Chicken fest

A couple Saturdays ago was the Wasatch Gardens Tour de Coops, a self-guided tour through a whole slew of backyard chicken coops. The chickens were gorgeous and looked happy. More impressive, though, were the gardens. Only a few properties had large back yards; most were smaller than your typical suburban plot. But all were full of vegetables and herbs and flowers. Only one had a nice lawn in the back, and that's because they planted their garden on top of their garage.

I would have taken more garden photos, but I was trying to keep Atticus from trampling the garden or falling off the roof. I wanted to get a photo of Atty with a chicken, but he wouldn't get close to them, even when they were caged. He'd stand far back, point, and say "cheek-en."

This coop used to be a sleeper cab for a semi truck. Now chickens sleep here.

This same property kept bees. Several properties we visited kept bees. I guess if you have a large garden, it just makes sense. And it fits with the urban-hippie vibe.

This was the most decorative coop we saw. The sleeper cab is just to the right. It was at this farm that I met Sharon, an enthusiastic hippie chick with hairy armpits who runs the garden (doesn't own the property or chickens). She actually has several gardens in other people's back yards and sells the produce at local farmers' markets. And it just so happened that she was starting up a CSA. Most CSAs require that you pay back in March or April, so they have start-up money for seeds etc. And I had decided not to go with our regular CSA for various reasons. But when she told me that she specializes in greens and beans, I was hooked. Plus she's planted 20 varieties of tomatoes. And herbs. AND she delivers. How can you beat that??

All in all, I was very inspired by what I saw. I saw that I don't have to have half an acre or more to have the little farm of my dreams. Not to say that I wouldn't enjoy a larger plot (dairy goats would need more room), but it's good to see that it's not required.