zucchini larceny 181nighttime roost (hence, his name). The feminist in me balks to admit it,
but a flock of free- range hens behaves very differently without a rooster:
scattered, vulnerable, a witless wandering of lost souls. Of course, they’re
chickens. They have bird brains, evolved in polygamous flocks, and have
lived for millennia with humans who rewarded docility and egg produc-
tion. Modern hens of the sturdiest breeds can crank out an egg a day for
months at a stretch (until winter days grow too short), and that they can
do with no need for a fella. Large- scale egg operations keep artifi cial lights
on their hens to extend the laying period, and they don’t keep roosters at
all. The standard white grocery- store egg is sterile. But in a barnyard
where chickens forage and risk predation, flock behavior is more interest-
ing when a guy is ruling the roost.
So Lily wanted one rooster, for flock protection and the chance to
watch her hens hatch chicks next year. The position was open for a good
rooster, not a bad one. Over the years we’d had both. Our historic favorite
was Mr. Doodle. If a professional circuit had been open to him, as dogs
have their sheepherding trials and such, we could have retired Mr. Doo-
dle for stud. He had a keen eye for hen safety and a heart for justice. I
If you’re not a landowner, you can still find in most urban areas some oppor-
tunity to garden. Many community- supported agriculture (CSA) operations allow
or even require subscribers to participate on their farms; they might even offer a
work-for-food arrangement. Most urban areas also host community gardens,
using various organizational protocols—a widespread practice in European cities
that has taken root here. Some rent garden spaces to the first comers; others
provide free space for neighborhood residents. Some are organized and run by
volunteers for some specific goal, such as supplying food to a local school, while
others accommodate special needs of disabled participants or at-risk youth. In-
formation and locations can be found at the American Community Garden As-
sociation site: http://www.communitygarden.org.STEVEN L. HOPP