Hello, Spring Chickens!

Your backyard may be a barnyard and your chariot may be a hay bale in a cart, but by golly, you’re a shining star. Beam your bright light into this world.

—Dolly PartHen

Here’s What’s Happening at Good Spirits Farm

• We are both so thankful for warmer weather. Yesterday, I went out to feed the chickens and thought our bees might be swarming because there was buzzing everywhere. Really, it was just three hives pouring out into the world on a quest for spring pollen.

• Unfortunately, the warm weather disproved our theory that the 20-year-old farm truck just didn’t want to start in the cold. One more thing to fix!

• We have not been able to get any baby chicks yet because the USPS is having delivery problems and has put a moratorium on shipping live animals. I think this is the right move, although a lot of my poultry-raising colleagues are outraged. When done right, chicks can arrive safely using two-day air, but the thought of thousands of chicks dying of cold and starvation stuck in warehouses breaks my heart. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

  Here’s What I Loved This Week
  I seem to have a knack for checking out really depressing books from the library, but on my friend Jen Miller’s recommendation, I read “The Residence” about the workers who make the White House hum. Being the daughter of a public servant who is now married to another public servant, I really loved hearing the dedication and pride of the White House staff. (And it is fun to read about some of the behind-the-scenes drama!)