Published!

The current issue, April-May

The February-March issue of Mary Jane's Farm (one of my favorite mags) featured an article on keeping chickens.  In it, the writer praised Buff Orpingtons as a great, gentle breed.   I sent a letter to the editor about how Buffs are one of my favorite breeds, too -- especially my sweet Thelma, who died last year.  

Thelma --
I'm sure you're all sick of seeing pictures of her by now...

The editor sent me a reply email and said that he'd shown my letter to Mary Jane (yes, there is a real Mary Jane) and that she'd really liked it and it might be in a future magazine.  I just figured that they said this to all the girls.

They printed my letter!  I was SO excited!  I know it's not as big a deal as actually being featured in an article (as one of my antique-dealer, blog friends was), but it's pretty cool to see one's own words and name (and blog address) in a magazine. 

Here's the letter --
front and center!

Thanks, Mary Jane's Farm!  I guess this is my fifteen minutes of fame...

Bye, bye, Thelma -- I'll really miss you!

Let me start this post by saying...
I know they're just chickens.  I know they have a short life span.  But...

One of my old girls, Thelma, died last night.   I loved Thelma so much!  She was so gentle and sweet -- any time little children (or scared adult newbies) came to see the chickens, she was the one I'd get out to let them pet and hold, if they wanted to.

You wouldn't think that poultry would show much personality, but they do!    She didn't like to go to bed at night -- she was ALWAYS the last girl to come in at dusk and the last to perch.  She also didn't like to fly up to the perch or down in the morning.  For years, we'd lift her up and down, until she got to old for the top perch and slept just one foot off the ground.

Thelma -- the Grand Old Girl (8 years old)

 She was a Buff Orpington (one of the heavy breeds) and, in her prime, was really hefty!  Lately, she's been light as a feather.  She was 8 years old, which is really old for a hen.

 We originally got 12 girls. 
We got two of each of the breeds that I wanted because (stupid ME!) I thought they'd like to have a sister like themselves.  I didn't process that they didn't have the faintest idea what THEY looked like, themselves! 

Baby Thelma (the little yellow one) about 5 days old

 So I had 2 Black Astralorps (LaVerne & Shirley), 2 Buff Orpingtons (Thelma & Louise) and 2 Speckled Sussex (Lucy & Ethel), along with 6 others. 

Baby Thelma with her sisters (and 2 brothers) -- one of the yellow chicks (a few weeks old)

Teenager Thelma (about 6 months old)

 Of the original 12, only LaVerne (the MEAN girl) is left.

Bye bye, old girl!  I'll miss you!