A few months ago I begged and begged and then begged some more until my husband finally caved and allowed me to buy chickens. I had no idea what I was doing but I had read enough Google articles to have a vague notion about how to handle these little creatures. Plus, I knew I could harass my friendly sales people at Blue Seal Feed to tell me everything I needed to know. After an early Sunday morning excursion, we arrived at the home of a nearby neighbor who sells chicks. I was wearing a pair of brown dress pants, a JCrew blue button down shirt and some flip flops, I'm sure I totally looked the part. Being unprepared as usual, I had to look away shamefully when she asked if I brought my own box. Thankfully, she was feeling gracious and plucked eight little gals into a large box for me, answered one or two of my questions and then sent me on my way.
I looked down into the box and thought, hmmmmmm, what exactly did I just commit to?
I hadn't really thought through the specifics like where they would live, how I would protect them, what happens if they escape? Which they did. Twice.
No, I just had visions in my mind of removing fresh eggs from a lovely chicken coop painted red and then baking all sorts of treats with them. You know, like the one Martha Stewart has in her magazine.
Almost six months later I have invested almost four hundred dollars into a chicken coop, then there is the chicken mansion, constructed by my husband Josh and my father in-law, I'm actually not sure how much that cost but it looks expensive. On top of that there is the saw dust I have to buy to clean their coop every week, which let me tell you is quite the experience, the food for them so they can grow up to be healthy ladies, and the straw to keep them both busy and warm. Toss on top of that the delightful activity of chasing them with a shovel when it's time to go in for the night after a day of free ranging, while yelling for my daughter (who is 6) to come and help me gather the women and then, to boot, there are no eggs. The icing on the cake was that last week I discovered I actually own one rooster, which wasn't part of the plan. I had been questioning this one for some time but I was remaining hopeful.
The point of all this information is that I once wondered why trips to local farms were so much money. The first time I bought farm fresh eggs and butter I almost fell on the ground. It was pricey. The pleasure of local eating does not come without a fairly substantial price tag but these people are most certainly putting in the work. Farming is not a cheap way of living and it is certainly not easy. My version of local shopping used to be trucking to Whole Foods once a week because I was naive and I didn't understand that buying local is not about sourcing ingredients from one place, a place mind you where everything is marked up and you can't actually see the land on which your food was raised. It's about gathering an afternoon and visiting multiple places, talking to the people who own the farms, asking questions and checking things out for yourself. One of the reasons I love Windy Hill Farm so much is that it's all open. They have absolutely nothing to hide there. One of my most favorite experiences was when my daughter had her field trip there because they let us see everything. Windy Hill offers freshly & locally slaughtered meat, farm fresh eggs, butter and the real deal kind of honey. Yes, they cost a bit more but I would pay it in a heart beat, even more now that I get what "farming" is all about.
Right now, the experience of owning these chickens is teaching me how to connect with my food on a whole new level. Perhaps right now I don't have anything to show for all my hard work but I will soon enough. Some nights I dream about discovering my first egg. I salivate over what I am going to do with it (here's for hoping I don't drop it). I know that the difference in my food will be tangible. So to me, it's all worth it.
I urge everyone reading this to actually go local. Not just to a restaurant that utilizes that label but this weekend take a trip to a new destination. Look around the land and see what they have to offer in their shop. Buy something tasty and experience the difference. Half the fun for me is meeting new people, buying great food and getting out before winter comes and slows everything down. And, if the thrill of the farm doesn't do it for you, just imagine me, swinging a shovel while running back and forth screaming at little foot tall chickens who most definitely, usually get the best of me.
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