The Farmer's Husband

Unless it’s a peacock

March 12, 2013

“Um. Ok don’t be mad. So, I may have put a deposit down on a couple of goats.”

Almost two years ago, Bailey sheepishly broke this news to me. At that point, we were living in a row home in downtown Philadelphia and I had just accepted an exciting job offer. We had been discussing a mutual desire to someday move out of the city and try our hands at farming, but that was about it.

Bramble and Banbury. Our first babies are all grown up, soon to be having babies of their own.

But after the initial shock and anxiety faded away, I was just as excited about our new goats as he was, and it was all the motivation that we needed to really get the ball rolling on our initial farm hunt.

Over the next few months, though, I began to notice a pattern: Bailey and I would chat about a particular breed of goat or sheep, and a few days later he would tell me that he had found a too-good-to-be-true opportunity and had committed to the purchase of another animal. It was cute at first, and his enthusiasm was contagious- we made the majority of our livestock decisions and purchases together. But I’m a worrier and he’s a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of guy, so we often have different definitions of “practical”.

A year later, I finally asked Bailey to stop buying animals without first discussing it with me. A perfectly valid request, I’d say. But then he would pick up a few ducks on his way from work. Some fertile chicken eggs would arrive in the mail. A couple of new goats, some rabbits, and then finally, Cordelia. You may recall that for my birthday last year, Bailey got me a surprise spotted Nubian goat. It was so thoughtful and I love her. But I wasn’t very happy at first. In fact, I was furious. After a long, silent, passive-aggressive drive home, I made him promise me that he would no longer, under any circumstances (even birthdays) buy any livestock (including poultry) without running it by me first. “Well,” I said, “unless it’s a peacock. I mean, if you find a really good deal that you just can’t pass up, then it’s OK.”

Well, you better believe that he took full advantage of that little loophole. And when he came home from a recent trip to Philadelphia to once again take part in the Philadelphia International Flower Show, he had two pair of India Blue peafowl in tow.

But how could I be upset? They are quite possibly the most beautiful creatures in the world. Plus, I gave him full permission.

These beauties are only a year old; the peacocks’ tails won’t be fully grown for another two years or so. And after that, they will live for up to 50 years!

We have already been discussing other colors of peafowl that we would like to someday own. I’m just counting the days until I come home to find some in the coop.