2020.
The year of the chicken. We decided like so many others to “get a few chickens” for the upcoming quarantine/lockdown. Our young son had been asking for a pet bird for years, so why not a few breakfast makers in the backyard to entertain us during this pandemic.
At the same time we were preparing for our incoming flock, we were installing a planned privacy fence and taking down a very large ever green that had grown into our beloved shade tree. We didn’t want to remove the evergreen, but it actually made the perfect spot for a chicken coop. So we redesigned our whole side yard to give the chickens their own area.
Now let me back track. I bought this house 15ish years ago. This was my grandparents home. This was the home I visited as a child in between being dragged across the globe with my Marine father. It’s the only “home” I’ve ever known. They were the only grandparents I had ever known. I have wonderful memories in this house and seeing it completely empty after their sudden passing was terribly hard. I was not prepared (AT ALL) to buy a house at the time, but I couldn’t stand the thought of never being in this house again. So I bought it.
Fast forward back to the present, my husband, my son and I are preparing our side yard for the new chicken area. The tree is gone, we dug up most of its roots, the fence is up and the coop is ordered. Now this is where it gets good. While I was digging an area for a dust bath I found what I thought was more clay (or rock
). To my surprise, it was nether. It was a ceramic CHICKEN that my Grandma had made!!
If this isn’t a sign we were meant to get chickens, then I don’t know what would be! This ceramic chicken has been buried in our yard for who knows how long. My grandma painted ceramics back in the late 70s through the 80s and retired from shows mid 90s. It’s 2020!
This all has me thinking.
Has anyone ever dug a hole for chickens and found a chicken?
I may just be the first.
Now you maybe thinking.
How did The Ceramic Chicken get there?
I’m thinking it was fastened to one of the old fence posts, fell at some point and buried over time.
After a hose off, my grandma’s signed initials “BT” are clearly seen. Talk about goose bumps.
This is one of her earlier pieces. She stopped putting her initials on her work when she got her own kiln. The initials were to indentify her work when she used a shared kiln at the local ceramic shop.
Unearthing this ceramic chicken has brought back precious memories of my grandparents. I can see my grandmother sitting at the window painting ceramics for hours at a time. And of course her letting me help. That was a huge deal! It reminded me of the summers I spent at craft shows with them as a teen. I will never forget the show my grandfather wrote “made in China” on a piece of paper and stuck it on her table when she wasn’t looking. She was furious when she finally saw it hours later.
This ceramic chicken has brought back memories that I wouldn’t otherwise have thought of. I feel like this ceramic chicken is a sign they are truly “watching over me” -as they say. A sign they are happy for me. Happy to see I have a beautiful family of my own.
They were truly wonderful people.
When we lose those closest to us, we tend to spend a lot of time wondering if they are thinking of us. I know that answer now.
A photo of my Grandparents at a show circa 1989.
*The Ceramic Chicken has a new roosting spot in the coop -watching over our chickens.
*The photo in the coop, is my Great Grandma and her flock of many.
Check out The Making of The Clucking Cabana to see our coop build!
The year of the chicken. We decided like so many others to “get a few chickens” for the upcoming quarantine/lockdown. Our young son had been asking for a pet bird for years, so why not a few breakfast makers in the backyard to entertain us during this pandemic.
At the same time we were preparing for our incoming flock, we were installing a planned privacy fence and taking down a very large ever green that had grown into our beloved shade tree. We didn’t want to remove the evergreen, but it actually made the perfect spot for a chicken coop. So we redesigned our whole side yard to give the chickens their own area.
Now let me back track. I bought this house 15ish years ago. This was my grandparents home. This was the home I visited as a child in between being dragged across the globe with my Marine father. It’s the only “home” I’ve ever known. They were the only grandparents I had ever known. I have wonderful memories in this house and seeing it completely empty after their sudden passing was terribly hard. I was not prepared (AT ALL) to buy a house at the time, but I couldn’t stand the thought of never being in this house again. So I bought it.
Fast forward back to the present, my husband, my son and I are preparing our side yard for the new chicken area. The tree is gone, we dug up most of its roots, the fence is up and the coop is ordered. Now this is where it gets good. While I was digging an area for a dust bath I found what I thought was more clay (or rock
). To my surprise, it was nether. It was a ceramic CHICKEN that my Grandma had made!!If this isn’t a sign we were meant to get chickens, then I don’t know what would be! This ceramic chicken has been buried in our yard for who knows how long. My grandma painted ceramics back in the late 70s through the 80s and retired from shows mid 90s. It’s 2020!
This all has me thinking.
Has anyone ever dug a hole for chickens and found a chicken?
I may just be the first.
Now you maybe thinking.
How did The Ceramic Chicken get there?
I’m thinking it was fastened to one of the old fence posts, fell at some point and buried over time.
After a hose off, my grandma’s signed initials “BT” are clearly seen. Talk about goose bumps.
This is one of her earlier pieces. She stopped putting her initials on her work when she got her own kiln. The initials were to indentify her work when she used a shared kiln at the local ceramic shop.
Unearthing this ceramic chicken has brought back precious memories of my grandparents. I can see my grandmother sitting at the window painting ceramics for hours at a time. And of course her letting me help. That was a huge deal! It reminded me of the summers I spent at craft shows with them as a teen. I will never forget the show my grandfather wrote “made in China” on a piece of paper and stuck it on her table when she wasn’t looking. She was furious when she finally saw it hours later.
This ceramic chicken has brought back memories that I wouldn’t otherwise have thought of. I feel like this ceramic chicken is a sign they are truly “watching over me” -as they say. A sign they are happy for me. Happy to see I have a beautiful family of my own.
They were truly wonderful people.
When we lose those closest to us, we tend to spend a lot of time wondering if they are thinking of us. I know that answer now.
A photo of my Grandparents at a show circa 1989.
*The Ceramic Chicken has a new roosting spot in the coop -watching over our chickens.
*The photo in the coop, is my Great Grandma and her flock of many.
Check out The Making of The Clucking Cabana to see our coop build!
