Who is Agnes?

 

2010

Agnes is small, bossy and loud. She is curious and almost fearless. She is in charge of a team of three who give her endless trouble. She is our Isa Brown chook.

Many months ago, this blog began to germinate…would it be a blog about being lesbian mothers? or a blog about just being a mother? could it be a blog about midwifery? should it be a blog about chickens? could it be a blog about fairly incompetent gardening? Then as I stood in our kitchen a few days ago, poring over a recipe for salty caramel chocolate mousse, I thought to myself ‘I’ll have to wait for Agnes to lay again’.

There it was – the realisation that keeping chooks has changed the way I cook. Whether I need six great big yolks for a custard or one tiny silkie egg to glaze a pie, the girls and their habits are central to what happens in our kitchen. So, this blog will be a lot about baking, a bit about chooks and probably a bit about all those other things as well.

 

2011

At the end of 2010 Agnes and her feathered workforce met a dreadful end. But although our garden is still empty of feathered ladies, the baking, the semi-incompetent gardening, the mothering and the midwifing continue. One day our hen house will again be home to bossy, confused and peculiar chickens. But for now the beloved – her past reluctance to keep chooks being legend – does not feel ready to move on and emotionally commit to a new flock. So, I may not be waiting for Agnes any more but I am still waiting and still blogging.

Thank you for visiting,

F