual dissections,
stalking Facebook, writing blog posts.
Poetizing random lines,
loving all this cold sunshine.
Going up to clean my room.
Hope the snow melts off you soon.

Friday, Friday ...

Wow, remember that song? No? Apparently last semester they played it every Pizza Night. Three times. Normal, dubstep and the version done by the administration (too late to link, but worth a Google if you like silly people lip synching in a club car). Anyway, although I had a pretty lazy Friday, I am not guilty of the lyrics "Yesterday was Thursday, tomorrow is Saturday." For that I consider my day well-spent.

I did do a little compost hauling today, and then a little chicken wrangling, and then some painting; then a lot of reading, all the way through my backyard chicken book and through a childhood favorite by Garth Nix. I'm going to feed the fishies now, but I hope everyone has a smashing weekend! I'll try to post again. Meanwhile here is a great picture of Josh knitting his beautiful, beautiful scarf.

And one of Skarp with a slice of her birthday cake! I'll spare you the pictures with sparklers. Skarp is a Tasty Things maker, a circus performer and an aerialist. The next airshow is on Parents' Weekend, Mom, so you'll get to see her and other ridiculously talented acrobats fly through the air on silks. For everyone else, I'm sure Ma'ayan will post pictures.

Introductions

A few more pictures for your viewing pleasure. I still have some in reserve, too, but I'll try to take more this week.

This is Hillary! Wow, I forgot, you don't know Hillary. She's my roommate (remember the roommate-to-be I came across while we were both wearing dandelion crowns?). She's showing Ben-the-adorable-punk-rock-vegan how to play the musical saw. Curled up on the couch is Eleanor, Kye's roommate, who sings in the choir at my church and is very quiet and responsible and also awesome. 

Chicken in a box!

This is Josh holding one of the eleven pear pies he made in his capacity as one of our four Tasty Things Makers. Eleven. Pies. Also note the true lattice crust. Josh is one of the few Harkies here over break. Maybe he'll make me tasty things?

In awe of Josh's pies. From left to right, meet Jackson, who is in New York right now occupying the streets; Hillary (face occluded); Selena, who with Eleanor has become one of Josh's baking buddies -- they usually put out something delicious and vegan while he does cream puffs or petit-fours; Aaron, a sometime chickenkeeper and one of our Head Cooks, who is known both for his delicious meals and for using every single pot in the kitchen; and Sam, one of our DLECs.

What a sentence. Anyway, I promised Occupy pictures, so here is one of us in the morning. The night I went, 51 people slept out. I think about a fifth of us were Obies.

As Promised

Photos! Now, if this were an Oberlin Blog (one's coming, I promise!) I would have to sort through them for the three or four most likely to interest people interested in Oberlin. (Many posts merit more, but of these probably not.) However, at least a few of you would probably like to see photos taken every day, so I haven't culled them. Without further ado:

This is the night we all came down to work on the Harkness flag (which never got done). A jam sprang up and the lounge was full of beautiful noise. I took individual pictures of most people but this one conveys the whole scene very well. 

This is Jake and Neva making very characteristic faces. They are pizza cooks (Neva a head cook, Jake a helper). Neva makes desserts the likes of which have never been seen. (Vegan custard!) It is because of her and Finn that Hark Pizza Night is the Pizza Night of Pizza Nights.

This is Kye. I was going to tell you it's not characteristic of him to be curled up on the floor, but it totally is. I think we had tickled him?

This is Sarah cutting her moccasins to size. We made scrap-denim moccasins together a few weeks ago; mine are cut, but not yet sewn. They're basically just DIY slippers.

from left to right, this is Cecilia, Pepper, Little Red and White Black Chicken. In the back looking cowed is Darling.

This is a single day's harvest of delicious cherry tomatoes!

Tomorrow, stay tuned for a few of Occupy Cleveland, plus more pictures from Flag Night so I can introduce you to more Harkies.