Who am I?

I'll start this off by saying that Bill and I are getting along much better. You see, a rooster is a good rooster if he is a gentleman. How could a rooster be a gentleman you ask? Well yesterday in an attempt to win back his trust I held out a plate with left over quiche. Bill reached up, took the quiche and held it out with his beak for the girls. A good rooster will give the food to his girls first. Bill was willing to work with me if that meant that he could look like a hero and get brownie points with his ladies. So Bill and I are getting along again which makes me happy.

So who am I and why am I doing this stuff? Well I grew up in a fishing village about 15 minutes from this one. I lived next to the ocean and next to a marina where people park their cabin cruisers, sailboats, yachts etc. I didn't grow up on a farm or in the woods or anything like that. My neighbours were so close I could almost touch them. I have moved a lot in the past few years. I was in Saint John's, Halifax, Dartmouth, and Yarmouth. My husband and I inherited his family house and we are currently trying to fix it up. It definitely needs it. I juggle several jobs but currently I'm pretty bored. I'm a professional photographer, heritage interpreter, and a photography assistant. Right now I'm lacking in work however and it won't pick up for another couple months.

When I moved out here I spent a lot of time alone and didn't like it. I had a cat which was ours, then my mother in laws and then ours again, he sort of came with the house. He wasn't enough though so I got my golden retriever. When I first got Belle I thought we'd never get along but I'm just not so used to dogs. In May I got my first chicks, six silverlaced wyandottes and 6 rhode island reds. I fell in love with them. Then in June I got Giacomo, my little orange tabby cat. He's the most loving cat I've ever had.

There is something completely satisfying about getting my own eggs. I didn't realize how awful the egg industry is until recently and same with the factory meat industry. I have since stopped eating any meat or eggs made in a factory. This all started to come together right before Christmas. We realized we had an extra rooster in the flock and my husband and I looked up a way to kill him humanely and cleanly. We picked Marcellus up (he was a mean bird!) and carried him into our wood house. We cut a 4L milk container up so the bottom was gone and there was a larger hole in the top. We put Marcellus in it upside down. I held his feet and the handle of the milk container. My husband cut his throat and inserted a knife into his brain, killing him instantly. I cried. I cried even though I hated the stupid thing, he bit me and squawked every time I came near the flock. I realized though that what we did was humane... and that what was going on every day, certainly was not. Now I'm not a follower of PETA or GreenPeace and I especially don't like the Sea Shepherd. I actually have no issue with hunting or small farms. I do have an issue with how we treat and respect our animals if we are going to eat them. I read an article about eggs and PETA actually said that there was no way to humanely farm eggs which is completely untrue. If you keep chickens as pets like I do, they will produce eggs like a normal bird and you can eat them. How is that inhumane? My chickens don't stay in a pen all day. They have access to the entire yard :) We have 3 acres of land. They stay on about 2 acres. The rest is woods.

Anyway, I hope that explains me and my attitude a little bit :)

Enjoy some photos of my babies as babies!