Sometimes I have myself convinced I could take care of goats or chickens, especially when the price of eggs spikes or I’m enjoying some delicious goat cheese.
But the reality of taking care of such animals doesn’t factor into these daydreams. Which is one of the reasons I absolutely loved reading this short book by Kelly Chripczuk, Chicken Scratch: Stories of Love, Risk and Poultry. The book follows Kelly and her family for their first few weeks of proud ownership of a flock of 10 laying hens. It’s funny and inspiring and challenging, even to those of us who might never keep a chicken anywhere except in the freezer.
Life with chickens, it turns out, is messy, and Chripczuk realizes that the mess–chicken poop and all–is proof of life.
If we spend all of our time and energy trying to avoid a mess, we may well end up avoiding life as well. (40)
Though the book is short (only 76 pages), it is full of these nuggets of wisdom. Here’s another one:
Graphic by Kelly Chripczuk
Pick up a copy of the book here for the chicken lover in your life or for yourself as a quick, light read that also challenges with spiritual truth without being preachy.
Chicken Scratch made me want to head over to the author’s farm and watch these birds in action.
(Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of the book from the author. Review reflects my honest opinion. This post also contains an affiliate link, which means I receive a portion of any purchase made through that link.)
I really enjoyed your review! Thanks for posting it to the FB site, because you reminded me that I should have done that as well!
Thanks so much Lisa! And stop by to see the chickens any time – I’ll even let you clean up some poop . . . 🙂
Oh, man. An offer I can’t refuse! I’ll bring the kids and tell you the story of the time we were chased by an angry rooster. 🙂