Chicken Tractors

My friend has an acre of land in South Florida where she seriously grows and grows veggies, herbs, roots and fruits. When I was visiting over the holidays, she was employing a "chicken tractor" to till the land. Essentially, chickens were kept in a portable coop that moves on two wheels, like a wheel barrel, and all day, the chickens do what they do, pecking the ground and making it more fertile for crops.

You can see pictures of her chicken adventures and all of the crazy enviable components of her lifestyle in her blog here.

When I was little, my sisters and I had a pair of chickens we loved very much. Both chickens came to sad demises, but I've always been fond of this normally very average-seeming bird, beyond the typical fondness I have for birds as a species.

We were drinking the other night, and I remembered this silly song from my childhood. It's really hard not to think the things we retain from when we're young hold some exorbitant importance. This is not one of those things.

The chickens had a party in the coop last night
Farmer went out to turn off the light
What he saw was givin' him a terrible fright
There were chickens on the left and chickens on the right
Doin' a crazy little do-si-do
Flappin' their wings and goin' to and fro
Singin' the one and only song the know
And it goes...
Bocki-ticky Bocki-ticky Bock Bock Bock
Bocki-ticky Bocki-ticky Bock Bock Bock
Bocki-ticky Bocki-ticky Bock Bock Bock Bock Bock...