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Tema, Johnny Weir's Japanese Chin

Having covered etsy on theweekings, 

and toured all its haunted do-goodnessisms and come up rather haunted myself,

I turned to its obvious counterpart: chickens. That's where the Olivebridge Pastoral came from: there's a family album growing on these Buff Orpingtons. And since the essay on life with chickens was published in theweeklings, Lucille the broody hen went broody again, and we now have 6 more chicks. This is all beyond human control, unless we want to try to "break" her of her broodiness by putting her in a wire crate with her belly exposed to the cold air. But with Lucille, that won't work: she is a dedicated broody hen. So she gets to have her brood. Photos will follow. For now, here's a generic yellow chick:

Having covered etsy, having covered chickens, the obvious next subject is possibly the remarkably heartfelt, insanely athletic, flamboyantly gorgeous endless double adjective of Johnny Weir's instagram. But there's a novel about to wolves to finish, and it howls whenever I leave it alone.

All the books, all the birds, all the words

Headline news around the farmstead:

Really excited about a new project that has to do with that photograph and a whole trove of old cabinet cards, books, maps, and, yes, ephemera. That word. More on that soon. The luncheonette is branching out.

The aim is to finish my own book by early fall. Wish me luck and good writing. Have to thank some of the people keeping me on track. Thank you, people keeping me on track. I promise to not get too sidetracked by the chickens.

Lucy, my main mama hen, has gone broody again, so there will be more new chicks on the farm.

This is what happened to the grey chick that used to like roosting on his mama's back. He's three months here. He's a mutt, but we call him a Speckled Greentailed Nutjob. A new breed. He comes from bird man Barry down High Falls way. Or his egg did. If you want to know about feathered things, visit his site. It's addictive.

The yellow chick is tamer and is probably a rooster as well, but likes to follow me around the pen as I pick up rocks — there are worms under them there rocks. For some reason we didn't try to define this one. It/he/she doesn't seem so novel, so odd. Metaphors and chickens go together so well.

Some plumage on this one. His tailfeathers are starting to flow irridescent green. He has bell bottoms. I know there's a term for leg feathers. Shall look under some rocks for it.

Marbella

is a

very

feminine

hen.

Nearly 4 weeks old.

Preparation for a chicken

1906 postcard, obscurio.

We have joined the zietgeist though we never intended to, and are heading for the receiving end of 25 or 26 or 27 Buff Orpington chicks sometime between September 18th and 23rd.

1908 postcard, laurasvintagegarden.

The factual/numeric aspects of this plan are a bit shaky to me, but I didn't make the arrangements. As a certain breed of Virgo I am fighting the compulsion to see the plan as indefinite as mist. But that was another life.

1939 encyclopedia page, vintagehomerecycled.

In this life, the person who arranged the chicken thing is anything but misty, so there is no question: we are getting them. And it was his job, as a little boy, to take care of all the chickens on his grandparents' farm. So, zeitgeist or not, this isn't a nouveau chickens situation — for him. You could say that by virtue of my union with someone who has squat respect for the zeitgeist, I have in fact joined the zeitgeist.

1970 back to the land followers, westvirginaculture.

There is much preparing: coop, chicken area, fence, whether or not we can let the birds range all over the yard. Our pigeons do — they mill around while the dogs are out, since the dogs were proofed off pigeons long ago. If we can convince the dogs that chickens are just big pigeons things should be fine.

1961 Pasadena school photo, totalvintage.

One of us is mulling over the right coop and bedding and feed.

1934, chicken house in Cairo, caravancollection.

One of us is looking for the right egg baskets and chicken-ish things. Not to mention gingham chicken-and-egg-gathering dresses.

1940s gingham dress, allencompany.

1920s-30s gingham dress, adelaidehomesewn.

1950s handmade dress, clevernettle.

And obsessing over how to use all the eggs. 

egg basket, rollinghillsvintage.