Skip to main content
  • 388 square feet

    I feel as though everything is in its place, but I also know that I look forward to the return of our young'uns, as they stretch the walls of our 388-square-foot world just a bit. Such stretching is good for the soul.

  • A gray day
    Our walk was longer than expected, as I frequently stopped to photograph our creek valley world. The weather was warmer than expected, and even though I did not wear a jacket, I was amazed that I managed to work up a sweat in mid-December.
  • My father's hand
    It had been only a few months since I had seen him. I called when I was just a few miles away, and as I pulled up in the driveway, I could see him waiting just inside the front door. I parked and got out quickly, trying to rush inside before he came out into the cold to greet me, but I was not fast enough. He met me at the curb with a warm hug.
  • Holiday crafts
    The gourds that I am working with now are perfectly dried from two summers past. At the end of the summer, I took them from the garden, and with bailing twine wrapped around their stems, hung them up to dry in the tobacco barn. Not a single gourd rotted.
  • Chicken mugging
    A typical late afternoon goes something like this. As I drive up the hill to the cabin, I can see the flock pecking around over by the windmill tower. I park in the gravel drive and get out of my car, and by the time I am walking up the front cabin steps, I know that I am about to be the victim of a chicken mugging.
  • Being thankful
    It will be 10 years this spring since we first stepped foot along the banks of Straight Creek. It might seem that 10 years is a long time and that we have done a lot with our land over the past years. We have built our cabin home, and we have walked the creek and seen it change with the seasons.
  • Cool morning chores
    Less than an hour later, I walked into the courthouse, papers ready to file for my first case of the day. I smiled at the guard as my lawyer heels clicked across the first floor hallway, and I could not help but wonder what a person's clothes really tell about a person.
  • Ever so precious young'uns
    I held her in my arms. She was so very small, my newest granddaughter. I felt my heart melt and knew that I did not want to ever let her go. She nestled into my arms so perfectly.
  • Backhoe farming
    A chore that could have easily taken me several hours, was finished in less than 45 minutes! But perhaps I would still get that wheel barrow out and spread some rabbit droppings on the raised beds, or perhaps I would go decorate a gourd and let the raised beds wait for another day. Backhoe farming has its definite advantages!
  • Weekend anticipation

    By CHRISTINE TAILER
    HCP columnist

  • Coyote call
    I locked the chickens safely inside their coop and returned across the yard to the cabin. There was not a star in the sky. As I climbed the front steps, my dog by my side, I heard the bay of coyotes far down the creek.
  • Ruling the roost
    Some might think that the phrase relates to the flock's dominant bird, but I know that it relates to the fact that our flock of chickens governs how we spend our time away from the farm. And do you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.
Subscribe to Christine Tailer