Spring cannot be far off. We just brought home a dozen baby chicks from our general store and set them up in the garage in a cozy cardboard box fitted out with layers of newspaper, a mini-feeding trough and water fountain. They scurry about, peeping loudly and pecking the walls of the box. Then suddenly exhausted, they fall asleep in a huddle under the warm-spot of a light bulb. We will graduate them to larger boxes as they grow, placing a few dowels to satisfy their instinct to roost. As soon as it warms up enough, we will transfer them to a large indoor/outdoor pen at the barn. By August these cute Rhode Island Red pullets will begin to lay their lovely brown eggs. 
When we are convinced that they have learned to use the laying boxes, we will to reward them with true “free-range” privileges!
We are reminded of one of Soovin Kim’s residencies. The timing worked out so that he and his ensemble-mates were able to witness the hatching of a clutch of eggs we had incubated in our kitchen pantry. It was a revelation for those urban musicians: first to hear the chicks peeping while still encased within the eggshell; then to watch them peck themselves out to freedom – sometimes falling asleep in exhaustion before the job was done. To behold such a miracle is a perk of a rural retreat with Hill and Hollow Music!
We are launched into a new cycle of artist residencies and concerts, thanks to a generous response to our recent appeal. Now with a positive cash-flow again, exciting plans are in the works!  But also with an eye toward long-term financial stability, we committed an amount equal to half of those contributions to the “Hill and Hollow Music Fund,â€our endowment at the Adirondack Foundation. We established our fund in 2006 and add to it whenever possible. It is quietly growing and we are able to draw grants from the interest, if needed.
You are invited to browse the Adirondack Foundation’s interesting website, where we have our own page with a description and history of our activities. It a great opportunity for us to become more widely known in the region. Click on the following link and learn more: https://www.generousact.org/funds/hill-and-hollow-music-fund
