Gathering Eggs

Basket of Eggs by Henri Horace Rolland Delaporte

Suzanne McMinn's words often touch a place in my heart. Her blog Chickens in the Road is a daily glimpse into life on a West Virginia farm. Rural, that's an understatement... you have to traverse dirt roads and ford creeks to get home! Still, her pictures of chickens on the fence, goats grazing and Betula the milk cow nick at my heart and make me crave country life. I wasn't raised on a farm, but my childhood was blessed with many relatives who lived the country life. We do live in a rural setting 4 miles from town but to say we live in the country is pushing it! I leave town on a paved road, turn onto a paved county road and poof, I'm home in a matter of minutes. The faucets never fail to have water, electricity rarely goes off and other than the deer, we have no outside animals to feed, unless you count a dog biscuit to neighbors' dogs! But in my care is the land that was home to my Mother's family. It's not the land we live on, but it remains in my family to remind us of over a hundred years of hard work that previous generations put in to clear and farm rough, hilly terrain. Farming in Arkansas is a feat, we have a little dirt around each ROCK! But farm they did, growing wheat and running cattle on land that was covered with cedar trees, prickly pears and locust trees. My great grandparents had the general store and the post office that served the Lead Hill area. My grandfather owned a grainery and during WWII grew wheat for the war effort. By the time I was born in 1952, they ran cattle on the land. The seed that grew into a love of farm life was fed by those grandparents. Years of summers on that farm hooked me. I loved gathering eggs, working in the garden, going with grandpa to "check on the cows." If you wonder why anyone would like getting up at the crack of dawn to go out in cold, snowy weather to feed the chickens, goats and milk the cow... go over to Suzanne's for a visit. Look around at the beautiful West Virgina hillsides and meadowland. Watch as she bakes Grandmother bread or makes a batch of soap in her Crockpot. One look into Betula Petunia's big brown eyes will hook you too! You'll be gathering eggs in no time....