Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
There are moments
when you realize your life has changed and you are never going
back - couldn't if you wanted to. For me that realization came about because my
coworker Noreen wanted some laying hens.
We found a backyard chicken keeper on Craigslist who was thinning out her flock.
Since I lost five birds over the winter and Noreen needed a starter set, we struck a deal
and a pickup time, and I filled the back of my station wagon with wire cages. Come
lunch break, Noreen and I were driving to North Bennington to meet our new livestock.
Though it had been pouring all morning, we did not waver.
I found our destination and pulled into the driveway. Two border collies in the win-
dow of the white farmhouse barked a suspicious welcome, followed by a young woman
who emerged in Wellies and a raincoat. The rain picked up as we stood in the big fenced-
in run and she pointed out which birds could go and which would stay.
I knew I'd have to catch these hens fast or return to the o#ce looking like a refugee.
Noreen watched from the dry comfort of my car, laughing as I scurried around hunting
and trapping our new acquisitions. Now soaking wet, I scooped up the chickens,
cradling one or two at a time in my arms as I ran back to the car. They carried on
something fierce, despite my reassurance that their new homes would be a long call from
the Purdue factory, and they should lighten up.
As I drove back into my o#ce parking lot, a melody of clucking coming from the back
seat, I thought to myself,
This is my life now
. And I grinned. A girl from Pennsylvania
who fell in love with homesteading in Tennessee pulling into her Vermont o#ce's drive-
way with a carful of chickens, aided by an Idaho poultry education. . . . Like I said, I
like the story so far.
