In Preparation for Peeps (NOT the Marshmallow Kind!)

Call me crazy, my husband certainly has, but a month or so ago when Great Country Farms offered its CSA Members a chance to raise peeps (that’s chicks, not candy), I jumped at the opportunity!  After all, how many times have I listened to the boys wish that they could move to a house with a big yard for this or that animal or this or that crop; how many times have I joked that we’re raising two little farm boys in a townhome in Northern Virginia; how many times have I passed on an educational opportunity of this sort for our boys?  (In case the answers to those questions aren’t immediately clear, it would be:  many; many, many; and not as many as my husband would hope!)

Tomorrow is the big day:  peep pick-up day.  So, today, armed with a list of needed supplies provided by Farmer Jen at GCF, the boys and I headed out to Southern States:  seller of all things for home, garden, and farm.

For about $30.00 we procured everything we need to make a cozy home for our peeps:  feeder, waterer, heat lamp and bulb, and feed.  We already had the plastic bin that will serve as their home for the first eight weeks.
 

After eight weeks, the peeps will need to move outdoors.  Since we don’t live on a farm, and do indeed live in a neighborhood governed by HOA rules and regulations, our peeps will have to return to the farm at this time.  Unfortunately, we’ll miss out on the fresh eggs they would have begun laying in a couple more months.  Fortunately, this is right about the time our weekly visits to the farm will begin, so I am hoping our regular farm time will ease any disappointment at returning the chicks.

Connor has been anxiously counting down the days until the arrival of his “chickies,” sometimes referred to as his “chickadees” for a few weeks now.  When he would, out of the blue, say, “Let’s talk about our chicks now,” we discussed possible names for the peeps, what to feed the peeps, how to care for the peeps, how much playtime the peeps will need (or tolerate), and any number of other important peep-related issues.  Tonight, on the eve of the peeps’ homecoming, Connor requested one of his favorite picture books at bedtime:  A Chick Called Saturday by Joyce Dunbar.

I found this beautifully written and illustrated book in our church bookstore last Spring.  It seemed perfect for Connor, our little boy who loves animals… and who just can’t quite find the joy in “being one of the crowd.”  A Chick Called Saturday is the story of seven chicks:  Monday through Saturday, named in the order they were hatched, discovering their world and what it means to be a chick.  All of the chicks do what they are told, “all except one, the chick called Saturday.”  Saturday isn’t satisfied with the typical chick activities:  clucking, pecking, and pulling a worm “if he really tried;” he wants to swim, and honk, and fly!  In the end, Saturday discovers his own special talent, something even his mother can be proud of!  It’s a fun story to read, and judging from the number of times Connor requests it, a fun story to listen to.  And on the eve of peep-pick-up, it was a sure way to send our little guy off to bed with sweet dreams of the big day ahead!  Oh, and for the record, I will not be at all surprised if we end up with our very own chick called Saturday tomorrow (which is Wednesday)!