City Girls, Country Life

[amalnahurriyeh]

SETTING: The Nahurriyeh family's new home in rural New York state.

SCENE: Amal and Leigh are watching last week's Project Runway. Amal, having submitted a great deal of paper work, is fucking around on Craigslist.

Amal: ...Leigh?
Leigh: Yes?
Amal: Do I need to buy chickens on Craigslist?
Leigh: No.
Amal: I've always wanted chickens. See, they'll be hatching in a few weeks and--
Leigh: NO.
Amal: OK. ... Do we need a peacock?
Leigh: NO.
Amal: It's only $30.
Leigh: What would we do with a peacock?
Amal: ...It could be Kabira's* friend.
Leigh: That would end in tears. And carpet cleaning.
Amal: Point taken. ... Do you want a horse for Christmas? *turns computer around to show Leigh the horse*
Leigh: We have a six by fifteen backyard. We do not need a horse.
Amal: Fine, fine. ... THERE'S A FIRE TRUCK FOR SALE IN [CITY TWO HOURS AWAY].
Leigh: Give me the computer.

This scene brought to you by our rural area's Craigslist.

*Kabira is one of our cats.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

Chicks are adorable, and hens do eat an alarming number of pest insects. Do get at least three, because a single chicken is miserable and if one dies unexpectedly you'll still have two.

[amalnahurriyeh]

I keep telling Leigh that if we get them they'll take care of our spider problem. She is Unconvinced. Sigh.

There was a "fun on the farm" day last month, and the 4H tent had little kids and their show chickens. There was a Japanese bantam named Peanut Butter! And another named Mulan! SO SOFT.

(Also, right next to the enclosure with piglets were some brochures from the Pork Board with recipes. Farm life: honest.)

[azurelunatic]

A properly tamed chicken will sit on your lap and keep you company while you grade papers! She might even take a mouthful of the corner as you put them in the done pile, just to express what she feels. So soft. And chickens trilling at bedtime!

And yeah, that is farm life. That is pretty much the only legit reason to have a piglet.

[lilacsigil]

Every weekend there are huge numbers of "livestock for sale" ads in our local paper and I always think it would be good to get an angora bunny or silky bantam or duckling to be friends with the cat. Then I think better of it!

(Still, he's never killed a bird or mouse or even a fly, despite my oldest cat attempting to teach him.)

[amalnahurriyeh]

Our cats tend to be good fly hunters; my major annoyance is that they don't seem to see ants, and for some reason every house we've ever lived in has had an ant problem.

Livestock ads are SO APPEALING. Sigh.

[wendelah1]

Every child needs their own firetruck for the backyard. It would eat less than a horse, as long as you didn't try to take it anywhere. And no pooping!