By The Book

Hello friends.  I hope this post finds you well and that 2025 has been good to you so far.  For John and me, it has been a busy and creative year, with a couple of new adventures that I will tell you about, but first, a quick update on the critters.

Almost a year ago, we introduced six new hens to our coop, our third flock so far that I raised by hand like all the others.  By way of introductions, we have our Red Star, named Stella, a Delaware named Jolene, a Barred Rock named Bridgette, a Rhode Island Red named Penny, an Ameraucana named Abby, and a Bielefelder named Heidi.  After the slow kerfuffle of introducing them to the old-timers (all of whom are still healthy, happy, and laying!), there is peace and harmony once again at The Hen Den.

Nothing is ever by the book, but all of the ’Chicks,’ as I refer to them (no matter how old), get along like that clique of high school girls you may remember from your school days.  You know - the popular one at the top, the least popular one at the bottom, and all the other girls in between, vying to eventually become the popular one!  I’ve watched them long enough now that I can almost hear their conversations, and it always makes me chuckle.  I have even started speaking ‘Chicken.’  Yes, you read that right.  They’ll make a sound, and then I’ll repeat it back to them.  You should see the shocked, tentative expressions on their faces when they make that same sound back to me in acknowledgment.  I believe the latest phrase I’ve learned means, “How are you?  All good?”

 With eleven hens now, we are grateful to have so many friends who happily take most of the eggs off our hands!  We are glad they can use them, and it’s a win-win for everyone.  I love this photo of our girl, Islay, checking on the chicks when they were little. To this day, she and her brother, Jura, still keep a close eye on the girls.

This year, our beehives are flourishing, and John and I feel like we are finally getting a handle on what’s happening when we go in for a hive inspection.  But again, nothing is ever by the book.  It is always like looking into the inner workings of a Swiss watch, but it’s all starting to make more sense.  The bees know exactly what they are doing, and it is just up to us to figure out what that is.  Before retiring, I read every book I could get my hands on and watched just about every video I could find on beekeeping, but there is just no substitution for hands-on experience.

Two weeks ago, we harvested our spring honey, a luscious pale liquid gold, the color of straw.  Our next harvest later in the year will be darker in color but equally delicious, with a subtly different flavor.  Interestingly, the seasonal color variations in honey are due to the flowers available to the bees throughout the year.

In addition to bottling honey, we have begun making lip balms from our purified beeswax, as well as soap.  Soap is something I have been passionate about, and I studied videos and read books for years while taking my first couple of classes back when we still lived in New York.  Now, I’m all in with this new obsession of mine, and I’m looking forward to making more of it with essential oils and skin-friendly ingredients.

In April, we participated in our very first Farmers' Market.  This we did do by the book, and our offerings were well received.  It was an indoor market, which was a good thing as it was pouring rain that morning when we arrived at 6:30 sharp to set up our booth.  The week before, I set everything up in our basement so I could make sure it looked good for the big day, and happily, on the morning of, it went smoothly.  We hope to add to our inventory and participate in more farmers' markets in the future.

While managing dogs, hens, bees, making soaps, and taking care of everything else that needs attention around the farm, I have been heavily involved in something else that has been one of the greatest creative endeavors I have ever been a part of.  But first, I will need to take you back to 2014.

Speaking of books, it was mid-February of that year, and I had taken the train from New York to Maryland, as I often did, to visit family and see my mother, Iris, on her birthday.  I had been looking forward to the trip, knowing we would spend quality time together and do the usual fun things like running around to our favorite shops and restaurants.

In the early afternoon, the day before I was due to head back to my busy life in the city, I was suddenly struck by an epiphany that hit me like a bolt of lightning.  This epiphany was not delicately whispered in my ear, but instead, screamed at me as I stood alone in Mom’s sunny kitchen.  “YOU HAVE TO WRITE YOUR MOTHER'S LIFE STORY!” the internal voice shouted.  It was so clear and powerful that I had to pull up a chair and sit down.

As I sat there, grappling with that commanding inner voice, all the stories I had heard since childhood about Mom’s youth, growing up in Scotland, came back to me, a rich assortment of beautiful memories flickering in my mind's eye like an old movie reel.  I would learn a few new stories in the process as I began the slow, years-long swim through Mom’s life with her, but ultimately, hers was a beautiful and poignant story in the making, and it continues.

That was the beginning of the most fulfilling and difficult work of my life.  The final push for its completion has kept me busy for the last year, and I am happy to report that Mom’s memoir (the title of which is still being considered) is finally finished, all thirty-nine chapters and 143,000 words of it!  It has been a privilege to go on this journey with Mom, who is and has always been a remarkable storyteller.  To this day, she possesses an incredible memory, still remembering things that happened when she was just eighteen months old.  This was key, as it was important to her and her story to have every detail as accurate as possible.

This memoir, a true labor of love, was originally a gift to our family and future generations by default, but Mom and I agreed that it might be nice to share it, a story of a place and time in history that will never be seen again.  Recently, we began the arduous task of shopping for a literary agent, a highly competitive task, I realize, but we’ve thrown our hats in the ring, nonetheless (if you happen to know one, please pass this blog along to them!).  Here is a sneak peek of the back cover.

I will keep you posted on our progress, dear friends, and thank you so much for your continued encouragement and support.  I am sending you the warmest of hugs. xo

Until next time . . .

K.