Harder conditions here at the organic eco micro-holding (small smallholding) in the UK midlands have brought bird-life to more prominence, as have the chickens here been more prominent with their escape artist's antics. They employed varied tactics to try to outwit man in this 'Man v. Chicken' saga, bringing into question the old 'chicken brained' notion.
It's the time of year to notice the wild bird flights with geese as usual prominent, and a welcome addition being formation flights of lapwings, never seen here before. Buzzards too are around in some numbers, probably pretty hungry looking hard for a meal. Garden birds, though, have been less plentiful. Winter's the season for wood sawing, both by the useful tool that's the sawbench and by the electric chainsaw for bigger wood, which all adds to that 'self-reliance' feeling, as does the tasty home-grown produce available at the veg plot.
Current mainstream life seems to be considerably influenced/controlled by 'big' organisations, and the level of commercial 'pressure' on the individual may never have been greater - ? One area which in the UK appears to be planned to be even greter is that of personal debt - to what cost, though to the individual - ? Perhaps now it's never been more important for the individual to make her/his own ('freerange') decisions in the admirable cause of longer-term self-preservation - ?
