Tuesday, October 20, 2009

A goal achieved, some bad news from home

We've been in Boston for the last few days visiting my husband's family and today, we went to Durgin Park, a legendary, touristy and very old restaurant that serves "Yankee food." I've wanted to eat here since I first learned of its existence 10 years ago and while it was not worth the wait, now I know. The place smelled like a large steam table and nothing was delicious -- not the fish cakes, not the baked beans, not the cornbread -- except the Indian pudding, which caused me to break all my moderate eating rules. It was warm and smooth and rich, like a great breakfast food rejiggered for dessert. The waitress gave me the recipe, which is printed in a little pamphlet and calls for baking the pudding for five to seven hours in a stone crock. I am only sorry we didn't also try the coffee gelatin.

After lunch, riding the T back to my in-laws' house, we got a call from our neighbor back in California. He is unsure how, but his dog got into our fenced yard and killed five of our chickens. Owen is devastated, and understandably so, because he has watched, studied, washed, fed, chased, and loved those chickens as only a 9-year-old boy without a dog can. I never thought I would do this, but I now think we will hire someone to put in a high-security chicken run with chain-link fencing. We love our chickens and can't let this happen ever again.

We'll see who survived when we get home tonight.


13 comments:

  1. Wah!!! I'm so sad for Owen and the rest of you. RIP ladies!

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  2. That is so so sad. i'm really sorry to hear that.

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  3. Sniff! So sad for your little feathered harem. Chain link is the way to go.

    I would not be angry if you shared the Indian pudding recipe. I had some as a part of Thanksgiving activities in kindergarten and it lives on in my memory.

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  4. First, condolences to you and Owen on the chickens. Kudos to your neighbor for calling and owning up and not just shrugging "who can imagine how these things happen?" as I would be tempted to do if it were my dog.
    And I am laughing that you had Indian pudding because for the kindergarten Thanksgiving feast, my son's class is one of the "native American" ones and they are in charge of the ancient dish, chocolate pudding. So I'm relieved to hear there is such a thing as Indian pudding at all!

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  5. Oh - very bad news about the chickens - I am sorry.

    Thanks for the review on Durgin Park! Living in Boston, I'm familiar with the restaurant as a tourist spot; now if we ever have friends in town who want to go, I'll know what to order!

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  6. Poor Owen! You all have my sympathies. What a let down after this season of growing expectations.

    Not to be too cheeky, but once you install a fence, what will price per egg come out to?

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  7. Oh, the price per egg. Ha!! Ten dollars a dozen? I was counting my eggs before our chickens lived to lay them. The dog only got four, but this brings us to eight dead chickens since April. CHAIN LINK.

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  8. I'm so sorry to hear about the chickens! I hope the dog didn't get his 4H project.

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  9. Did Caroline and Alberta Einstein make it?

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  10. What a horrible shame about the hens!
    During the four years I lived across the river from Boston, Durgin Park was the place to go for mammoth slabs of prime rib, bigger than the plates, rare and delicious. I don't think I even knew about the puddings.

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  11. Can you post a photo of this crazy dog? I want to see what it looks like.

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  12. I don't know the dog! It is owned by a neighbor I have never met, he got our phone number from the neighbor who was taking care of the hens.
    I doubt it's a crazy dog. It was just a suburban dog being a suburban dog.

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  13. Here I sit with my morning coffee, catching up with you once again, and I am crying for Owen and your hens.

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