Francis Berger
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Feeling Cooped Up? Renovate a Chicken Coop!

4/29/2020

12 Comments

 
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I am not in the mood to write about the Coup today; nor do I feel inspired to rail on about the lockdown and its negative effects on humanity. I mean, it's good to do those things, but I don't want to talk about the Coup today; today I'd rather talk about my coop.

​Before I get to that, just let me say that I now spurn anyone who even dares to explain the necessity of the lockdown, or attempts to outline various justifications for the lockdown, or insists on arguing against anyone who questions the lockdown. Most of these lockdown apologists obsess over health and safety and security and speak of models and predictions and vaccines. Well, they can keep their lockdown, their models, their predictions, and their vaccines. None of it will do them any good in the end. Just wait and see. 

I'm not too bright, but I know enough to recognize that the lockdown and everything related to the birdemic is fundamentally spiritual warfare. A great many don't see this. They only see material events in a purely material world and quickly adhere to some material explanation or other. And that's how you get events like the birdemic. When you believe in nothing but the material, you put your faith in science, politics, and economics until you get to the point where you actually believe there is nothing essentially wrong with a lockdown. And you believe this wholeheartedly - even when said lockdown refuses to make sense at the most basic scientific, political, or economic level.

Anyway, since this is spiritual warfare, I have spent the bulk of my free time focusing on spiritual matters. I can't focus on spiritual matters much when I'm teaching online, but I also struggle to get in the right frame of mind during my free time. I have never been and will likely never be one for quiet meditation. Sitting in a room and concentrating on the deeper aspects of life has never been my forté. On the contrary, I tend to have the deepest thoughts when I'm out walking or fixing up the house. This means I have spent much of my free time during the lockdown staying active

Fortunately, staying active is not difficult for me. I live in the countryside, which means I can walk for hours if I so choose. Thankfully, people don't call the cops on each other out here.  I also have a fairly big backyard with a garden, and these ensure there is always something needing to get done. The more the needing-to-get-dones, the more I can contemplate matters of spiritual importance, which is why I recently launched into a little renovation work called Project Renovate Chicken Coop (see photo above). 

As you can see, my yard contains a brick chicken coop - one that is a little, well, dilapidated. It was in poor condition when I bought my house four years ago and has deteriorated quite markedly since then. Though I knew I would eventually get to fixing it up one day, I usually tended to find more pressing matters requiring my attention. Well, those pressing matters have evaporated; thus, my sights are locked on the coop. My intention is to make it look somewhat new again without spending a great deal of money to do so. I plan to replaster the walls, replace the door and windows, and fix the leaks in the roof. No big deal.

But it will relieve the mild cooped-up feeling I have sensed lately and provide the sort of physical activity that helps me think about spiritual matters.

And that is a big deal. 
 
12 Comments
William James Tychonievich link
4/30/2020 03:21:28

Pro tip: Putting down vinyl flooring will make it much easier to clean up after the chickens.

Reply
Francis Berger
4/30/2020 20:57:34

@ Wm - Thanks! No plan to get chickens yet, but one never knows. Hey, BTW, how did you learn about the "pro tip"?

Reply
William James Tychonievich link
5/1/2020 05:14:48

My parents kept chickens on and off for a long time, and this was one of the innovations my dad was proudest of. I still remember how confused the guy at Home Depot was. (“You don’t care what color it is?” “No, you see, it’s actually for a chicken coop.”)

Jake
4/30/2020 15:17:46

I think I am the same way. I seem to be most connected spiritually when I am doing something physical that has sort of a rhythm to it, and lets you feel things with your hands but let's your mind roam. Like building a boat, which I did last year in the midst of a crisis.
Good luck with the coop.
Spiritual warfare - yes, those who go along with the lockdown here unquestioningly are also, strangely (or logically) the ones with the deader eyes, who had appeared fairly dead to me even before the birdemic crisis.
The few bright-eyed ones I know are also, what a coincidence, the ones with a spark of questioning in them. A spark of conscience, a spark of rebelliousness and spirit.

Reply
Francis Berger
4/30/2020 21:00:51

Jake, I believe you and I are on the same wavelength as far as physical work goes.

https://www.francisberger.com/bergers-blog/hard-labor-as-bliss

Reply
bruce charlton
4/30/2020 17:21:55

It looks about the right size for a Thoreau style writer's cabin.

Reply
Francis Berger
4/30/2020 21:02:35

Bruce, I actually have another building in the yard that would be a far better fit for a Thoreau style writer's cabin. I plan to fix that up that building this summer. I'll post a photo of it sometime.

Reply
Francis Berger
4/30/2020 21:04:49

@ Bruce - Sorry, I can't put a proper sentence together tonight.

S.K. Orr link
5/1/2020 04:14:36

You might rethink the chickens. I've a fair amount of experience raising them, and they provide many things....eggs, meat, amusement, and even a bit of companionship.

I don't know if guineas are available there, but they're an excellent alternative to regular chickens. Fascinating to watch and interact with, and they also make superb watchbirds. No one will ever come onto your property unannounced, believe me.

I like the look of the building. Something about it reminds me of old adobe structures in central and west Texas. The walls catch the sun in a melancholy flare.

Reply
Francis Berger
5/1/2020 06:49:31

@ SK - Adobe buildings are quite common in Hungary. Most rural people built homes like that before bricks became affordable and readily available.

As for the chickens, thanks for the tips. I may invest in some in the near future, but nothing definite yet.

Reply
William James Tychonievich link
5/1/2020 07:35:24

By the way, do you know why a chicken coop always has two doors?







Because if it had four, it would be a chicken sedan.

Reply
Francis Berger
5/1/2020 08:09:55

Wm - I actually found that funny, which scares me a little.

Reply

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