Eggless

Photo by Audrey Pavia My hens aren’t laying right now, but when they do, they get serious about it. I wanted chickens my whole life, and when I finally got them, I was so excited about having fresh eggs. I remembered the time one of my young hens laid her first. I picked it up, […]

Looking for Burros

No matter how hard I tried, I could not see any of these amazing wild burros on my recent trip to Death Valley. About 20 years ago, I saw a group of wild burros in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, Nev. It was a huge thrill for me to see descendants […]

Farewell Bobbi Jo

Photo by Audrey Pavia I lost one of my hens, blue Leghorn bantam Bobbi Jo. About two weeks ago, I noticed that Bobbi Jo, one of my blue Leghorn bantams, was not putting herself to sleep in the coop with the other chickens. I would have suspected she was sitting on eggs somewhere, but none […]

Living Large

Photo by Audrey Pavia A view of the horse stalls on my small urban farm. Whenever I ride around the equestrian community where I live, I get a severe case of property envy. Some people around here managed to score anywhere from 3 to 5 acres for their urban farms. I, on the other hand, […]

Little Shiva

Photo by Audrey Pavia Shiva, the little Sebright who got me started in chickens. I was looking at my flock of bantams the other day and suddenly remembered how I came to own chickens. It was all thanks to a Sebright hen by the name of Shiva. Ever since I was a kid, I had […]

Milagro and the Purse

Photo by Audrey Pavia Milagro, nudging the most delicious purse he’s ever tasted. Milagro’s back has been bothering him, evidenced by the way he flinches when I run my hand over the muscle just in front of his hip. So, I scheduled a visit for him with an equine chiropractor. The chiropractor could only come […]

A Day of Goats

Photo by Audrey Pavia Here are the goats I met on a hike this weekend, hard at work on fire abatement. The beautiful weather on Saturday made it a perfect day to hike near the beach. I opted to start at a little park at the top of a hill overlooking Laguna Beach, Calif., a […]

Chirpy

Photo by Audrey Pavia Me and Chirpy, a House Sparrow we raised from a nestling. Lately, when I throw feed to my chickens in the morning, a thieving flock of House Sparrows flies down, grabs some of the pellets and flies up into the bushes to feast. Rather than get irritated at them, I am […]

When Roosters Attack

Photo by Audrey Pavia Mr. Mabel likes to pick fights with me. My bantam Cochin mix rooster, Mr. Mabel, is well known among my friends for his attacks on people who do not belong in my yard — at least in his opinion. Once in a rare while, he also cops an attitude with me. […]