I had saved two eggs that got cracked in the coop when the chickens were pulling all the hay out of their nesting boxes to lay eggs on the bare wood. The longer the chickens were on adult feed the thicker the shells seemed to get, but a couple of these early eggs had cracked […]
Author Archives: homesteadingon2acres
Cicada
I had been known to fry grasshopper occasionally when i wasn’t feeding it to the chickens. I usually had to smash the grasshoppers to catch them but if it seemed especially intact or i managed to catch it alive i would save it for human consumption via the skillet. The grocery shortage of 2020 had […]
Treasure Hunting
I had dreamed of raising chickens all my life. Even as a little girl in the city i knew that some day i wanted to have chickens. By the time i had a piece of land and an absence of a home owners society i had already developed an allergy to chicken eggs. However, my […]
Solitude
The solitude fed my soul. The sound of the wind, the changing light, the chittering of sneaky coons, the hum and buzz of the cicadas, the soft footsteps of rabbits and squirrels in the fallen leaves, the clicking and snapping flight of the ever present grasshopper, the whistling song of birds, the rustle of leaves, […]
Dreaming
I was wearing a dark blue uniform, so caked with mud and grime one hardly saw the color. It was caked with mud but also shone with the maroon streaks and splatters of old blood; some mine, some not. There was a ringing in my ears. Everything around me happened in muffled volume. I slithered […]
The Last of the Spring Garden’s Offerings
I had come to understand that due to the shade and the termites eating things from beneath the dirt, all of my veggies were to be miniature in the mosquito net tent. Meanwhile, the jack rabbits, grasshoppers, and deer were constantly trying to eat their way through or dig under…our homestead was not a good […]
The Chickens and their Independent Ventures in Nocturnal Farming 🤦🏻♀️
people were constantly telling me that chickens were very smart birds. They could be taught tricks. There was even one on “america’s got talent” playing a song on the piano. I just didn’t see it. These were birds that were constantly turning their water containers over in 100+ degree heat. I was always on suicide […]
The Birthday Present
My mother informed me one day that she and my grandmother had gotten together and sent me an early birthday present in the mail. She said it would be arriving via 6 boxes. I thought, “what on earth did they buy that spanned six boxes?” My mother wouldn’t tell me. She kept saying, “oh, just […]
Daisy the Therapy Chicken
i worried that the hens would feel vulnerable to predators or miss their rooster following ira’s death but some sort of transformation was already underway in the chicken pen. To my surprise, the chickens actually had very friendly personalities. They had been non-existent under ira’s reign. The chickens were stand-offish and distant. With the rooster […]
The Homicidal Rooster has To Go
It was a hot day. I knew that but i didn’t yet realize how hot. When i walked outside to fetch the dogs the air hit me like an oven door opening. I glanced at the outdoor thermometer on the porch and swiveled my head around to look again. It was 110 degrees. At first, […]
