Gioiella, Umbria - Buon Natale

Christmas is a special time. A time to install curtain rods, clean up chicken poop, hang pictures, chase tripped circuit breakers, walk the dogs, and clean out clogged kitchen drains. At least that's what I like to do. Deborah prefers to reconstruct drapes, rearrange furniture, and perform her impressive dance of domestic multitasking. Actually we did do some more traditional holiday merrymaking as well. No turkey today, but Deborah cooked up a delicious Tuscan salmon left for us by Jan. The fish came from Alaska, oddly enough. Yesterday for Christmas Eve dinner Deborah made salads using lobster from Canada.

Jan also very thoughtfully left presents for us under the tree, including a bottle of wine, a Casa Julian B&B calendar, and a couple boxes of sweets. The animals all got various toys and treats also – well, not the chickens. Jan has two dogs: Champ, the elderly, very mellow lab, and Luna, the younger, more energetic collie/lab mix. Jan also has four cats. Ginger is the boss cat, who rules the house despite having only three legs. Tigre is smokey gray male and has an independent streak, tending to spend more time than the others outdoors. Cleo is a bit shy and skittish, but never wants you stop petting her once you start. Lea (as in Princess) is the mischievous kitten who is also very affectionate. The cats make excellent lap warmers on cold nights.

Luna has developed some sore on her left hindquarters which, after consultation with Jan via telephone, we are cleaning regularly and treating with a spray. Last night we also started to give her antibiotics. She wasn't too keen on swallowing the pill, even when mixed with food, so we crushed the pill up and mixed it with yogurt, then smeared it on her snout, essentially forcing her to ingest the medicine when she licked her face clean.

And then there are the chickens – five of them. Every morning I let them out of their coop, collect any eggs, toss some feed onto the ground, shovel out their excrement from the coop, and add new straw if necessary. We have been averaging just one egg every two days. There are a couple of roosters in the group, but that is still rather pitiful egg production from my point of view. At dusk the chickens all make their way back to the shelter of the coop and I tramp back through the mud to close the coop door. This experience has led me to the unremarkable conclusion that I do not want to be a farmer.

Buon Natale (Merry Christmas)

Champ likes the look of his Christmas present


An under-the-weather Luna is somewhat less excited


Ginger and Lea cuddling


Lea (aka Baby Kitty)


Tigre


Cleo


Three-legged Ginger shows she only needs two to beg


The chickens: they produce more poop than eggs


"Do you know what I'm going to do when you finish cleaning that?"