This is a sketch of some people at the Taranaki Poultry and Pigeon Club Annual Show. In some ways this feels like the edge of urban sketching since it's a bit farm-related. Still, there are two things make me think that it still qualifies.
Firstly, it is held in a town hall and this is a reminder that all centres in the province of Taranaki are still dependent on farming (in different percentages) to keep the economies running smoothly. And secondly, I've heard that New Zealand has a rule where no birds or eggs are allowed into the country to prevent an exposure to bird flu - so the varieties and breeds that are here need to be well managed. It's also (maybe as a result) starting to be more and more common for someone to keep some chickens on suburban properties. I'm mentioning this since in quite a few places in the urban world, keeping animals like this is probably illegal.
Jackie even purchased a couple that were for sale to add to her existing coop. As a buyer, she had quite a selection to choose from. There were all types of chickens and pigeons with a few ducks as well.
It makes sense to integrate the rural into the cities since they maybe aren't that separate anyway.
Last year (March 2012), on our old website (that is lost in cyberspace), I wrote a Part 1:"We decided to meet at the edge of the city where suburbia blends into rural. It was a great day and a quiet and pleasant place to sketch.
My parents have a old picture of a very tiny me in their backyard and on the other side of the fence is a cow. I've never remembered the farm behind us. I've always known it to be a sea of suburban houses that has always been there. As I was sketching this scene, I wondered how many more years that it would be until this area is subdivided and paved."
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