Dear Everyone,
Many of you have dreamed of your own little flock of poultry- I did. Then, 12 years ago, the great day finally came. We converted a pig sty into a hen house, and we have had happy hens ever since. Anyone can tend chickens. When I asked at the feed store "how do you keep chickens"? Well, they laughed out loud, because it didn't really require, in their opinion, any instructions at all. They were right. Chickens are easy to keep.
We picked up five new peeps last week, to add to the flock. You keep them under an ersatz mother light bulb in a cardboard box until they get feathered, and then they move to larger, outdoor digs. Listen to the poetry of their breeds: Ancona; New Hampshire Red; Cream Brabanter; Silver-Spangled Spitzhauben; Russian Orloff.
Chicks couldn't be more charming. This is the how they begin their lives as chicks to be sold to you and me. You will wince, as they tumble, but life is rough and hard, and the big business of hatching eggs is just that, a big business.
If you don't get the chickens of your dreams this Spring, you might indulge another of our shared longtime desires: Owning your own accordion. The accordion is possibly the most delightful human invention ever, and so easily and painlessly acquired! Mine was a gift; my family purchased it from the neighbor's yard sale. The accordion is mother of pearl and gleaming black, in a case filled with voluptuous crushed red velvet. Life is so sweet, is it not? Here is how to play a favorite party tune on the instrument made for peripatetic parties and impromptu dances.
Of course, I could be wrong; it might be the glockenspiel you have always wanted....
Ententanz.
El Baile de los Pajaritos.
