Halsey hee-aa. I was well over 80 when my daughter Bessie took this photo of me with my chickens. Chickens were an essential part of our farm. We always fed food scraps and weeds from the garden to the chickens. They were especially fond of chick weed but would eat anything green.

Besides producing eggs and meat, the chickens also gave us manure that was the very best fertilizer. The chicken coop was conveniently located next to our vegetable and flower gardens.

Chicken coops were always simple utilitarian structures, often built out of salvaged materials or reused from some other purpose. One of our chicken coops was originally a shed on the back of the Homestead.

The south-facing windows helped keep the interiors dry and warm in the winter. Like so much else on my farm, these windows had seen some other use before going to the chicken coop.

Now turn to your left. You should find Ella un-dah the pear tree mowing our lawn.