Nid-De-Poule and Yerba Maté

French speakers are familiar with the term “Nid-De-Poule”. It is a term used to describe potholes in French. This is a term I heard regularly but due to modern farm practices you don’t see these when they’re made by chickens. Chickens usually live in chicken coops and they don’t have the time to dig their little holes in the ground.

As I walk by free range chicken on a regular basisI get to see chickens sitting on wheels, running towards people, or away from them, and I see them sheltering from the rain on a rainy day. What you don’t see so often is chickens that have built a nest. They dig a depression into the mud or soil and then they sit and watch the world go by.

When I saw the chickens in their nest this time I thought that they look like entrenched soldiers in their foxholes. If you think of the first world war with its trench warfare, to the Vietnam war, and the mentions of foxholes, then you also think of Ukraine. It’s because of trench warfare in Ukraine that I thought of this point of view with chickens.

Yerba Maté

Heading in the opposite direction recently I was reminded of maté. I found an option to make maté in Europe.

I first had Maté in Valais by a climbing wall. One of the climbers, a South American had brought a gourd and shared the maté between the climbers. I liked the experience so finding a way to repeat the experience at home is nice.

Origeens Yerba Maté Kit

What I like about this drink is that you place the leaves into the gourd, you pour water in, you drink, and then you pour more water in and drink again, until the taste is gone. You share it from person to person. It’s a nice drink to have at the side to a climbing wall.