Safe Haven

The gals had a close call with a hawk the other day but thankfully, they all survived.  I had walked outside and around the corner just in time to see a big hawk take a dive right for the hens but they all scattered into two groups and got away.  It was interesting because they stayed in the two separate groups hiding in the trees for about an hour.  I checked on them and they were all just sitting or standing just inside the tree line and, what struck me as most unbelievable, they were completely silent.  Even Bertha, who complains about everything constantly, was quiet as a church mouse.  They did come out later but stayed pretty close to the house the rest of the day.  Then yesterday as I sat at my wheel working, they all came sliding into the basement, obviously in a little bit of panic and kept peeping out the door and looking up.  Apparently they had spotted another hawk.  They stayed just inside the door for about a half an hour, taking turns peeping out.  I guess Bertha and Bea (the 2 in the back) decided the coast was clear and they wandered off.
Thanks for all the kind comments on the last post.  Of course the title was just kind of a joke; I consider myself fairly responsible...most of the time.  I also meant to add that whenever I tell people about the way I live it's almost always because they ask.  I learned not too talk much about my beliefs or people start to look at you kinda funny and/ or make snide remarks and I prefer to just avoid that kinda BS.  I will however say a few things if people inquire and I have had a number of people ask how do I afford to do what I do.  As in, how can I afford to live an artist's life (which most people don't see as profitable) and that kinda thing.  I don't like to live hand-to-mouth as Ed was referring to.  (I see a lot of bloggers the same way Ed) I did enough of that when I was in my 20's.  But I also don't feel that working yourself to death for the sake of money is the way to go either.  I prefer a middle of the road approach.  I do keep a certain amount of savings.  I believe in keeping insurance.  I learned long ago it only takes one bad accident or streak of luck to throw you into a pit of debt for some time and that can be extremely hard to get out of.  I don't necessarily disagree with financing large purchases though.  Depends on the situation and whether the payments are truly affordable for you.  I think the main thing to accepting and living a peaceful, frugal life is just to understand the difference between 'want' and 'need'.  I would say 85% of what most people think are needs are simply just wants.  I don't entirely blame people for this misunderstanding though.  For the past 40 years we have had so much marketing shoved down our throats at ever turn that it is not hard to get caught up in that rat race.  I was very much a consumer in my younger years and cringe now at the money I wasted on just outright stupid crap.  But, thank God, I learned.  Partially because I knew my body wouldn't hold out to do the kind of work it was doing for the rest of my working life.  So, I think I'll be doing a few posts on financial matters and just how exactly I save money on things and get by being a "starving artist"!  If anyone has any specific questions about the subject please feel free to ask.