As previously mentioned, we are chicken-sitting this weekend. 6 ladies with a soft spot for Hen Treats.

Just because I have food in my hand, they make me feel like their best friend. They make me feel cool and included in their posse. They are like the girls from high school when you have something they want. They are all super nice to you but when the hen treats are gone, they scatter.

The kind of cool I am is temporary and in the shape of kernels. *sigh*

But while in the garden, we got to observe their Winter produce and their ingenius piece of heavy-duty machinery.

This my friends, is a Chicken Tractor. The idea is you place a couple chickens in this box with wheels on one side. Then you move it to where you want the chickens to roto-till. They chew up, scratch up, peck up the area where you want them to and they poo a little while they’re at it. For our wire worm problem, this is genius. (Can you see my beehive in the back left corner? These neighbours are what we have to compare ourselves against as we are Garden to Garden. They were professional gardeners for more than 20 years. Talk about slightly intimidating, yet they are so generous with their knowledge. Lucky us!)

Does this kale just look archaic? Like a prehistoric plant! I just love how wild and undomesticated it looks. And so full of vitamins.

I know Pender is a rural community and often those kind of communities, so isolated, can get a little behind the times. A little Jurassic, one could say. So we tend our dinosaur plants ever-so carefully and then soak them in a broth ever-so gently to heal our sicknesses.

Man, I am banking on this kind of healing.

Other than this tiny romp, I’ve stayed pretty close to the roost. I’ve kept my tea hot in my steel mug, I’ve kept wool on my needles, my head thick in a book and I’ve been weathering this snotty storm.

Anyone read “Late Nights on Air?” I’m loving it.