Saturday, January 16, 2010

Facing reality

This little chicken house, with attached pen, is advertised on Craigslist for $150.00; it's twenty-five miles from here. Judging by what I know about chicken houses, it's well worth that money.
I love fresh eggs, and I would enjoy having a few chickens around again. They're fun to watch, and they eat table scraps that would otherwise go to waste. I love hearing a rooster crow in the morning.
Cliff and I watched a public television broadcast, "Except For Six", about how hospice comes in to help dying patients and their families. (Stay with me here, I'm making a point.)
One man expressed his intentions of traveling to Colorado just one more time.
He was too far gone, though, so the trip never happened.
Cliff and I reminded one another that we've pretty much done all the things we really wanted to do: I won't be saying, on my deathbed, "I wish I had gotten just one more Jersey cow," because I did that.
And Cliff won't be saying, "I always wanted a big Oliver tractor; if I had enough time left, I'd get one," because his Oliver is sitting in the shop, waiting for a paint job.
Cliff agrees that if I want some chickens, I should go for it; he'll go get that chicken-house.
But you know what? $150 would buy a lot of eggs, and that's not even talking about the cost of the chickens and feed. Cliff works with a lady who would sell us all the fresh eggs we want.
Guess how many eggs we use in a week? Maybe six, unless we have a lot of company and I'm baking and making noodles.
I think I'll pass on this whim, at least for now. If Hospice comes in for me and I mention the chickens, just remind me I had my Jersey cow, so shut up about the chickens.
By the way, if your PBS station airs "Except for Six", by all means, watch it; it makes you appreciate Hospice, but more importantly, it will make you appreciate this day and this moment. You can see the trailer HERE.


9 comments:

  1. I do appreciate Hospice, We had them come in when my Mother had cancer. Helen

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  2. Having had to deal with hospice with my parents I do know that they are worth their weight in gold. Their help was so appreciated. I don't think there will be any regrets here either as I've had and am still having a wonderful life. Making each day count is what it is all about.

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  3. I kind of miss having chickens, but I also remember what a pain they were. Also, how mean the roosters were and how you constantly had to worry about snakes eating the eggs (and chicks) and other predators trying to get the hens. Buying the eggs from another small farmer is probably the way to go!

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  4. I think you should get the chickens. Then I could come out more often :-). I could send you Samantha as a farmhand for 2 months this summer.

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  5. What a deal on the chicken coop... would have been there in an instant. It makes no good sense for me to have chickens again either, but I did enjoy them so much when I kept chickens several years ago. And I will have them again, even if I have to hammer together some crude-looking coop.. lol. What's just a few more chores in the mornings anyway? :)

    I will watch for that PBS show. It sounds difficult to watch, but I think we all need to step out of our comfort zones fairly often. Like you said, makes us appreciate every moment so much more. -Tammy

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  6. We had hospice for my Mom when she was dying of breast cancer, I was 29 and she was only 52. We had a really good experience with them. See I think you should think of having chickens as more of a hobby than a cost efficient way to live. People expect to spend more money on their hobbies. Plus your hobby would have dividends in eggs! I want to have some chickens too! Maybe I will look up that chicken coop and go get it! haha

    Inga

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  7. Well you know what I think, I don't even need to say it. ;)

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  8. We had Hospice for my aunt and they were such a big help to us. We could leave the nursing home for a few minutes to get some fresh air and something to eat. I would use them again.

    Chickens would be fun but with so many raccoons around here I don't know if they would stand a chance. Maybe if I put them in the barn at night they would be safe but my neighbors, or should I say ONE of them would have a fit and fall into it and call the town office like he did when we built the barn and brought the horses home. Some people just don't have enough to do.

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  9. I love to hear a rooster crow but I'll pass on cleaning the chicken house especially when its wet.

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