Perks Living the Rural Life

Hi again.

People tell me I have it rough. I live out here in the sticks of Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee 30 minutes from anywhere (depends on who's driving). I've lived here since 1995 and wouldn't live in the city again unless I had no choice.

We use wood for heat. We grow, harvest, hunt, and fish our own food. We cultivate our own herbs for my skin care business. We cook our own meals. And, we are lucky to have privacy. Because, privacy would be the hardest thing to give up.

I'm blogging about rural living today, because I have something really cool to show you.

This breed of chicken is called Buff Orpington. They have real big legs - can you see? My husband has been trying to raise them naturally to a bigger brood of hens. We started with one, she hatched a few and lost her life to a racoon while her chicks were still bidees. A few made it, and now, two years later, we are up to 12 hens. It is a tough life for a baby chick. She or he may get stepped on by another hen, picked up and shook, drown in a puddle...so many things can happen to quickly end the life of a chick. Now, when they become grown, they are extremely tough animals.

These birds are known for laying in the winter. We are getting 4 to 8 eggs a day right now, and they are absolutely delicious. Something you can't taste from a grocery store unless they get their eggs locally.

And, aren't they beautiful. George (husband) just brought them in this evening, washed them and shows me. "Oh, let me take a picture", I tell him, "I'll blog about this tomorrow". I could tell that made him feel proud! And, of course, that makes me feel good. And, then, you know...one thing leads to another...♥

And, anyway, what do you think of that egg in the middle? Isn't it huge?

Also, we have one white hen! We are not sure where it came from, but we think it lays the greenish eggs. They are a bit more watery than the brown ones.

I know I usually do not blog two days in a row, but I had something to talk about today. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Thank, as always. Kathleen