le tour

we have been on and off participants in our neighborhood walking tour of chicken coops over the years. we attended the first two as renters in a different neighborhood, without children, without even a dream of chickens or gardening. this year is the seventh annual tour, and everything is different. we are homeowners with a luscious backyard in the tenney lapham neighborhood, complete with flower beds, vegetable beds, and a chicken coop. the coop currently houses our second flock. we have kids, one of whom has had chickens his whole life. it's normal for him. and, for the second year in a row, we are the organizers. finally, after 6 years in this house on this street in this neighborhood, I feel a part of it. i have met my neighbors, and they have become my friends. i feel personally committed to the enjoyment and improvement of my neighborhood and city. citizenship has never been so fun.

anyway. we have a website with information about the coop tour (his year, greatly enhanced by adding stops at gardens and urban beehives!!). check it out at tlnacoops.weebly.com.  david wrote a bit for a realtor friend's blog about the joys of living in downtown madison, which you can read at http://map.openhomesrealty.com/blog/something-fowl-is-hidden-in-the-backyards-of-madison/ . we have pamphlets and maps for the tour tomorrow. we will even have lemonade. if you want it, we have membership forms for the neighborhood association. and enthusiasm? oh yeah. we've got that too.