Skirmish #2 in The Great Chicken War:
When I picked up my mail today, I had two copies of a courtesy notice from the County of El Dorado Environmental Management Services (one certified mail, one regular mail) notifying me of an alleged violation of section blah blah blah, "accumulation of poultry manure." That and other words, like "if," for example, were in bold text in the courtesy notice - that's not my emphasis. Would I please contact the department by telephone to discuss the matter, please? If I don't call, there will be a site visit on or after February 3, 2012 to inspect the property. Oh, and the letter was addressed to "Property Owner."
So I called to speak to the woman who signed the courtesy notice, but she was out of the office. The pleasant person who answered took all the pertinent information, particularly my request for a site inspection on Monday, January 30, 2012, as that will be my next day off during the week. She also noted my description of the Deep Litter Method (as she asked how I managed the poultry manure) and that I compost it when necessary. Also that I had successfully prevailed in an Administrative Hearing on December 9, 2011 - against an invalid citation for keeping chickens on less than an acre, and I believed the same complainant in that case lodged this complaint because he "lost" that one. I would be more than happy to give a tour of my property to demonstrate how the poultry manure is effectively managed. As my property is signed "No Trespassing" at both entrance gates, I couldn't imagine how anyone might have determined my methods did not meet county requirements.
<*dimple dimple dimple*>
In other news of an extremely positive nature, the cleaning gal did such a good job today I almost cried when I got home and into the house. She'll be back next Tuesday.
