It was exactly 12:04 when I got the call:
"Gretchen?"
"Yes."
"I have exciting news..."
"Yea?"
"The chickens..."
"We have eggs?!!?"
"We have eggs."
I screamed and scared the crap out of a intern who was standing next to me. I ran around the office sharing with my co-workers, who generally think I'm off my rocker. One of them even said I was "glowing." At this point there is hardly anyone at work who doesn't know I just got my first eggs. People from other departments have stopped by to congratulate me. I don't care if man has been harvesting eggs since the dawn of time, there is nothing cooler then seeing seven of our eggs that came from our ladies. Eggs!!! And I raised the chickens who made them!!!! My girls are strutting around Fort Chicken all proud of themselves. (Actually they're acting like nothing happened and are looking for more kitchen scraps. I obliged, there's nothing too good for my girls.)
As for the non-farming side of our lives, we've had a great couple of months. We both got to work together on a film. This is old hat to Ryan, but I'm outta the industry enough to still get excited about how damn cool it is, and it was wonderful to see Ryan in his element. We worked with some fantastic and exceptionally talented people, oh, and I got some killer photographs. This past weekend we had dueling Thanksgivings. (One of the perks of divorced parents is you get two of every holiday.) Throw in dinner with Ryan's family the weekend before, and we had three thanksgivings! It was wonderful. Then there was my ten year high school reunion. What a trip! We all turned into grownups. (Well more grownup then we were anyway.) When did that happen?
Unfortunately, the two months of almost total neglect is starting to show around the house. The gardens are full of dead and possibly slimy things. Everything is caked in wet leaves, not the nice dry ones you can rake up, but the slippery black yucky kind that clog the rake. While we were away, the voles built a luxury apartment complex complete with a full service spa, shopping mall, and service garage. It’s uptown baby. (I’m sure that the gourmet grocery selection is not helping our cause.) The young trees, which have lost their leaves, now look like dead sticks. Oh, and the roses are having some sort of personal complex. In short the homestead looks like Nick Nolte after a three day bender.
There is a light on the horizon, our mail box was stuffed with glossy catalogues all pornographically brimming with photos of plump vegetables, glistening fruit, and exploded blossoms. The magazines are calling to us, like a drunk football player after prom “I’ll make you happy. I promise. You just have to go all the way with me.”
Note to self: do NOT drink while ordering seeds again this year.
Any moment now, Ryan get around to writing a seasonal wrap-up of all our successes and near successes and post it. The short synopsis: we planted the che, got two apples off our trees, had a wonderful herb garden, successfully grew beans and peas. Water continues to be an issue only now it’s dragging the hose to the four corners of the yard and I’m lazy. (I think we may try one of these water jugs, or find a hack to create our own.) We don’t have enough sun, except in the middle of the front yard and I’m not hardcore enough to cover the lawn with more raised beds.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thankgiving, and keep checking back for updates.
- Gretchen
"Gretchen?"
"Yes."
"I have exciting news..."
"Yea?"
"The chickens..."
"We have eggs?!!?"
"We have eggs."
I screamed and scared the crap out of a intern who was standing next to me. I ran around the office sharing with my co-workers, who generally think I'm off my rocker. One of them even said I was "glowing." At this point there is hardly anyone at work who doesn't know I just got my first eggs. People from other departments have stopped by to congratulate me. I don't care if man has been harvesting eggs since the dawn of time, there is nothing cooler then seeing seven of our eggs that came from our ladies. Eggs!!! And I raised the chickens who made them!!!! My girls are strutting around Fort Chicken all proud of themselves. (Actually they're acting like nothing happened and are looking for more kitchen scraps. I obliged, there's nothing too good for my girls.)
As for the non-farming side of our lives, we've had a great couple of months. We both got to work together on a film. This is old hat to Ryan, but I'm outta the industry enough to still get excited about how damn cool it is, and it was wonderful to see Ryan in his element. We worked with some fantastic and exceptionally talented people, oh, and I got some killer photographs. This past weekend we had dueling Thanksgivings. (One of the perks of divorced parents is you get two of every holiday.) Throw in dinner with Ryan's family the weekend before, and we had three thanksgivings! It was wonderful. Then there was my ten year high school reunion. What a trip! We all turned into grownups. (Well more grownup then we were anyway.) When did that happen?
Unfortunately, the two months of almost total neglect is starting to show around the house. The gardens are full of dead and possibly slimy things. Everything is caked in wet leaves, not the nice dry ones you can rake up, but the slippery black yucky kind that clog the rake. While we were away, the voles built a luxury apartment complex complete with a full service spa, shopping mall, and service garage. It’s uptown baby. (I’m sure that the gourmet grocery selection is not helping our cause.) The young trees, which have lost their leaves, now look like dead sticks. Oh, and the roses are having some sort of personal complex. In short the homestead looks like Nick Nolte after a three day bender.
There is a light on the horizon, our mail box was stuffed with glossy catalogues all pornographically brimming with photos of plump vegetables, glistening fruit, and exploded blossoms. The magazines are calling to us, like a drunk football player after prom “I’ll make you happy. I promise. You just have to go all the way with me.”
Note to self: do NOT drink while ordering seeds again this year.
Any moment now, Ryan get around to writing a seasonal wrap-up of all our successes and near successes and post it. The short synopsis: we planted the che, got two apples off our trees, had a wonderful herb garden, successfully grew beans and peas. Water continues to be an issue only now it’s dragging the hose to the four corners of the yard and I’m lazy. (I think we may try one of these water jugs, or find a hack to create our own.) We don’t have enough sun, except in the middle of the front yard and I’m not hardcore enough to cover the lawn with more raised beds.I hope everyone had a wonderful Thankgiving, and keep checking back for updates.
- Gretchen