IF, DESPITE my dire warnings, you are still determined to buy hens, let us see what they need.
First is a draught-free, dry house. Investing in a poultry magazine such as Fancy Fowl or Practical Poultry and surfing the net (especially on eBay) will reveal a wide range of prices. It pays to shop around.
My favourite is a two-tier house with a run underneath. If you pick an ark-shaped house, choose a solidly-made one. Cheap tongue-and-groove ones are a bad investment. After a year in the rain and wind, the slats fall apart.
Plastic hen houses are available that are easy to clean and do not harbour mites. Only the price puts me off.
Four things can kill chickens: damp, mites, draughts and foxes.
Chickens do not mind the cold. If you slip your hand under the wing of a sleeping chicken, you will find it as warm as toast there.
But sometimes, in very cold weather, cockerels get frostbite on their combs. A little Vaseline will prevent that.
Red mites are a major problem however clean your pens. Where they come from or how they get there, nobody knows. Afflicted birds grow pale with anaemia and may die. Red mites love new wood and new hutches. In the old days, creosoting was the ultimate deterrent. I always take it as a personal affront and become obsessive with red mite spray.
I even know one keeper who goes over his pens with a blowtorch. Vaseline at the end of the perches is another tip – but never along the middle, otherwise the hens will fall off.
Ensure latches are secure and wire walls are well-fixed to keep out foxes. Once they find a tasty chicken they will be back, usually killing more than they need. It can be a very distressing business.
I staple wire beneath pens and runs to prevent foxes digging underneath.
If your hens stay in a pen, ensure they have sufficient room to scratch about and remain active. Bored, cramped chickens pick up nasty habits such as feather-pecking or bullying.
A cauliflower or apple hanging on a string, a few dried meal worms thrown on the ground and plenty of room will keep them busy and happy.
If they are confined, provide them with grit to help them digest their food and a dirt or sand tray to bath in.
There are many recipes for each stage of a chicken's life in old poultrymen's books. Now all the ingredients are in pellets.
Layers' pellets provide all the minerals and protein your hens need. Chick crumbs and growers' pellets are just right for healthy chicks and adolescent birds.
A rough rule is a good handful of pellets per bird per day.
I always have a bag of mixed corn in the shed as a treat later in the day. Never overfeed because waste food encourages rats and mice and you will start to get black looks from the neighbours. Keeping chickens can be fraught with antisocial dangers. I suggest a gift of fresh eggs is the best antidote.
Chickens love treats. Apples, bananas (skin and all chopped up), cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli are favourites. Cooked potatoes, pasta and any fruit will also cause excitement in the coop.
Two things to avoid are avocado and uncooked potato peelings – both can be lethal to chickens.
Percy the peacock shares the same menu of pellets and corn, supplemented by our neighbours' custard creams, digestives and leftover cat food. However, all these extras are treats. Don't overdo them or you will have fat chickens.
A few drops of apple cider vinegar in the water once a month is said to be beneficial and a few drops of cod liver oil in the corn once in a while keeps feathers gleaming. A little of both once a month is enough.
Any spare eggs, either boiled or scrambled and maybe mixed with garlic powder, are also a tonic.
Clean water is essential. Birds drink a surprising amount. Dirty water is a recipe for disaster, especially in the summer.
If you are unfortunate enough to find one of your birds hunched up, looking lethargic or bubbling at the eyes or nostrils, you need to act at once.
My chicken-keeping friends usually have a bottle of Tylan powder or liquid Baytril (both only available on prescription from the vet) in the cupboard alongside the cod liver oil and Vaseline.
Tylan powder must be mixed with a little warm water to ensure it dissolves. Baytril is also diluted as instructed by the vet. Do not eat the eggs of a bird on medication. Both antibiotics are expensive but will go a long way.
If treated as soon as symptoms appear, a chicken will often rally in a day or two. If left untreated, a bird may soon develop respiratory problems, gluey eyes and a running nose.
Watch out for odd behaviour in the coop – you'll soon spot a sickly bird. Then act at once – isolate the bird, medicate and wait for recovery.
Make sleeping quarters snug with shavings or hemp. I don't use hay because it can go slimy. Straw can harbour mites. But find what suits you best and is available.
2012年2月2日星期四
2011年12月19日星期一
Attacks by radical settlers on Israeli army spark debate
Charred tires and boulders pushed to the sides of the road leading to Yitzhar, a West Bank Jewish community near Nablus, were among the signs that residents had made an effort to prevent Israeli soldiers and police from entering the settlement. Patches of grease stains -- remnants of the lubricants that had been poured on the narrow road to induce army jeeps, police sedans and backhoes to lose traction -- were others.
It seems that if not for the influence of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, there might have been more resistance, not just the blockades and grease on the road last Thursday night, according to an account of the events related by Avraham Binyamin, the settlement’s spokesman to JTA during a visit Sunday.
"It is not our way to stand by passively while such a brutal act is perpetrated," said Binyamin, a tall, bespectacled young man with a full beard, sidelocks and a large knitted yarmulke, pointing to the ruins of a home and a chicken coop destroyed under government orders for being built on land said to belong to Palestinians.
"But we honored the wishes of the man who owns the land here and did not attempt to resist the destruction," he added, "at least not in the vicinity of his property."
The man who Binyamin said owns the land is affiliated with a stream of Chabad Chasidism that believes the deceased Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, will return as messiah. In this milieu, it is customary to "ask" the rebbe for his advice by randomly placing a question written on a piece of paper inside a compendium of Schneerson's letters. In this case, according to Binyamin, the "answer" given by the rebbe via one of his old letters was, "Don't fight, concentrate on building."
The willingness of Yitzhar residents to respect a dead rabbi's command -- one they believe came from the grave -- but ignore an order by the government of Israel is instructive. So was Binyamin's caveat that there would be no violence "in the vicinity."
Just hours after the destruction of the house, located on a hilltop adjacent to Yitzhar known as Mitzpeh Yitzhar, arsonists torched a mosque in Burqa, a village about four miles east of Ramallah -- a half-hour drive from Yitzhar. The desecrators spray-painted the words "war" and "Mitzpeh Yitzhar" on the wall of the mosque.
It was just one in a chain of violent vigilante attacks. In the past few years, radical right-wing activists, representing a growing fringe, have pursued a campaign they call "price tag" to avenge perceived injustices meted out against them by the Israeli government, such as the demolition on Mitzpeh Yitzhar.
Mosques have been burned and desecrated with graffiti such as "Muhammad is a pig," Palestinian olive trees have been slashed and burned, and other Palestinian property has been damaged. Vandals also have targeted property belonging to Israeli security forces.
But a red line was crossed in recent days.
Shortly after midnight on Dec. 13, settler radicals -- often referred to as "hilltop youths" because they tend to be young and live on small, isolated outposts -- stormed into an Israeli base in the northern West Bank. They burned tires and vandalized army vehicles, throwing stones and paint at them.
Elsewhere in the northern West Bank, settlers also attacked and lightly wounded an Israeli army commander when they forced open the door of his jeep and hurled a brick at him.
These attacks on the Israel Defense Forces -- one of Israel’s most revered institutions and one to which Israeli families must entrust their sons and daughters -- appalled Israelis and sparked intense debate over how best to combat lawlessness in the West Bank.
Political leaders on the left and center argued that the current government's ideological affinity with the settler movement impaired its ability to crack down on the violence.
Tzipi Livni, Knesset opposition leader and head of the Kadima Party, said in a statement that “this government … is laying fertile ground for these tumors. When Netanyahu says that we are dealing with rioters and not ideological crime, it indicates one of two things -- either he doesn’t understand what is happening here, or he doesn’t want to deal with this extremist ideology because of his natural coalition partners."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government coalition members have come out strongly and repeatedly against the vigilante violence. Netanyahu said it must be combated with "a heavy hand."
However, the Netanyahu government continues to support settlement growth; just last week, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved a a new neighborhood in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, near Bethlehem.
This week, the whips of all the political parties in the governing coalition except Barak’s Independence faction supported a bill to prevent the demolition of Jewish homes thought to be built on private Palestinian property, like the one destroyed in Mitzpeh Yitzhar.
It seems that if not for the influence of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, there might have been more resistance, not just the blockades and grease on the road last Thursday night, according to an account of the events related by Avraham Binyamin, the settlement’s spokesman to JTA during a visit Sunday.
"It is not our way to stand by passively while such a brutal act is perpetrated," said Binyamin, a tall, bespectacled young man with a full beard, sidelocks and a large knitted yarmulke, pointing to the ruins of a home and a chicken coop destroyed under government orders for being built on land said to belong to Palestinians.
"But we honored the wishes of the man who owns the land here and did not attempt to resist the destruction," he added, "at least not in the vicinity of his property."
The man who Binyamin said owns the land is affiliated with a stream of Chabad Chasidism that believes the deceased Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, will return as messiah. In this milieu, it is customary to "ask" the rebbe for his advice by randomly placing a question written on a piece of paper inside a compendium of Schneerson's letters. In this case, according to Binyamin, the "answer" given by the rebbe via one of his old letters was, "Don't fight, concentrate on building."
The willingness of Yitzhar residents to respect a dead rabbi's command -- one they believe came from the grave -- but ignore an order by the government of Israel is instructive. So was Binyamin's caveat that there would be no violence "in the vicinity."
Just hours after the destruction of the house, located on a hilltop adjacent to Yitzhar known as Mitzpeh Yitzhar, arsonists torched a mosque in Burqa, a village about four miles east of Ramallah -- a half-hour drive from Yitzhar. The desecrators spray-painted the words "war" and "Mitzpeh Yitzhar" on the wall of the mosque.
It was just one in a chain of violent vigilante attacks. In the past few years, radical right-wing activists, representing a growing fringe, have pursued a campaign they call "price tag" to avenge perceived injustices meted out against them by the Israeli government, such as the demolition on Mitzpeh Yitzhar.
Mosques have been burned and desecrated with graffiti such as "Muhammad is a pig," Palestinian olive trees have been slashed and burned, and other Palestinian property has been damaged. Vandals also have targeted property belonging to Israeli security forces.
But a red line was crossed in recent days.
Shortly after midnight on Dec. 13, settler radicals -- often referred to as "hilltop youths" because they tend to be young and live on small, isolated outposts -- stormed into an Israeli base in the northern West Bank. They burned tires and vandalized army vehicles, throwing stones and paint at them.
Elsewhere in the northern West Bank, settlers also attacked and lightly wounded an Israeli army commander when they forced open the door of his jeep and hurled a brick at him.
These attacks on the Israel Defense Forces -- one of Israel’s most revered institutions and one to which Israeli families must entrust their sons and daughters -- appalled Israelis and sparked intense debate over how best to combat lawlessness in the West Bank.
Political leaders on the left and center argued that the current government's ideological affinity with the settler movement impaired its ability to crack down on the violence.
Tzipi Livni, Knesset opposition leader and head of the Kadima Party, said in a statement that “this government … is laying fertile ground for these tumors. When Netanyahu says that we are dealing with rioters and not ideological crime, it indicates one of two things -- either he doesn’t understand what is happening here, or he doesn’t want to deal with this extremist ideology because of his natural coalition partners."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government coalition members have come out strongly and repeatedly against the vigilante violence. Netanyahu said it must be combated with "a heavy hand."
However, the Netanyahu government continues to support settlement growth; just last week, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved a a new neighborhood in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, near Bethlehem.
This week, the whips of all the political parties in the governing coalition except Barak’s Independence faction supported a bill to prevent the demolition of Jewish homes thought to be built on private Palestinian property, like the one destroyed in Mitzpeh Yitzhar.
2011年10月18日星期二
Schoolchildren bereft after fowl act of vandalism
SCHOOLCHILDREN in West Byfleet were left distraught after vandals wrecked a chicken coop, resulting in the disappearance of a prized pet.
Staff at West Byfleet Infant School in Camphill Road made the distressing discovery on Monday (October 10) when they arrived at work.
A specially-built cage, home to Lady Cluck Cluck, Sunny, Happy, and Dizzee Rascal, had been in place at the school for almost a year to allow the youngsters to watch the poultry as they developed from eggs to full-grown chickens.
The coop was tipped upside down at some point over the preceding weekend, according to staff, after being locked up on Friday (October 7), leaving headteacher Shirley James with the unenviable job of explaining what had happened to the school’s 200 pupils.
Year 2 class teacher Gemma Buckler, who is in charge of the chickens, said the youngsters were devastated when they heard about their feathered friends, to whom they had grown attached.
She said: “They were going to celebrate their first birthday on November 10, which is when they hatched last year.
“We’ve had chickens before and a fox got them, so we made a special coop for these ones.”
When teachers found the upturned coop, one of the chickens, Lady Cluck Cluck, was missing, and Miss Buckler believes she may have been a victim of a fox.
The remaining three chickens are safe and have temporarily been taken in by a parent of one of the pupils until money can be raised to pay for a new, more secure pen.
Staff at West Byfleet Infant School in Camphill Road made the distressing discovery on Monday (October 10) when they arrived at work.
A specially-built cage, home to Lady Cluck Cluck, Sunny, Happy, and Dizzee Rascal, had been in place at the school for almost a year to allow the youngsters to watch the poultry as they developed from eggs to full-grown chickens.
The coop was tipped upside down at some point over the preceding weekend, according to staff, after being locked up on Friday (October 7), leaving headteacher Shirley James with the unenviable job of explaining what had happened to the school’s 200 pupils.
Year 2 class teacher Gemma Buckler, who is in charge of the chickens, said the youngsters were devastated when they heard about their feathered friends, to whom they had grown attached.
She said: “They were going to celebrate their first birthday on November 10, which is when they hatched last year.
“We’ve had chickens before and a fox got them, so we made a special coop for these ones.”
When teachers found the upturned coop, one of the chickens, Lady Cluck Cluck, was missing, and Miss Buckler believes she may have been a victim of a fox.
The remaining three chickens are safe and have temporarily been taken in by a parent of one of the pupils until money can be raised to pay for a new, more secure pen.
2011年9月5日星期一
National Guard delivers hope to rebuilding communities
Vermont looked strange from the skies this week. The leaves of the maples, responding to the steady and inexorable pace to autumn, are beginning to unsettle the landscape with muddied tinges of red. Not too far from Burlington, a green lawn had a perfectly-shaped, large peace sign. Moving south there’s occasional evidence of a recently swollen bank, and a tree or two ripped from the ground, roots exposed and lying on its side. By the time one has reached the Waterbury and Moretown area, Vermont’s famous green is usurped by a layer of dirt, swathing the area in a drab tan and clinging to the plant life, holding it down.
A week after Vermont was ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene, National Guardsmen from Vermont and helping states such as Illinois and New Hampshire continued delivering staple supplies such as food, water, tents, cots, blankets and tarps to needy towns. In the early days of what is now called Join Task Force Green Mountain Spirit, Chinooks and Black Hawks from the Illinois Army National Guard in Peoria, and Black Hawks from the New Hampshire Army National Guard were pivotal in immediate deliveries. Sometimes, when civilians spotted these air-vehicles of help, crowds would cheer.
Now, as recovery from damage continues, Vermont Air and Army National Guardsmen are loading up local trucks for drop-offs. Some places remain isolated but most have constructed their own, if shaky, routes out.
Since flood waters from Tropical Storm Irene that hit Vermont, Sunday, Aug. 28, have receded, silt has become a problem for the residents who were hit hard. When a Chinook from the Illinois Army National Guard landed next to a Killington resort to deliver FEMA relief packages, the helicopter stirred up a layer of dirt left from the floods that rose to form an undulating orange wall. A worker there said, as of Wednesday, he was still shoveling out silt that was at least two inches deep. The smell left behind was too strong to take for more than a minute, and he said he would have to rip all the carpets out and maybe some of the walls.
The people of Moretown are very wary about what could be in the soil left behind. Most people choose to walk around town with safety masks over their mouth and nose. “We know there’s sewage and oil that was in the water when it flooded. It makes us nervous that the dust left behind might be toxic,” said Moretown 1st Constable David VanDeusen. He also said they are trying limit traffic in high-dust areas.
Van Deusen said the town was grateful for everything the Vermont Guard has brought to the repairing town. He said he had seen the work the National Guard had done in New Orleans after the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and compared it to the immediate efforts The Vermont Guard did in its home state after Irene. “The items the National Guard has brought us absolutely is helping us rebuild,” he said.
And Moretown is definitely rebuilding. The sounds of deconstruction filled the air as home-owners fought the onslaught of mold-growth that is inevitable after a flooding where some parts of town were under as much as 14 feet of water. The smell was strong in the main part of town, where houses close to each had no choice but to pile mildewing furniture and life-possessions on their front yard. One home was already nearly gutted, only the studs and beams being spared – so far.
Yet observing the community repair itself had a Disney-esque quality. Young children brought water, a prized commodity in stifling heat, to workers who were removing the seemingly never-ending piles of debris. The town hall, clearly now the heartbeat of the town had a steady stream of people going in and out for help or to help. A tent set alongside the building housed volunteers who gave out stock-piled food and water. A sign taped to a case of bottled water asked “Do you need drinking water at your house?”
Groups of teenagers, faces covered by safety masks, helped wherever they were asked. Mitch Grimmer and Sam Worley were two teenagers offering their help Saturday morning to Moretown, even though they themselves were from Waitsfield, which suffered minor damage comparatively. They attend Green Mountain Valley School, where they said they had been encouraged to come out and help the struggling neighboring town.
“We were just cleaning out someone’s chicken coop,” Grimmer said, pointing to his mask. “We had to wear these, there was chicken feces and, unfortunately, some of their chickens had died.”
The two talked about a baseball field that is now gone, a house that had been completely tipped over and laid on its side, one house now on stilts because the basement was washed away, and shops that had been on the side of the river were now pushed towards the road.
“It’s been an eye-opener for us,” Grimmer said. “We’ve been going into houses where we’re taking out people’s ruined things. It’s sad seeing everyone trying to fix what they’ve lost.” But he was quick to say, “We’re all out helping one another. We’re not without hope here.”
Van Deusen said the town needs things like clean water and tents. Other people asked for totes to store stuff that wasn’t ruined. But as a whole, the community is rebounding. “We’re grateful to the National Guard for its help,” he said emphatically. He is also grateful to his community. “I don’t know one person who’s not helping in some way, if they can.”
A week after Vermont was ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene, National Guardsmen from Vermont and helping states such as Illinois and New Hampshire continued delivering staple supplies such as food, water, tents, cots, blankets and tarps to needy towns. In the early days of what is now called Join Task Force Green Mountain Spirit, Chinooks and Black Hawks from the Illinois Army National Guard in Peoria, and Black Hawks from the New Hampshire Army National Guard were pivotal in immediate deliveries. Sometimes, when civilians spotted these air-vehicles of help, crowds would cheer.
Now, as recovery from damage continues, Vermont Air and Army National Guardsmen are loading up local trucks for drop-offs. Some places remain isolated but most have constructed their own, if shaky, routes out.
Since flood waters from Tropical Storm Irene that hit Vermont, Sunday, Aug. 28, have receded, silt has become a problem for the residents who were hit hard. When a Chinook from the Illinois Army National Guard landed next to a Killington resort to deliver FEMA relief packages, the helicopter stirred up a layer of dirt left from the floods that rose to form an undulating orange wall. A worker there said, as of Wednesday, he was still shoveling out silt that was at least two inches deep. The smell left behind was too strong to take for more than a minute, and he said he would have to rip all the carpets out and maybe some of the walls.
The people of Moretown are very wary about what could be in the soil left behind. Most people choose to walk around town with safety masks over their mouth and nose. “We know there’s sewage and oil that was in the water when it flooded. It makes us nervous that the dust left behind might be toxic,” said Moretown 1st Constable David VanDeusen. He also said they are trying limit traffic in high-dust areas.
Van Deusen said the town was grateful for everything the Vermont Guard has brought to the repairing town. He said he had seen the work the National Guard had done in New Orleans after the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and compared it to the immediate efforts The Vermont Guard did in its home state after Irene. “The items the National Guard has brought us absolutely is helping us rebuild,” he said.
And Moretown is definitely rebuilding. The sounds of deconstruction filled the air as home-owners fought the onslaught of mold-growth that is inevitable after a flooding where some parts of town were under as much as 14 feet of water. The smell was strong in the main part of town, where houses close to each had no choice but to pile mildewing furniture and life-possessions on their front yard. One home was already nearly gutted, only the studs and beams being spared – so far.
Yet observing the community repair itself had a Disney-esque quality. Young children brought water, a prized commodity in stifling heat, to workers who were removing the seemingly never-ending piles of debris. The town hall, clearly now the heartbeat of the town had a steady stream of people going in and out for help or to help. A tent set alongside the building housed volunteers who gave out stock-piled food and water. A sign taped to a case of bottled water asked “Do you need drinking water at your house?”
Groups of teenagers, faces covered by safety masks, helped wherever they were asked. Mitch Grimmer and Sam Worley were two teenagers offering their help Saturday morning to Moretown, even though they themselves were from Waitsfield, which suffered minor damage comparatively. They attend Green Mountain Valley School, where they said they had been encouraged to come out and help the struggling neighboring town.
“We were just cleaning out someone’s chicken coop,” Grimmer said, pointing to his mask. “We had to wear these, there was chicken feces and, unfortunately, some of their chickens had died.”
The two talked about a baseball field that is now gone, a house that had been completely tipped over and laid on its side, one house now on stilts because the basement was washed away, and shops that had been on the side of the river were now pushed towards the road.
“It’s been an eye-opener for us,” Grimmer said. “We’ve been going into houses where we’re taking out people’s ruined things. It’s sad seeing everyone trying to fix what they’ve lost.” But he was quick to say, “We’re all out helping one another. We’re not without hope here.”
Van Deusen said the town needs things like clean water and tents. Other people asked for totes to store stuff that wasn’t ruined. But as a whole, the community is rebounding. “We’re grateful to the National Guard for its help,” he said emphatically. He is also grateful to his community. “I don’t know one person who’s not helping in some way, if they can.”
2011年8月28日星期日
Canyon textile artist inspired by nature
Bea von Allmen designs and sews eye-popping, classic-looking women’s clothing, makes elegant jewelry and sells produce grown on her Canyon farm. But it is her raku-fired bird heads, mounted on steel rods and adorned with gorgeous fabrics, that capture the imagination of her many admirers.
“I don’t like making people’s faces,” is her simple explanation of why she has become so enamoured with creating upright, human-like characters with long-beaked faces.
She and her husband, Ernst, moved to the Creston Valley 10 years ago from their home country of Switzerland. They longed for the space offered by the Canadian countryside and the chance to own property that would allow them to produce their own food and pursue their own creative passions. The Creston Valley, with its temperate climate, rich soil and close proximity to Kootenay Lake, was an easy choice once they saw fruit trees growing when they arrived from the east.
In Switzerland, von Allmen did clay work for 25 years, mainly for jewelry. She also worked with Ernst, who had an oriental rug business.
“But we always wanted to own a farm,” she said. “We wanted to grow our own food and have a better lifestyle. This valley had all the things that were on our wish list.”
The von Allmen farm is a warm and welcoming site. Located at 4341 Muzzy Road, it is a model of tidiness. Rows of firewood are stacked in an open shed, sorted according to species and log size. The completely renovated house boasts a clay workshop that becomes von Allmen’s studio and another basement studio where she sews. A spotless chicken coop is home to surprisingly content birds. Out back is a huge shop in which Ernst keeps busy with his many hobbies and projects. Last week, a long line of braced steel fence corner posts was in production. All were made with recycled steel, awaiting several coats of paint before Ernst undertakes a 1,300-foot fencing project that will allow the couple to pursue their next dream, landscaping the area around the house and protecting their gardens from the area’s abundant wildlife.
Creston has a four-season climate and the von Allmens revel in it, adjusting their activities to the weather. What serves as her gallery during the summer will revert to her clay studio in the winter, when she is more drawn to the physical activity of making and firing clay. When she isn’t working in the garden during the spring and summer months, she repairs to her above ground basement sewing studio, which is replete with framed old pages from a sewing magazine, open shelves of impeccably arranged bolts of cloth and a pair of comfy upholstered chairs brought from Switzerland.
“I don’t like to work in a messy space,” von Allmen said, pointing out the obvious. “Wherever I’m working I want to make it feel like a living space. So I always have chairs and art and maybe even an espresso machine in that space.”
In the winter, she said, “My clay shop is my sanctuary. To be creative I have to dig into my inner self, either in a workshop or out in nature.”
Visitors to the Creston Valley Farmers Market will be familiar with von Allmen’s elegant clothing displays and neatly arranged produce. But her clay bird and cat characters are reserved for display in galleries, including her own and Eileen Hirota’s (the pieces were a popular attraction in the now-closed Painted Turtle Gallery on Canyon Street).
“I dream of a fantasy or theme and then I work towards it,” she said in an effort to explain her latest series that features characters from an imaginary oriental marketplace. This year she has created several dozen pieces, including an alchemist, a silk trader, a jewel salesman, an oil sheikh, a prince, a bride-to-be and… well, you get the idea.
“I have had a lifelong passion for markets,” von Allmen explained. “In the old days, everyone looked forward to market day. Back then, markets were a necessity. They were the only place that people could sell, buy and trade. Vendors from near and far would meet a colourful mix of farmers, traders, salesmen, musicians, entertainers and buyers. Even the odd thief would sneak in!”
The oriental marketplace experience was inspired in part by a trip to Turkey when Ernst was still in the rug trade. And her fascination by markets extends into her participation in the local farmers market. She speaks of markets with passion and doesn’t measure her success in them in terms of sales.
“With markets you have to be patient as an artist and don’t expect to make sales,” she said. “Advertising fees is what I call the space rental. You have to give customers time to identify with your work and they want to get to know you, so continuity is the key. I started my artistic career by going to markets 30 years ago and I have had offers to exhibit in shows and galleries ever since.”
“I don’t like making people’s faces,” is her simple explanation of why she has become so enamoured with creating upright, human-like characters with long-beaked faces.
She and her husband, Ernst, moved to the Creston Valley 10 years ago from their home country of Switzerland. They longed for the space offered by the Canadian countryside and the chance to own property that would allow them to produce their own food and pursue their own creative passions. The Creston Valley, with its temperate climate, rich soil and close proximity to Kootenay Lake, was an easy choice once they saw fruit trees growing when they arrived from the east.
In Switzerland, von Allmen did clay work for 25 years, mainly for jewelry. She also worked with Ernst, who had an oriental rug business.
“But we always wanted to own a farm,” she said. “We wanted to grow our own food and have a better lifestyle. This valley had all the things that were on our wish list.”
The von Allmen farm is a warm and welcoming site. Located at 4341 Muzzy Road, it is a model of tidiness. Rows of firewood are stacked in an open shed, sorted according to species and log size. The completely renovated house boasts a clay workshop that becomes von Allmen’s studio and another basement studio where she sews. A spotless chicken coop is home to surprisingly content birds. Out back is a huge shop in which Ernst keeps busy with his many hobbies and projects. Last week, a long line of braced steel fence corner posts was in production. All were made with recycled steel, awaiting several coats of paint before Ernst undertakes a 1,300-foot fencing project that will allow the couple to pursue their next dream, landscaping the area around the house and protecting their gardens from the area’s abundant wildlife.
Creston has a four-season climate and the von Allmens revel in it, adjusting their activities to the weather. What serves as her gallery during the summer will revert to her clay studio in the winter, when she is more drawn to the physical activity of making and firing clay. When she isn’t working in the garden during the spring and summer months, she repairs to her above ground basement sewing studio, which is replete with framed old pages from a sewing magazine, open shelves of impeccably arranged bolts of cloth and a pair of comfy upholstered chairs brought from Switzerland.
“I don’t like to work in a messy space,” von Allmen said, pointing out the obvious. “Wherever I’m working I want to make it feel like a living space. So I always have chairs and art and maybe even an espresso machine in that space.”
In the winter, she said, “My clay shop is my sanctuary. To be creative I have to dig into my inner self, either in a workshop or out in nature.”
Visitors to the Creston Valley Farmers Market will be familiar with von Allmen’s elegant clothing displays and neatly arranged produce. But her clay bird and cat characters are reserved for display in galleries, including her own and Eileen Hirota’s (the pieces were a popular attraction in the now-closed Painted Turtle Gallery on Canyon Street).
“I dream of a fantasy or theme and then I work towards it,” she said in an effort to explain her latest series that features characters from an imaginary oriental marketplace. This year she has created several dozen pieces, including an alchemist, a silk trader, a jewel salesman, an oil sheikh, a prince, a bride-to-be and… well, you get the idea.
“I have had a lifelong passion for markets,” von Allmen explained. “In the old days, everyone looked forward to market day. Back then, markets were a necessity. They were the only place that people could sell, buy and trade. Vendors from near and far would meet a colourful mix of farmers, traders, salesmen, musicians, entertainers and buyers. Even the odd thief would sneak in!”
The oriental marketplace experience was inspired in part by a trip to Turkey when Ernst was still in the rug trade. And her fascination by markets extends into her participation in the local farmers market. She speaks of markets with passion and doesn’t measure her success in them in terms of sales.
“With markets you have to be patient as an artist and don’t expect to make sales,” she said. “Advertising fees is what I call the space rental. You have to give customers time to identify with your work and they want to get to know you, so continuity is the key. I started my artistic career by going to markets 30 years ago and I have had offers to exhibit in shows and galleries ever since.”
2011年4月26日星期二
Dog raises 30 chicks
It’s a relationship that could cause a few ruffled feathers in the animal kingdom, but Marmaduke, the 120 pound Great Dane, doesn't think anything about playing mother hen to a brood of chicks.
"We took some out of my sister’s coop and incubated them for the kids and it ended up being for the dog,” says owner Sue Paull.
The family dog went from being simply curious to passionately protective of the 30 fluffy chicks, even grooming his adopted family and sleeping near them this last week.
“He was always cleaning them and doting over them especially when the kids had them out on the couch,” she says. “He’ll make sure that no body's hurting them, or doing something they he didn't like.”
Marmaduke is just over a year old, but has shown an affinity for taking care of young animals of all kinds on the Paull's Kelowna farm.
“We had a baby goat here that we bottle fed and he was the same way with that too,” says Paull. “Great Danes are gentle dogs. They’re characteristics are gentle. But he’s just gone over the edge, I guess.”
“He obviously thinks he’s human. He has his own bed-couch and wanders the house like it’s his own.”
Rather than take chase, Marmaduke gave up charge of his adopted family today as they transitioned into their real home: the chicken coop.
His short lived job as doting dad is done, even if his celebrity status as an unlikely mother hen lives on.
"We took some out of my sister’s coop and incubated them for the kids and it ended up being for the dog,” says owner Sue Paull.
The family dog went from being simply curious to passionately protective of the 30 fluffy chicks, even grooming his adopted family and sleeping near them this last week.
“He was always cleaning them and doting over them especially when the kids had them out on the couch,” she says. “He’ll make sure that no body's hurting them, or doing something they he didn't like.”
Marmaduke is just over a year old, but has shown an affinity for taking care of young animals of all kinds on the Paull's Kelowna farm.
“We had a baby goat here that we bottle fed and he was the same way with that too,” says Paull. “Great Danes are gentle dogs. They’re characteristics are gentle. But he’s just gone over the edge, I guess.”
“He obviously thinks he’s human. He has his own bed-couch and wanders the house like it’s his own.”
Rather than take chase, Marmaduke gave up charge of his adopted family today as they transitioned into their real home: the chicken coop.
His short lived job as doting dad is done, even if his celebrity status as an unlikely mother hen lives on.
2011年3月29日星期二
Coop visitors to gawk at bawking chickens
The second annual Chicken Coop Tour in Bend will be held May 7.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., participants will be able to tour about 30 chicken coops in Central Oregon.
About 15 stops have been identified, and planners seek more birds of a feather who would like to make their coops a stop on the tour. The event benefits Together For Children, Healing Reins Therapeutic Riding Center and NeighborImpact Food Bank.
Tour booklets serve as tickets and map to coops, at a price of $10 or six items of nonperishable food per booklet, which covers entry for a carload of people.
Organizers also seek sponsors for the event. Sponsorship levels range from $50 to $250.
Then decide which chicken breeds you will raise. There are many to choose from. Some are prodigious layers. For example, the Leghorn and Rhode Island Red produce a large egg each day during peak times (the first one or two years of a chicken's life). Many have beautiful, unusual plumage. And don't forget Araucana chickens, which lay eggs in pastel shades of green and blue.
Buy chicks in early to mid-spring; that way, their feathers will have time to grow in before winter. Choose birds that are the same age and that will be about the same size, even if they are different breeds. "You've heard the term 'pecking order' — the dominant ones will literally peck at the others,'' says Bud Wood, co-owner of Murray McMurray Hatchery, in Webster City, Iowa, one of several companies that ship chicks. (They are also sold at feed stores; consult your local cooperative extension service for sources.)
When choosing a coop, allow 2 square feet per chicken, and set up an enclosed outdoor space (called a run). Place an egg-laying box inside the coop – a 12-inch cube will accommodate two to four hens. Add wood shavings or straw to fill the boxes. A flock of five hens will lay as many as four eggs a day during peak laying time. Wood recommends keeping just two or three hens – one will get lonely, but too many can be overwhelming.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., participants will be able to tour about 30 chicken coops in Central Oregon.
About 15 stops have been identified, and planners seek more birds of a feather who would like to make their coops a stop on the tour. The event benefits Together For Children, Healing Reins Therapeutic Riding Center and NeighborImpact Food Bank.
Tour booklets serve as tickets and map to coops, at a price of $10 or six items of nonperishable food per booklet, which covers entry for a carload of people.
Organizers also seek sponsors for the event. Sponsorship levels range from $50 to $250.
Then decide which chicken breeds you will raise. There are many to choose from. Some are prodigious layers. For example, the Leghorn and Rhode Island Red produce a large egg each day during peak times (the first one or two years of a chicken's life). Many have beautiful, unusual plumage. And don't forget Araucana chickens, which lay eggs in pastel shades of green and blue.
Buy chicks in early to mid-spring; that way, their feathers will have time to grow in before winter. Choose birds that are the same age and that will be about the same size, even if they are different breeds. "You've heard the term 'pecking order' — the dominant ones will literally peck at the others,'' says Bud Wood, co-owner of Murray McMurray Hatchery, in Webster City, Iowa, one of several companies that ship chicks. (They are also sold at feed stores; consult your local cooperative extension service for sources.)
When choosing a coop, allow 2 square feet per chicken, and set up an enclosed outdoor space (called a run). Place an egg-laying box inside the coop – a 12-inch cube will accommodate two to four hens. Add wood shavings or straw to fill the boxes. A flock of five hens will lay as many as four eggs a day during peak laying time. Wood recommends keeping just two or three hens – one will get lonely, but too many can be overwhelming.
2011年3月28日星期一
The Backyard Chicken Fight
Boise, Idaho -- "The Backyard Chicken Fight" is a new book by local writer Gretchen Anderson gives us a look into becoming your own "Old MacDonald" as a backyard farmer.
"Five-hundred million eggs were recalled last summer, so people are saying 'enough with that, I'm going to raise my own chickens and benefit from the eggs,'" said Anderson.
It's quickly becoming one of the fastest growing hobbies in the U.S. -- raising your own flock in the back yard.
"I was fascinated with the stories from around the country of people who wanted to keep chickens, but their city or county said they couldn't," Anderson said, "People just want to have the right to do what they want on their property."
Local writer Gretchen Anderson decided to write about the battle between rural and urban, and the places where backyard chicken coops are "ruffling feathers."
"I think that we've come so far from being farm communities and now we've become metropolitan, and people unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation about chickens," she said.
Her research led to her own backyard farming experience.
"We sure have had a good time with our chickens. They really are our pets, and they're very entertaining," she said.
With five chickens of her own, her coop averages four eggs per day.
"More people want to know where their food comes from," said Mike Staton, a chicken farming expert from Zamzow's.
Stanton helped Anderson put together a "how-to" guide, and they say great breakfast is only one of the perks.
"Natural pest control, natural fertilizer, the eggs and the entertainment, there's a lot of benefits to having them," Anderson said.
With the push toward green, more families are catching on.
"This is the next step in being sustainable," she said.
Many families are heading back to the good old fashioned roots of farming.
"Especially if you've got kids, it's a great way to teach them responsibility, and peak their interest in animals," Stanton said.
They say anyone can do it with a little guidance, and a backyard.
The book is called "The Backyard Chicken Fight" and it has everything you need to know about raising your own flock.
"Five-hundred million eggs were recalled last summer, so people are saying 'enough with that, I'm going to raise my own chickens and benefit from the eggs,'" said Anderson.
It's quickly becoming one of the fastest growing hobbies in the U.S. -- raising your own flock in the back yard.
"I was fascinated with the stories from around the country of people who wanted to keep chickens, but their city or county said they couldn't," Anderson said, "People just want to have the right to do what they want on their property."
Local writer Gretchen Anderson decided to write about the battle between rural and urban, and the places where backyard chicken coops are "ruffling feathers."
"I think that we've come so far from being farm communities and now we've become metropolitan, and people unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation about chickens," she said.
Her research led to her own backyard farming experience.
"We sure have had a good time with our chickens. They really are our pets, and they're very entertaining," she said.
With five chickens of her own, her coop averages four eggs per day.
"More people want to know where their food comes from," said Mike Staton, a chicken farming expert from Zamzow's.
Stanton helped Anderson put together a "how-to" guide, and they say great breakfast is only one of the perks.
"Natural pest control, natural fertilizer, the eggs and the entertainment, there's a lot of benefits to having them," Anderson said.
With the push toward green, more families are catching on.
"This is the next step in being sustainable," she said.
Many families are heading back to the good old fashioned roots of farming.
"Especially if you've got kids, it's a great way to teach them responsibility, and peak their interest in animals," Stanton said.
They say anyone can do it with a little guidance, and a backyard.
The book is called "The Backyard Chicken Fight" and it has everything you need to know about raising your own flock.
2011年3月27日星期日
Nonprofit's financial, management struggles have taken a toll
A 35-year-old Austin nonprofit that operates education and job training programs for youths is struggling with severe money problems that have led to layoffs, sporadic employee paychecks, bad debt and trouble with the Texas Education Agency.
American Youthworks recently laid off 14 of its 90 staffers. Employees have gone weeks without paychecks, and some have agreed to pay cuts .
The TEA , which gives the nonprofit about $1.5 million per year for its charter school and routinely reviews its performance, has tagged the school with a "warned" accreditation rating for the past two years because of its high debt.
The rating doesn't affect the school's state funding, but it is a red flag to families and donors that the school is on shaky financial ground,chicken coop said TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe .
"They've been really good about checking in, informing us about what's happening and asking for advice," she said. "You can tell they're really trying to get the school back on track."
But the road back has been bumpy. Several months ago, student attendance — which always fluctuates — dropped lower than expected, which meant less state money. American Youthworks had anticipated an 80 percent attendance rate in one of its charter school programs between September and November 2010. Instead, it hit only 65 percent. That meant the school received $120,000 in TEA funding instead of the $190,000 it had anticipated, said Chief Operating Officer Chester Steinhauser .
Also, some state and city payments, which can take 90 to 120 days to arrive, had not appeared.
American Youthworks suddenly found itself in a cash crunch, Chief Executive Officer Parc Smith said . With no line of credit cover it, the nonprofit ran out of money to pay its employees. Staffers stayed anyway, he said, some at lower pay.
The nonprofit is doing everything it can fix the problems, Smith said. It is slowly paying off its debt, bringing in new financial leadership, working closely with the TEA and cutting expenses. Some of the buildings from which it once operated — a 17,000-square-foot office building and a 30,000-square-foot warehouse on Fourth Street in downtown Austin — are on the market for $9 million .
But unraveling financial problems that were years in the making has been a complicated, time-consuming process, Youthworks officials said. Founder and former Executive Director Richard Halpin retired in 2009 . Finance officers have come and gone. Board members say they don't have a clear memory of the series of events that led them here. And the nonprofit has a labyrinthine funding structure that involves dozens of grantors.
"Everybody has trouble parsing it out," said Steinhauser, who has been chief operating officer since 2010. "Unless you were there when they were weaving it, it's hard to understand."
Decades of involvement
American Youthworks was started in 1976 when Halpin, a one-time social worker, launched the Creative Rapid Learning Center , a nonprofit that offered job skills to youths and adults in East Austin. Over the years, it evolved, changing its name and broadening its mission to include General Educational Development classes, an energy-efficient home-building program and environmental projects such as water quality testing.
In 1996 , the nonprofit started one of the first open-enrollment charter schools in Texas. Its students were the kinds of kids who often abandon traditional education: homeless, pregnant, struggling with learning disabilities or saddled with criminal histories.
By the mid-2000s, American Youthworks programs were reaching about 500 students a year through the traditional charter school and job training. As the nonprofit grew, its finances became more complicated, with its roughly $7 million annual budget coming from dozens of federal, state, local and private funders, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the TEA. The nonprofit also made money through its service learning job programs, in which students are hired by state and local governments to perform tasks such as restoring grasslands, removing trees or doing stonework at local parks.
But by 2006 , American Youthworks was struggling to stay afloat, according to the nonprofit's board minutes in December of that year.
"Serious financial problems," the documents state. "We do not have the resources to do what we are doing for another year or two."
American Youthworks recently laid off 14 of its 90 staffers. Employees have gone weeks without paychecks, and some have agreed to pay cuts .
The TEA , which gives the nonprofit about $1.5 million per year for its charter school and routinely reviews its performance, has tagged the school with a "warned" accreditation rating for the past two years because of its high debt.
The rating doesn't affect the school's state funding, but it is a red flag to families and donors that the school is on shaky financial ground,chicken coop said TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe .
"They've been really good about checking in, informing us about what's happening and asking for advice," she said. "You can tell they're really trying to get the school back on track."
But the road back has been bumpy. Several months ago, student attendance — which always fluctuates — dropped lower than expected, which meant less state money. American Youthworks had anticipated an 80 percent attendance rate in one of its charter school programs between September and November 2010. Instead, it hit only 65 percent. That meant the school received $120,000 in TEA funding instead of the $190,000 it had anticipated, said Chief Operating Officer Chester Steinhauser .
Also, some state and city payments, which can take 90 to 120 days to arrive, had not appeared.
American Youthworks suddenly found itself in a cash crunch, Chief Executive Officer Parc Smith said . With no line of credit cover it, the nonprofit ran out of money to pay its employees. Staffers stayed anyway, he said, some at lower pay.
The nonprofit is doing everything it can fix the problems, Smith said. It is slowly paying off its debt, bringing in new financial leadership, working closely with the TEA and cutting expenses. Some of the buildings from which it once operated — a 17,000-square-foot office building and a 30,000-square-foot warehouse on Fourth Street in downtown Austin — are on the market for $9 million .
But unraveling financial problems that were years in the making has been a complicated, time-consuming process, Youthworks officials said. Founder and former Executive Director Richard Halpin retired in 2009 . Finance officers have come and gone. Board members say they don't have a clear memory of the series of events that led them here. And the nonprofit has a labyrinthine funding structure that involves dozens of grantors.
"Everybody has trouble parsing it out," said Steinhauser, who has been chief operating officer since 2010. "Unless you were there when they were weaving it, it's hard to understand."
Decades of involvement
American Youthworks was started in 1976 when Halpin, a one-time social worker, launched the Creative Rapid Learning Center , a nonprofit that offered job skills to youths and adults in East Austin. Over the years, it evolved, changing its name and broadening its mission to include General Educational Development classes, an energy-efficient home-building program and environmental projects such as water quality testing.
In 1996 , the nonprofit started one of the first open-enrollment charter schools in Texas. Its students were the kinds of kids who often abandon traditional education: homeless, pregnant, struggling with learning disabilities or saddled with criminal histories.
By the mid-2000s, American Youthworks programs were reaching about 500 students a year through the traditional charter school and job training. As the nonprofit grew, its finances became more complicated, with its roughly $7 million annual budget coming from dozens of federal, state, local and private funders, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the TEA. The nonprofit also made money through its service learning job programs, in which students are hired by state and local governments to perform tasks such as restoring grasslands, removing trees or doing stonework at local parks.
But by 2006 , American Youthworks was struggling to stay afloat, according to the nonprofit's board minutes in December of that year.
"Serious financial problems," the documents state. "We do not have the resources to do what we are doing for another year or two."
2011年2月28日星期一
Chicken with Charred Cauliflower and Peppers
As a child, I remember going out to the chicken coop with my grandma when I visited her
and my grandpa at their Indiana farm. We'd walk through an area of the farmyard
reserved for rambunctious geese as they honked wildly and flapped their strong wings
around my legs.
My grandma would protect me as she hurried me along toward the old wooden chicken coop.
Always fearful of being pecked by pointy, sharp beaks, I stood to the side and watched
with awe as my grandma gently tucked her hand under sitting hens, pulling out large
eggs.
The thought of ever having my own chickens never crossed my mind, until a couple of
years ago when I began hearing of urban and suburban dwellers having a few chickens so
that they could enjoy unbelievably fresh eggs.
It sounded charming and romantic. I pictured myself heading out to a cute little hen
house tucked into a corner of my yard, my dog scampering beside me, anxious to visit
the chickens. I would gather fresh eggs, make a quick stop to snip fresh herbs from the
garden, then head back to the kitchen to create plump, fluffy omelets to eat with whole
grain toast and a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee. But those daydreams were just
a passing fantasy. I began purchasing eggs and whole, pasture-raised chickens from area
farmers instead.
But, oh dear. A couple of weeks ago I got a copy of "Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of
Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes by Janice Cole." One look at the charming cover
of the book and I started getting all dreamy again with visions of colorful hens
strutting their stuff around a darling little chicken coop in my yard.
Cole's book is a combination of her stories about her first year of raising her own few
hens in her backyard in a suburb of St. Paul. Minn., and more than 100 recipes she
developed using chicken and eggs. As you read of the sometimes humorous and always
interesting adventures of Cole's first year owning chickens, you will feel as though
you are sitting right across the table from her, sipping coffee and nibbling on a sweet
treat that she whipped up with some of her amazingly fresh eggs. Although "Chicken and
Egg" is not a how-to-raise-chickens-in-your-yard guidebook, it is filled with tips that
can help you decide if you really do want to make the commitment.
As you spend time thinking about the charms and challenges of having your own chickens,
you can try some of the down-to-earth, easy-to-follow recipes that Cole shares in the
book, using all parts of the chicken. The book is divided seasonally, because chickens
are seasonal in their behavior.
Chicken with Charred Cauliflower and Peppers is a delicious example of the family-
friendly recipes that abound in "Chicken and Egg." High-temperature roasting brings out
the best in this cauliflower, red bell pepper and chicken drumstick combo. The
vegetables become toasty brown along the edges, developing sweet, nutty flavors. Skin
on chicken drumsticks gets slightly crispy, while the meat oozes with juiciness when
poked with a fork
After becoming acquainted with Cole and her sweet little hens, each with her own name
and unique personality, you will be tempted to become a backyard farmer. You will
definitely feel drawn to seek out the freshest eggs and chickens you can find from
farmers in your area, farmers markets and natural food co-ops.
I'm wondering how I can turn the storage shed in the woods alongside the driveway into
a chicken coop. I can just picture my grandchildren, baskets in hand, going out with me
to gather eggs. Of course, my hens would never dream of pecking little hands.
and my grandpa at their Indiana farm. We'd walk through an area of the farmyard
reserved for rambunctious geese as they honked wildly and flapped their strong wings
around my legs.
My grandma would protect me as she hurried me along toward the old wooden chicken coop.
Always fearful of being pecked by pointy, sharp beaks, I stood to the side and watched
with awe as my grandma gently tucked her hand under sitting hens, pulling out large
eggs.
The thought of ever having my own chickens never crossed my mind, until a couple of
years ago when I began hearing of urban and suburban dwellers having a few chickens so
that they could enjoy unbelievably fresh eggs.
It sounded charming and romantic. I pictured myself heading out to a cute little hen
house tucked into a corner of my yard, my dog scampering beside me, anxious to visit
the chickens. I would gather fresh eggs, make a quick stop to snip fresh herbs from the
garden, then head back to the kitchen to create plump, fluffy omelets to eat with whole
grain toast and a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee. But those daydreams were just
a passing fantasy. I began purchasing eggs and whole, pasture-raised chickens from area
farmers instead.
But, oh dear. A couple of weeks ago I got a copy of "Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of
Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes by Janice Cole." One look at the charming cover
of the book and I started getting all dreamy again with visions of colorful hens
strutting their stuff around a darling little chicken coop in my yard.
Cole's book is a combination of her stories about her first year of raising her own few
hens in her backyard in a suburb of St. Paul. Minn., and more than 100 recipes she
developed using chicken and eggs. As you read of the sometimes humorous and always
interesting adventures of Cole's first year owning chickens, you will feel as though
you are sitting right across the table from her, sipping coffee and nibbling on a sweet
treat that she whipped up with some of her amazingly fresh eggs. Although "Chicken and
Egg" is not a how-to-raise-chickens-in-your-yard guidebook, it is filled with tips that
can help you decide if you really do want to make the commitment.
As you spend time thinking about the charms and challenges of having your own chickens,
you can try some of the down-to-earth, easy-to-follow recipes that Cole shares in the
book, using all parts of the chicken. The book is divided seasonally, because chickens
are seasonal in their behavior.
Chicken with Charred Cauliflower and Peppers is a delicious example of the family-
friendly recipes that abound in "Chicken and Egg." High-temperature roasting brings out
the best in this cauliflower, red bell pepper and chicken drumstick combo. The
vegetables become toasty brown along the edges, developing sweet, nutty flavors. Skin
on chicken drumsticks gets slightly crispy, while the meat oozes with juiciness when
poked with a fork
After becoming acquainted with Cole and her sweet little hens, each with her own name
and unique personality, you will be tempted to become a backyard farmer. You will
definitely feel drawn to seek out the freshest eggs and chickens you can find from
farmers in your area, farmers markets and natural food co-ops.
I'm wondering how I can turn the storage shed in the woods alongside the driveway into
a chicken coop. I can just picture my grandchildren, baskets in hand, going out with me
to gather eggs. Of course, my hens would never dream of pecking little hands.
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