RODNEY

The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don't.

                                    Joshua Becker

        I am addicted to a British TV show called Escape to the Country.  The premise of the program is to show people that are looking to move out of London into the beautiful rural countryside three different properties within their budget in the hopes that they will buy one.  Taking into account their budget and their needs the search is on for a property that will match both their criteria and also appeal to their desire to get away from city life.  Not surprising most of these people are also looking to have a small garden and, more often than not, the space to house some animals.  I have heard couples proclaim they would like to raise everything from goats to llamas.  When I painted this rooster several years ago I had no desire to live in the country and raise chickens ~ I still don't.  However, it seems to me the quote above makes the idea of crafting a simple life just a little too simple.  Sure, you can have chickens without a noisy rooster, but if you want baby chickens you better get use to an early wake-up call every morning.  Right now however, still living under this pandemic cloud, the simple life is quickly losing its appeal with just about everyone I know.  Dealing with and adapting to things that aren't necessarily on our top ten list of things we love to do actually can make life more interesting, more challenging, and sometimes even fun.  For now, I am content with Rodney the Rooster but if this keeps up much longer I may have to rethink the whole idea.