Of Envy and chickens

This article was part of the newsletter send in March 2025

Chickens are small miniature dinosaurs, and who wouldn't want a dinosaur in the garden?

Welcome back to the forest.

With the first ray of sunshine, it’s time to start again with some regular walks. Nothing major, just a stroll around the block to get fresh air, and some needed Vitamin boost.

It’s also time to feel envy.

As I pass houses with gardens bigger than mine, envy starts to set.

I do not envy all of this gardens: the squares of black rocks with boxwood cut into a ball doesn't inspire me at all.

But I envy the ones where they clearly had the time to take care of the leaves, arrange the bushes, tidy up their mixed borders, and for the luckiest I envy the chickens I can see on the back.

I had chicken in the past they are funny, destructive, noisy and I miss them a lot, but they are a dream forbidden by co-property rules.

Chickens are small miniature dinosaurs, and who wouldn't want a dinosaur in the garden?

Three would be enough, to dispose of the few left overs, lay some eggs, and satisfy the dream of living in a more natural way, without necessarily having to go full Jurassic Park.

I'd better stop comparing myself to people with skills, resources or climates very different from mine.

I didn’t plant bulbs

And this time too, October has passed, November and then December, and this year I have not planted the bulbs, again.

So I find myself comparing my garden with photos and videos of friends' gardens.

While I mull over shapes and colors that I obviously do not have, I ask myself why every time I do not decide to do the work, why it is a mess with leaves to collect, pruning still to do, and why I have not yet planted an evergreen in that corner

Finally, I take my time, a cup of something hot, usually coffee, and go out to check what's left after the winter.

A few bulbs have gone wild and are preparing to bloom with unexpected enthusiasm.

So, I remember that my friends are gardening professionals, and I'd better stop comparing myself to people with skills, resources or climates very different from mine.

Everyday life is complicated enough without having to add the frustration of impossible comparisons.

I finish my coffee, enjoy the first sun of March for a bit and make a note to plant the bulbs next fall.

See you soon with new stories from the forest

E3