It’s Almost Here!

FEGC cover

 

The Farmstead Egg Guide and Cookbook will be available on March 11!

It’s already received a starred review in Library Journal. (Hopefully, your local library will get a copy. Please ask your favorite librarian.)

I’ll be celebrating here at HenCam with a blog tour. Make sure that you stop in on March 12 when I post the schedule. Each day, for a week, a blogger will be discussing The Farmstead Egg Guide and Cookbook and giving away a copy.

I also have a number of speaking engagements and book signings lined up. Check my events page (which is updated frequently) to see if I’ll be appearing near you.

Don’t forget that I have a Chicken Keeping Workshop scheduled here at Little Pond Farm on April 5. If you’ve been thinking about coming sign up now – I’ll be getting much coverage in the press (The Boston Globe!) and spots are going to go quickly after March 11th!

How To Be Beautiful

Not all of us are born with naturally beautiful features.

woman_riding_donkey - Version 3

 

Not all animals are sleek and elegant.

woman_riding_donkey - Version 2

 

But beauty, the sort that lifts the heart and makes you happy, isn’t determined by features alone.

Kindness, gentleness, love. Combine those, and this is what you get. Beautiful, aren’t they?

woman_riding_donkey - Version 4

Upcoming Events

As winter winds down, my public speaking calendar fills up. This year, what with the publication of The Farmstead Egg Guide and Cookbook, my schedule is especially busy, which is great! On March 2, I’ll be at the Townsend, MA library to do both a storytime and a chicken keeping slide show. Also in the next two months, I’ll be talking about backyard chicken keeping in Providence, RI and Newbury, MA. Also, I’ll be doing readings and talking about cooking with good eggs at a number of bookstores.

Looking ahead, on June 11, I have a special Farmstead Egg Guide and Cookbook program at the Tower Hill Botanic Gardens. If you’ve never been to this outstanding garden, this is the excuse to go. Not only do they have gardens and woodland trails and greenhouses, but they also have a lovely cafe. I’ve reserved a table for twelve for dinner before my talk. If you’d like to join me, email me now to reserve your seat.

Once again, I’m offering chicken keeping workshops at my home. Not only will you be able to meet the girls and scratch the goats, but you’ll be able to see my systems, from cleaning, to composting. You’ll see how I handle the hens, and you’ll get to pick up a chicken, too. The first workshop takes place April 5. You can sign up now, here.

For details on all of these programs, and to check in for new ones being added, go to my website’s event page.

I look forward to meeting you!

A Man And His Cat

Although cats don’t make an appearance here at HenCam, I do like them. In fact, despite my parent’s “no fur-bearing animals in the house” edict, I managed to convince them to let me keep two strays. My parents, of course, ended up loving and indulging them even after I left for college. Much to my dismay, in my early twenties, I inexplicably developed a sudden allergy to cats, and no longer could breathe when my cat, Serena, slept on my pillow. It took me ages to realize that it was my beloved cat that made me sick every time I visited home. Much denial! So, that is why I don’t keep cats and regale you with cat stories and fill my blogs with cute kitten pictures. Vintage photographs will have to suffice.

This portrait dates from around 1910. I can imagine this young man walking down the street to the photography studio, black cat in his arms.  The photographer’s backdrop has seen better days. The man’s suit is ill-fitting. But, none of that matters because the sweet countenances of both cat and man shine through. I wonder who he had this photograph taken for?

311 - Version 2