One of the best parts of living somewhere new is meeting new neighbors and finding your place in the community. I wasn’t sure how it would go moving up here with all our crazy ideas of chickens and fruit trees and a big garden 
We’re not exactly circumspect about what we’re doing what with the garden in the front yard and hens running all over.
But it turns out that all of our neighbors, at least the ones we’ve gotten to know in the past year, are fabulous. The neighbors across the street, who raise steers for meat (!), also have a big garden. Recently we’ve gotten into conversations about laying hens, broiler chickens and gardening. They’re in the process of building a new space for the broilers they do every year, as well as adding a hen house for their teenage daughter to have laying hens.
Over the last few months we’ve given them a dozen eggs here and there, whenever we’re overrun with them. And in exchange we’ve been given, un-solicited mind you, homegrown/made pesto, empty egg cartons (always welcome) and today a half dozen onions and heads of garlic. I can’t say how wonderful it is to have neighbors that a) don’t mind looking at our garden every day, b) we can harass about cow raising if we ever go there, and c) value our eggs enough to share their own homegrown produce with us.
Perhaps it’s time to consider inviting them over for cocktails.
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You’re so lucky. I live in suburbia, where are front yard better be lawn. And not only lawn, but beautiful, greener than the next guy, lawn.
I want to live in your neighbourhood!
A heartwarming post. Life—and community—just as it should be.
Sounds great!! Were these onions and garlic that had been stored over the winter?
Bruce brought 500 onion starts over to the house today. Unfortunately, we got a snow storm and now have 5″ on the ground. Ugh!!!
But, I can’t wait to harvest those onions….You do know that Onions are another form of birth control?!!
Dad
We are very fortunate to live in Des Moines, IA – our neighbors love our garden that is in the front of the house. We add flowers so there’s plenty of color, butterflies, bees and hummingbirds and we share our produce with the neighbors. They love it!!
Pam :: that was our last house. neighbor’s we’d never met brought us cookies the weekend we were working to redo the front lawn. a not very subtle reward we decided…
Meghan :: there’s a few houses for sale down the road…
Deborah :: Agreed. Makes me feel so happy to live here.
Dad :: yep, they were overwintered in their root cellar. 500 onion! You guys are nuts! And they only work as birth control if just one of you eats them…
Joy :: That’s excellent!
I can’t tell which way your Dad is hinting: Either he wants a ton of grandkids (which would clear any onions growing from a 5 mile radius) OR he wants onions and garlic planted EVERYWHERE. I have pondered this for a few days since this was first posted. LOL
At any rate, I think it is wonderful that you have a close connection to your family!
Happy Easter!
Monica, honestly only he would know. It’s a long standing joke/point of view in our family. I think he’s been saying it since I was a very small child. There are a lot of others as well…
Just so you know what the meaning is! HA!
I long for your kind of family.
I enjoy reading about families that get along. I only hear from my side when someone dies.