Everyone loves chickens!

I attended the Southern California American Society of Journalists and Authors, http://www.asja.org/, holiday lunch last week. It was delightful, held at a Victorian tea room, the Vintage Tea Leaf, http://www.vintagetealeaf.com/, in Long Beach, California. Long Beach is better known for the port of Los Angeles, so a tea room is unexpected there, but sure enough, it's the real thing.

A large display of porcelain cups and saucers fills the back wall. You get to choose the one you like best to drink your tea. Getting the Best cup and saucer sets the tone for a good time! I chose one decorated with mallards in flight. Just right for me!

Tina Tessina, http://www.tinatessina.com, who is a licensed marriage and family therapist as well as a writer, organized the lunch. She had recently returned from a cruise to Hawaii, where she took this photo of one of Kauai's feral chickens. Stories vary -- perhaps it was a hurricane that destroyed coops a few years back, setting the chickens free. Kauai has few natural predators for chickens, so they have done well in the wild. Chickens are everywhere. Tina took this picture in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Two years ago I visited Kauai as an Environmental Journalism Fellow at the National Tropical Botanical Garden, http://www.ntbg.org/. It was a career-changing experience, and led to my writing How to Raise Poultry. The chickens live in the jungle, free as Junglefowl. Hens lead their chicks to scratch on the beach. It's an idyllic life.

Thanks, Tina, for sharing this picture and your experience.