There’s something about chickens that inspires humor and joke telling. Just saying Chicken Butt! provokes gales of laughter in little ones. For some reason the intentions of chickens crossing the road have been the subject of entire books. And what’s with plucked rubber chickens? None of this is new. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a chicken joke written in hieroglyphics on an Egyptian obelisk.

Penny postcards were the quick and short messaging system of the 1900s.  Messages were often brief and lighthearted, as were the images. This photo is an example of an “exaggeration card.”

On the correspondence side, Mabel B. writes to her friend, Miss Vida Hetherington (don’t you just love the names?) Just as busy as ever with my chickens Count these then you will know how many we have.

Have you heard any chicken jokes lately?

It’s peach season. I have one tree. This year’s crop was not only sparse, but also wormy. After cutting away the bad parts (and feeding to the chickens) I had only 2 small bowls of peaches for breakfast. This afternoon I’m going to a farmers market to buy peaches, as the season is fleeting and I need some for eating, and a bushel to freeze for pies this winter.

Starting this fall, I’m going to try a new method of peach borer worm control. Chickens. A few of my vintage poultry books detail how to integrate a flock into a fruit tree management scheme. The damaged, dropped fruit carries the worms to the ground, which then overwinter in the soil under the trees. In the spring they emerge and do damage. Ravenous chickens stop that cycle, shredding and eating the plant matter that the grubs hide in, and eating every stage of the pests. Makes sense. I’m going to put a temporary fence around my tree and set the industrious Gems to clearing the area of bad bugs.

Here’s a photo of three boys (see the one in the tree?) harvesting peaches.  I believe that the photo dates from the early 1920s.

Here’s a closeup. Those peaches look ripe and edible to me! What a bountiful harvest, thanks in good part to the hens underfoot.

Postcards of children, chickens and eggs weren’t just for Easter. In the days before the telephone, a quick message would be conveyed on a postcard. Millions of cards were printed and mailed. But, some, like this sweetly sentimental one, were never sent. I imagine that it was tucked onto a shelf in the kitchen and glanced at occasionally, making the owner of it smile.

I’m sure that it will come as no surprise to you that I collect egg baskets. I like how they cross that line from utilitarian to decorative. I like how they whisper of past farms and animals. I don’t like a lot of clutter, or masses of objects, but that’s not a problem when it comes to collecting egg baskets because they are ever so useful.

I store my outside boots and crocs in a basket by the porch door.

Gardening gloves and hat are within reach,

as are the dog leashes and training tools (two baskets needed for those!)

Magazines and garden catalogs are corralled in my office in this basket.

And a feather, from a turkey that Lily almost (oh it was close!) caught is displayed here. (The goat was crocheted by Wendy.)

There’s even a basket put to work in the bathroom. This one is exactly the right size for spare toilet paper.

There’s room for two purely decorative egg baskets on the stair landing.

A wire basket shaped like a hen holds blown out eggs on a shelf near my craft table.

But, my favorite basket of all is the one that I carry out to the barn to collect eggs. It has little feet so that if I set it down a bit too hard the eggs won’t break. It has a curved-in top so that if I tip the basket the eggs stay in. It isn’t too big or too small for the seven to nine eggs that I collect daily from my hens. It’s old and lopsided. Perfect, isn’t it?

What do you collect your eggs in?

Children have a natural affinity for chickens. When my boys were small they used to scoop up their favorite hens and go down the slide with them. Everyone seemed to enjoy it! Busy, chatty, cheerful hens are fun to watch and feed. They’re not too big to pick up, but substantial enough to have presence.

I don’t know what game the photographer interrupted to take this snapshot, but everyone, even the hen, looks like they were having a good time.

Obviously these children love their chickens. Just look at the chicks on the littlest’s dress!