louise on the left (coast)

Back in April I first wrote about some women I knew who had suddenly decided to keep  chickens in their backyards as pets . At the time I thought this was just some recession-inspired trend, but apparently there were more sentimental reasons for this new affection for our feathered friends, the humble chicken. Today I stumbled across this piece on  Urlesque regarding the literary Susan Orlean   rhapsodizing about her newest obsession, chickens. Now, I don't want to sound like a hypocrite, because I happen to think miniature horses would be great eco-friendly backyard pet.  My feeling is that they would be companions who could both eat and fertilize our yards all at the same time. However, finding chickens cute just kind-of surprises me, because I think chickens are kind-of scary. Apparently, so does  Wendy Ann Gardner , as evidenced in her children's book Heedley Pecked Me in the Eye (Naughty Naughty Pets) (Hardcover) If you care to read it for yourself, you can order

, Don't ask me why, but several mommies I know have suddenly opted to raise chickens as pets, lately. One of them is smart enough not to attempt this in an urban setting. Even though the thought has crossed my mind that raising just one rooster would be perfect revenge for our party-happy next door neighbors, I just can't bear the thought of chickens running round my feet. Even though I would appreciate the eggs. (To be honest, chickens freak me out.) However, I'm not exempt from my own peculiar desire for a livestock style pet. In the spirit of green living, I have been longing to adopt a miniature horse. Just think: It would be a green-living grass mower, it would self-fertilize the soil, and it would be a companion for Buddy to romp with. Besides they are simply the cutest things I've ever seen. Will be investigating the residential codes for these this week... Mental note: Tell husband we're getting a pony. UPDATE: I ran the idea by him and he asked me w