Hucks: Urban farming can be noisy

The tiny community of Bayview on the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille survived a terrifying wildfire during our summer of drought. But there’s at least one resident who doesn’t think she can handle the outbreak of “roostosterone.” That’s the name Jeanna Hofmeister (aka, “Baggy-eyed in Bayview”) gave the disquiet wrought by a neighbor’s rooster. In an email to Huckleberries Online ( www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo ), Jeanna describes how the neighbor decided to become an urban farmer recently, first introducing chickens and then ducks. Both of which were fine, as far as Jeanna was concerned. She found the clucking of the chickens “humorous.” And said: “The ducks sound like Lucille Ball mid-cackle, and after all, who doesn’t love Lucy?” Then, along came Foghorn Leghorn, a rooster with an over-abundance of “roostosterone.” Again, Jeanna: “It crows all day. It crows at 4 a.m. It crows at 11 p.m. Basically, all the time, anytime.” Jeanna tried contacting the owners of Foghorn Leghorn, to no avail. She’s contacted the county commissioners’ office, county planning and zoning, code enforcement and the sheriff. She thinks the rooster constitutes a “nuisance,” as defined by Idaho code. Last week, county commissioners showed an interest in her plight. But nothing has been done so far. Rooster and dumplings, anyone?/ DFO , Sunday Huckleberries. More here.