Always love these posts infused with your art, and the hen stories are a beautiful bonus xx
(I tried to help my brother-in-law with feeding his hens one time, and they all escaped the coop as soon as finished pouring the grain and tried to go back outside. They KNEW I was rookie, and my BIL watched from the patio as he heard me squeal, “Noooooo chickens”.)
A delightful post, lovely art, and so educational: I thought eggs came in boxes in the supermarket. Who knew? Loved the recording. They sounded very happy.😁
Why? I am so nice to you. My letters to you are always paragon of kindness. Ok, all I can say is, like the duke of wellington, publish and be damned, woman! 😂😂
Thanks, Terry! That recording needing some editing for traffic noise - which doesn't seem to bother the hens, thankfully! And yes, they're very happy - they're spoiled rotten. 😁
Your posts leave me so warm and happy!! Superb. I love chooks too. We tended to have big black Australorps that went broody at the drop of a hat. These days it’s Isa Browns that pop up everywhere - good dependable layers that will happily chortle away like every happy chook. I adore the Easter egg thread throughout the whole piece. Happy, happy sigh. Thanks so much for sharing your life, your memories and your art with us. It’s very much appreciated.
Oh, how lovely, Beth - thank you so much! I love that they're called 'chooks' Down Under - I'd forgotten that! And yes, they do chortle, don't they? I could kid myself that I can actually converse with them - they always answer! 😊
Loved this post and all the chicken pictures. I just bought a Cadbury egg in a post-Easter sale. How oh how shall I eat it? Considering a combo I will call “soldier takes a bath.”
ROFL!!! 'Soldier takes a bath'! Reckon you should call Cadbury's head office immediately to ask them to add that to their list of recommended ways of eating!
(If you're over ten years old I reckon you don't need to be made to eat it in the bath!)
During my childhood I lived on a farm as well. Because we moved back into town for the school year we only had part time animals that we borrowed or looked after for other farmers. I remember the goat that would live with us and the adventures we would have with it! No hens though.
Pretty sure the goat ate the chocolate Easter eggs!
Thanks so much, Donna! Goats are such delightful creatures too, aren't they? We had two - Annie and Polly - who were gorgeous, and when Polly had twin kids my brother and I felt as if we each had a new best friend (no disrespect to my other friends the hens, of course). They were SUCH fun to play with, those two - bounding all over the place and keeping us entertained for hours!
And gosh, they would eat anything - your goat eating the Easter eggs doesn't surprise me in the slightest! 🤣
That was lovely. As is so often the case, you take a quotidian subject and infuse it with a soft glowing magic. And to do that with chickens! We had chickens growing up. My relationship with them was nothing like this! Clearly a failure of my empathy or imagination ... but as I say this I realize, a failure on the part of my parents.
That's so kind, Tom - 'soft glowing magic' is such a lovely compliment! Thank you.
Well, it could have been a failure on the part of the chickens not to have been trained to lay a foil-wrapped chocolate egg for you to find every Easter Sunday morning? Or perhaps you had actual fellow children as friends and didn't have to rely on the feathered variety! 🤣
1. I fear I might be kidding myself slightly on this point, Peter - BUT they do seem to reply vocally to any verbal attention they're given, so I'm sticking with it! And chickenese is a much less sinister-sounding language than parseltongue - far less use of all those hisssssssssy sssssssibilants.
2. I'm not sure it would hold the same magic now that it did when I was little. Probably better to leave such decadence in the past (mind you, chillin' with a creme egg in the bath sounds much more tempting than pampering with bath salts or a scented candle)! 🤣
3. That's ever so kind, thank you - and coming from you that means such a lot! 🙌🙌🙌
Once again the best thing I’ve read/ experienced/ connected to on the internet this week! Thankyou for your generosity of spirit and for the beautiful insight into your families Easter traditions. I think if I’d had gena as a child I would have spent a lot of time with them too. Right here and now we have 8, 3 bantams with bloomers , 1 black rock and four all white ladies. None are ex battery hens but we might have room for some more in the future. ♥️✨ 🐓✨💝
Awwwwwww, wow, amazing!!! That's such a lovely load of things for you to say, Claire - I really appreciate you!
Yay to your hens! I bet L & L adore them - collecting the eggs is a magical thing for children (whether chocolate or ordinary!). When I moved to the village where I still live now (different house, and now with a husband in tow!) I was really keen to adopt a trio of bantams of my own in an effort to relive that smallholding magic. In fact I didn't do that in the end, but I'm living my poultry-husbandry life thanks to Dad's girls, and I DO actually chat to next door's hens through the hedge (but don't ever tell next door that I said so....)! 😉
Aww I love that. Never too far away from the 🐓. I love your art journal pages - my book binding pal has just joined Substack - Yvette Ja. Think you’d really connect. ✨🐓🗒️
Awwwwww, that's really lovely of you, Jessica - thank you so much! I'm so grateful - it was you who got me started on the whole altered book idea with this fabulous post of yours back in January! 😊
I’m thinking of returning the favour and inspiration and making my own altered book of revisited art! Although to be honest with me it would be poetry… cringe
What a lovely childhood picture you paint. I would expect nothing less of your parents than having a secret Easter egg laying chicken. ❤️ x
🤣 Aww, thanks, Elly! 😘
Always love these posts infused with your art, and the hen stories are a beautiful bonus xx
(I tried to help my brother-in-law with feeding his hens one time, and they all escaped the coop as soon as finished pouring the grain and tried to go back outside. They KNEW I was rookie, and my BIL watched from the patio as he heard me squeal, “Noooooo chickens”.)
Thank you so much, Bryn! 😊 SUCH a great story about your BIL's chickens - they'd certainly got the measure of you! 😉🤣
A delightful post, lovely art, and so educational: I thought eggs came in boxes in the supermarket. Who knew? Loved the recording. They sounded very happy.😁
Ps thanks for the mention 😀
Always a pleasure! Looking forward to replying to your latest letter on Wednesday. Brace yourself...! 🤣
Why? I am so nice to you. My letters to you are always paragon of kindness. Ok, all I can say is, like the duke of wellington, publish and be damned, woman! 😂😂
🤣
Thanks, Terry! That recording needing some editing for traffic noise - which doesn't seem to bother the hens, thankfully! And yes, they're very happy - they're spoiled rotten. 😁
I'm sure! You all seem like a very happy family 😁
We are! 😊
Your posts leave me so warm and happy!! Superb. I love chooks too. We tended to have big black Australorps that went broody at the drop of a hat. These days it’s Isa Browns that pop up everywhere - good dependable layers that will happily chortle away like every happy chook. I adore the Easter egg thread throughout the whole piece. Happy, happy sigh. Thanks so much for sharing your life, your memories and your art with us. It’s very much appreciated.
Oh, how lovely, Beth - thank you so much! I love that they're called 'chooks' Down Under - I'd forgotten that! And yes, they do chortle, don't they? I could kid myself that I can actually converse with them - they always answer! 😊
This is so sweet:) I’ve never seen an egg that fresh!
Thanks, Camille! And yes, that egg was CRAZY FRESH - just the perfect shape! 😊
Rebecca, I love everything about this post: the art, the words, the intent. You are a gift! Thank you for sharing your life here. :-)
You're ever so kind to say so, Mary - thank you so much for reading! 😊
Loved this post and all the chicken pictures. I just bought a Cadbury egg in a post-Easter sale. How oh how shall I eat it? Considering a combo I will call “soldier takes a bath.”
ROFL!!! 'Soldier takes a bath'! Reckon you should call Cadbury's head office immediately to ask them to add that to their list of recommended ways of eating!
(If you're over ten years old I reckon you don't need to be made to eat it in the bath!)
🤣
Gorgeous art!
During my childhood I lived on a farm as well. Because we moved back into town for the school year we only had part time animals that we borrowed or looked after for other farmers. I remember the goat that would live with us and the adventures we would have with it! No hens though.
Pretty sure the goat ate the chocolate Easter eggs!
Thanks so much, Donna! Goats are such delightful creatures too, aren't they? We had two - Annie and Polly - who were gorgeous, and when Polly had twin kids my brother and I felt as if we each had a new best friend (no disrespect to my other friends the hens, of course). They were SUCH fun to play with, those two - bounding all over the place and keeping us entertained for hours!
And gosh, they would eat anything - your goat eating the Easter eggs doesn't surprise me in the slightest! 🤣
Excellent job as always. I learned lots about chickens. Good job weaving the words and photos together.
You're very kind - thanks, Scott! 😊
That was lovely. As is so often the case, you take a quotidian subject and infuse it with a soft glowing magic. And to do that with chickens! We had chickens growing up. My relationship with them was nothing like this! Clearly a failure of my empathy or imagination ... but as I say this I realize, a failure on the part of my parents.
That's so kind, Tom - 'soft glowing magic' is such a lovely compliment! Thank you.
Well, it could have been a failure on the part of the chickens not to have been trained to lay a foil-wrapped chocolate egg for you to find every Easter Sunday morning? Or perhaps you had actual fellow children as friends and didn't have to rely on the feathered variety! 🤣
I love what you did with the Cadbury eggs in your journal. But the bath? Not so much 😆
Thanks, Amie - and LOL! Pretty gross, right?!! 🤣 Still, at least the stickiness was taken care of immediately!
1. Wait. You speak chicken? Is that like parseltongue?
2. New candidate for most decadent move ever: Eating an crème egg in the bath.
3. I ❤️ your mix of illustrations and text. But then, I would.
1. I fear I might be kidding myself slightly on this point, Peter - BUT they do seem to reply vocally to any verbal attention they're given, so I'm sticking with it! And chickenese is a much less sinister-sounding language than parseltongue - far less use of all those hisssssssssy sssssssibilants.
2. I'm not sure it would hold the same magic now that it did when I was little. Probably better to leave such decadence in the past (mind you, chillin' with a creme egg in the bath sounds much more tempting than pampering with bath salts or a scented candle)! 🤣
3. That's ever so kind, thank you - and coming from you that means such a lot! 🙌🙌🙌
Fun read and lovely art, Rebecca! The art book is a treasure!
Once again the best thing I’ve read/ experienced/ connected to on the internet this week! Thankyou for your generosity of spirit and for the beautiful insight into your families Easter traditions. I think if I’d had gena as a child I would have spent a lot of time with them too. Right here and now we have 8, 3 bantams with bloomers , 1 black rock and four all white ladies. None are ex battery hens but we might have room for some more in the future. ♥️✨ 🐓✨💝
*bloomers 😆
🤣
Awwwwwww, wow, amazing!!! That's such a lovely load of things for you to say, Claire - I really appreciate you!
Yay to your hens! I bet L & L adore them - collecting the eggs is a magical thing for children (whether chocolate or ordinary!). When I moved to the village where I still live now (different house, and now with a husband in tow!) I was really keen to adopt a trio of bantams of my own in an effort to relive that smallholding magic. In fact I didn't do that in the end, but I'm living my poultry-husbandry life thanks to Dad's girls, and I DO actually chat to next door's hens through the hedge (but don't ever tell next door that I said so....)! 😉
Aww I love that. Never too far away from the 🐓. I love your art journal pages - my book binding pal has just joined Substack - Yvette Ja. Think you’d really connect. ✨🐓🗒️
This whole idea of honouring past selves and art is so so great! I’m in love with your newsletter Rebecca 😍
Awwwwww, that's really lovely of you, Jessica - thank you so much! I'm so grateful - it was you who got me started on the whole altered book idea with this fabulous post of yours back in January! 😊
https://jessicamaybury.substack.com/p/making-art-in-books-you-already-own
I’m thinking of returning the favour and inspiration and making my own altered book of revisited art! Although to be honest with me it would be poetry… cringe
Sounds absolutely great, Jessica! 🙌
Love this.
Oh Mary, thank you! 😊