permaculture

["Kathy Evans" <evansdk@earthlink.net>]

Loved the comment about the Hochunk people listening to what the chickens
were saying. I once met a short old woman, raggy clothes and sparkly eyes,
at about midnight in a hospital waiting room. There was a finch aviary
there, with about twenty birds in it, and she was having a lively
conversation with every bird there. Each time one tweeted she responded as
if they'd just said the most interesting things, as in "Oh really?" or
"Yes, I know, but don't worry, they'll hatch soon" or "I'm so sorry for
your loss, sweetheart." I went and stood next to her and she welcomed me
into this world, and it made me wonder, as I still wonder today, what goes
on in my chickens' brains (miniscule as they may be), or how a person can
listen to plants and know what they need, and how disconnected we might now
be from things that we once knew. At least maybe we once knew how to listen
and maybe we can relearn that if we get very QUIET and spend more time
OUTSIDE.