Fairview Farms: A Cast of Thousands
One hundred and twenty chickens, three goats, one part-time horse, 500,000 bees, three cats, one turkey, six geese, an occasional peacock, seven ducks, a visiting cockatiel, between two and 32 rabbits, and 17 humans share Fairview Gardens' 12.23 acres.

The chickens are Australorp, Arucana, Buff Orpington, Polish, Barred Rock, Blue Cochen and Rhode Island Red, and come in shapes, colors, and sizes as varied as their names. The Himalayan cat, Chinese weeder geese, Nubian goats and New Zealand white rabbits blend in multicultural camaraderie with Russian, Mexican, French, Italian and Czechoslovakian humans.

We're an odd mix of domesticated creatures. It's as if we have all been put together in a bizarre, poorly funded experiment in social and ecological dynamics. I like to think that each creature has its logical and preordained place in the workings of the farm. But beyond eating insects, providing fertilizer, controlling weeds, and producing milk and eggs, many are here just to provide love, companionship, comedy and the occasional tragedy.