The Glove and Trowel Garden Club met on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, at 3:30 p.m. with Debbie Rogers as hostess with 13 members present. The meeting was held in a barn located in her back yard.

The room was beautifully decorated with Fall flowers, cornstalks, autumn leaves, etc. We sat at picnic tables covered with red check table cloths. Refreshments were served on tin plates with the cupcakes decorated with a chicken, and drinks were served in glass jars – a truly Country theme!
Molly Pittman, President, called the meeting to order, thanked the hostess, and led in the reading of our Garden Club Collect. November Birthday recognition was given for Jamie Sue Stephens (November 6.) Our newest member, Holli Strickland, was welcomed.

Becky Lyell, Program Chairman, introduced our guest speaker, Jacqueline Reaves, who gave an interesting program “ALL ABOUT CHICKENS.” Jacqueline is a 17 year old Junior at Dillon Christian School, daughter of Mike and Wendy Reaves of Rowland, N.C. Her Daddy owns “ Mike Reaves Livestock,” so through the farm she has many unusual pets: pigs, goats, bulls, and most recently chickens. She enjoys spending time outside with her chickens. She became interested because she did not know that chickens could have different colored eggs, or be furry.
They stay in a coop which has an automatic door that is set to let her chickens out of the coop at 8:00 a.m. and they go back in the coop on their own as the day ends. The automatic door closes at 6:30 p.m., and they are locked in for the night. The coop has nesting boxes for egg laying. It is not heated but protects them from the cold. It has windows with screens that stay open during warm months so air can pass through. When released out of the chicken coops, they have free range and roam around all day – this strategy gives the chickens more free will – they are able to roam and explore like they should in the natural world. They also are given organic feed and scratch, dried mill worms as an occasional treat, pecans, and greens, such as kale, leafy green lettuce, grapes, and carrots. They lay their eggs in the coop. In their nesting areas, fake eggs are added to give the chickens an idea of a place to lay. This is a great strategy to keep the eggs in one place.
She has about 50 hens (18 Varieties) and gets about two dozen eggs a day. Some lay blue eggs, brown eggs, cream colored eggs, light brown eggs, white eggs, dark brown eggs, and olive green eggs.

She has several roosters but says you don’t need a rooster to get eggs.
She likes her roosters because they look after and protect the hens! Chickens have wonderful personalities and are very curious! After the program, Becky Lyell gave each member present a plastic egg that contained a number. When your number was called, you were asked a question about the program to see if you were listening. Great program!

October Minutes by Secretary Julie Sawyer were approved. Julie LeChette, Treasurer, gave a financial report followed by Committee Reports. Decorating the Dillon House for Christmas will take place on December 7.
Our next meeting will be our “Year End Meeting and Dinner Party” on December 5, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Barnabas’ Parish House with Jeanne McLaurin and Julie Sawyer as our Chairmen.
We were given a Foster Child’s name to purchase a gift to be taken to this meeting.
The Glove and Trowel Garden Club organized in January 1953 is a member of the National Garden Clubs, Inc., the South Atlantic Region, The Garden Club of South Carolina, Inc., and the Coastal District of the GCSC.