IIn the story of Moses and the exodus from Egypt, the land flowing with milk and
honey was the promise of plenty — a fertile land, good and spacious, the beauty
of all lands — a paradise. Most of all, the land of milk and honey was the hope of
freedom. After enduring slavery, exile in the wilderness and battles with neighboring
landowners, the Israelites held on to the hope of a better, more prosperous future.
For some, this hope is still alive in the hearts and minds of those in
the greater Wilmington community who have taken up their plowshares
by raising goats, chickens and bees, in an effort to free themselves from
commercial-economic influences. Experience with them the satisfaction of
self-sustenance and maybe even help save the environment in the process.
Samantha Smith’s Goats Heather Horak’s Chicks GenevieveBarker’s Bees
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WBM august 2012
—Niles Merritt
Above left, Samantha Smith pets her six-month-old Nubian goats Nanny McPhee and Wooly Wonka who have become family pets.
Heather Horak holds Ramsey, her oldest chicken, who rules the roost around her house. Genevieve Barker opens her beehive to look
at the honey production for the season. Opposite, the bounty produced by several of Heather’s chickens along with a blue-colored egg
laid by Bawk Bawk.