Chicken Admiration Society

and Hoover's Friendship Club

It has been a very long year for me (and for many) thus far. I understand that this statement could actually have applied to practically any year of my life up for whatever reasons I feel are (or were) appropriate. But this year has brought its own sorts of difficulties. And those difficulties have been pushing me so that my life has fallen out of balance.

With all of my efforts to meet important obligations to my communities, I was failing to meet the obligations I have for myself. All of the signs were there. I was having troubles sleeping. I couldn’t get myself moving to do active things on the farm - though I’ll admit high winds have had something to do with that too. I was getting grumpier and found that I was always assuming the worst of others and of any potential situation I might find myself in.

Most people would not have noticed any of this (except Tammy) because I have excellent filters. As a matter of fact, Consumer Reports rated my filters as being among the most reliable for a small-scale, diversified farmer who also works as a Communications Manager and has advanced degrees in Computer Science and Adult Education.

It sounds impressive until you realize there aren’t that many people who fit that description. My filters are rated among the best with a probable sample size of one.

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The Chicken Admiration Society

Before I go much further, let me assure everyone that I am doing fine. The good news is that I foresaw this happening. And, with excellent support and input from Tammy and from my co-workers at PAN, I had devised a plan where I would use my significant amounts of accrued (but unused) vacation on a predetermined schedule this year.

Certainly, I am smart enough to know that some important things will not stop because I am taking some vacation time. And I know how to jump in and jump out for those things. But that’s very different from a full work week with the meetings and all of the overhead that comes with any job.

I am just a couple days into the current break and I already feel more like myself. And that might be, in part, because Tammy shared pictures with me of the “Chicken Admiration Society.”

I suspect you might need some explanation - because I certainly did.

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Valhalla, a GFF high tunnel with torn plastic

Let me back up just a little bit and give you some context.

Late March into early April is a time when farmwork starts to build up. This year the wind has been extraordinary and we lost plastic on both of our high tunnels. So we now have additional tasks (and our high tunnel crops did not go in for early production). That means, in addition to PAN work stress, the needs of the Genuine Faux Farm were starting to build. Meanwhile, Tammy was approaching the end of the semester, which also adds to our shared pressure cooker.

We know this is how it works, which is why I set aside this time. I just wish I’d done a better job of building up my physical stamina. I’ve worked more active hours on the farm since Friday than I put in for the months of February and March. Ok, maybe not quite. But it sure FEELS like I have.

I’ve been pulling torn plastic off of buildings and doing repairs and prep-work so we can put new plastic on Eden and Valhalla (our two high tunnels) as soon as we can (and the weather allows). For those of you who have not experienced work with high tunnel plastic, there is a good deal of hand strength required to remove the “wiggle wire” that is used to keep plastic attached to the building. And we’ve had plenty of wind to make managing large pieces of 6 mil plastic challenging.

I’ve been up and down ladders a fair amount and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve gotten down to the ground and back up again. It’s a good workout - but I didn’t give myself much chance to ease into it.

There’s certainly more to it than that, but you didn’t come here to read my laundry list of things I have been doing at the farm recently. At least I don’t think you did. If you did, feel free to let me know and I’ll just publish my daily VAPs (Very Ambitious Plans).

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Hoover is everybody’s friend!

We have been graced with the presence of college students at our farm TWICE in the past week. A service trip group came out to the farm on Saturday to help us fold up large chunks of plastic and participated in a field clean-up project. And on Tuesday, Tammy hosted one of her classes at the farm and provided them with taco salad makings for lunch.

As is always the case when groups visit the Genuine Faux Farm, there is preparation for their arrival and clean-up after departure. We usually do a very good job of planning the preparation part. For example, Tammy and I worked out how we would make the “public areas” of the farm and farm house presentable prior the arrival of her class. We had to work in chores and Tammy had a meeting. But, between us, it was done well and on time.

It’s the post-event work that often surprises us because we just don’t think about planning for it. All of the tools that were used by the service trip needed to be cleaned and put away. Missing tools had to be found and any partially completed task was seen to completion. Dishes that were used during Tammy’s class gathering needed to be cleaned and the extra chairs were returned to their proper locations.

You get the idea.

But, that’s okay. Technically, we know it’s coming and we know what it’s going to be. We just don’t do the best job of planning for it. We sometimes make an assumption that when the event is over we can jump right into another project - forgetting that it’s going to take an hour or three to transition out of the event before we can do something else.

And it is here that I finally get to the point. You were probably wondering about that. I know I was.

Tammy and I live on the farm and we are very familiar with the work, limitations, and troubles that come with it. We are also quite aware of the many positives and we appreciate them very much. But there is nothing quite like seeing our farm through other people’s eyes.

They don’t usually see the work that needs doing nor are they aware of the ghosts of trials and tribulations that echo in the dark spaces of my soul. But they do remind me to get over my fascination with difficulties and return to a world of awe and wonder.

Which brings me to the Chicken Appreciation Society. And I suppose I should also mention Hoover’s Friendship Club too.

Hoover is the Genuine Faux Farm’s “greeter.” So far, I don’t think he’s met a human he doesn’t like. And, for that matter, I don’t think there are many humans that wouldn’t like Hoover. Every time we turned around, a student was cuddling that cat.

Yes, the service trip group was supposed to be working. But, it’s hard to say “no” when Hoover rubs against your leg and blinks his golden eyes at you.

Tammy’s class was also enamored with Hoover. But they also wanted to hold a chicken.

Tammy and I are veterans when it comes to laying hens and I think we can both honestly say that neither of us really WANTS to hold a chicken. We pick them up when we have to and we do so efficiently, but kindly. But the idea of holding a chicken just because… Well, that’s just not a thing for us. And that’s okay.

Now, I wasn’t there for this particular chicken holding session. But I received excellent reporting (and pictures) from Tammy. After giving instructions on how to pass the bird securely and then how to hold said bird, Tammy picked up a laying hen and gave anyone who wanted a chance to hold it.

There was laughter. There were smiles. There was cooperation. There was learning. There were new experiences. And maybe even some memories were created.

And the Genuine Faux Farmers were able to see through other people’s eyes the value of a small-scale, diversified farm. Our belief that connections to the land, food production, and nature are important for healthy people and communities were given a much-needed boost.

Thanks to chickens, a black cat, and some excellent visitors.