Chicken laws, Letter to HashTag, Training a rooster, Favorites need humility too

Dear HashTag, Consider this a warning.  You may be the uber spoiled  favorite.  But even favorites  need to know their place.  A little humility  would keep you in good standing. I have given you food, shelter, affection, a harem, and  a peerage.  All that you are... I have  given.  AND I can  take it all away.  I do understand that you are struggling to  attain the respect that you  think your position deserves.  I also understand that you are struggling with your masculinity.... being raised by 7 women.  I also know that you are doing your job  as well as any rooster  in the history of roosters has ever done. Your rooster credentials are not in question.   You must understand: Your domain is yours and You are mine.   I am at the  top of the pecking order. Not you!  I will continue to sit on you until you understand that basic fact. 
Yours Truly,
Dread Sovereign

So, Hash is trying very hard to herd me  with the other girls.   He was  pecking my shoes and pants legs when I went  outside.  The solution (from my research) was to  use the flat of my hand to push him to the ground firmly but gently.  In chicken language this says ....Yes! I AM the boss of you!  I've been doing it for 2 days and it seems to be working.   I like simple solutions to problems.  If only everything in the human world could be solved with chicken laws!   

Moving an Artisan Lifestyle

I think maybe  the only thing harder than moving a pack rat is  moving an Artisan Lifestyle!  Jimmy is busy angsting  over what he has to do once we get there... I'm pulling out my hair over HOW to get there.  We have so many bio and sensitive things to move  that I'm scared we are going to kill something. Chickens of course and the cat .... They are not going to be happy but they can at least express distress if  they are not treated well.   My 3  vinegar mothers cant talk.  The plants cant talk either... (ok Brenda can but   you have to meet her to know that).  The turtle will be fine. He's going to outlive us all.  The pond residents will be tricky.  The fish  have gone into winter stasis and we don't want to kill them  or Jimmy's water plants.  I didn't start any new wine this year, but the eight carboys from seasons past are clearing beautifully and I hate to disturb their process.
I'm not looking forward to having to buy my produce from a grocery store  for what is left of the winter.  Cant take the  winter garden with us.  Someone will be the  lucky recipients of  brussel sprouts, broccolli, collard greens , onions and, in the early spring,  red sails lettuce and walking onions. I will miss the new zealand spinach bed.  It will take a while to get one going as good as the old one but we will have plenty of space for it.  We will be digging up the medicinal garden in January for transport.  We will also be  digging up the  beautifully established sage and thyme plants. I am going to miss the giant rosemary bush!   In the mean time I will be digging up all the carrots and onions I can and getting them dehydrated.
I'm almost looking forward to cleaning and packing the garage.  My electric sander disappeared into a black whole two years ago and I  haven't seen it since.  There are a couple of other things I haven't seen in a while  that I'm pretty sure will show themselves  during the packing process.  I will need those tools over the next few months.  I have made a vow to myself to have NO  press wood, laminate furniture in the house. (Yes ikea and dania are forever banned from my sight).  I will be haunting  thrift stores and estate sales for  real wood furniture  that can be refurbished and turned into things of beauty.  Jimmy sighed when I told him this.  He says I should finish the oak dining room table I started  4  years ago.  I need to put the little two inch feet back on it to call it done.  I think its fine the way it is,  but I'm way shorter than Jimmy and I don't bang my knees  when I   pull up to the table.  Apparently that 2 inches is a big deal when you are over 5'10.  I keep telling him I'm not a carpenter and  I haven't found the right pre-made feet for it.   But the ongoing  arg...er...discussion about the dining table is a long story for another blog.
Anyway... Back to packing and moving.  I'm going to have to draw a grid and move by sectors.    The plants and  art will get moved first.  Then the food  stores: wine,vinegars, canned goods and such,  Then the garage and studio. Then the house.  Then the  animals.  Then.... cleaning the old place and finally unpacking in our new home and all the arguing over what goes where. January is going to a long month!