We had guinea hens when I was a child on the farm. They were so funny-looking and did such silly things as lay eggs when they were roosting in a tree. Back on the ground the hens would sometimes have a common nest with as many as 20 eggs, and they hid them well. As for maternal instinct, many times they simply abandoned the eggs and went off to find bugs or worms. The eggs made particularly good ammunition for bored children, and the older the eggs the better. I understand their meat is very tasty, but eating a guinea hen, I think, would be akin to eating a frog. And frogs aren’t in my diet.

Pearl was my rescued white guinea hen. A friend offered her to me. Her mates were bullying her and she needed a new home before she was picked naked. She got one with my hens who eyed her as an undesirable and left her alone. She was a force to be reckoned with. An extremely pushy gal she was. She looked like an antediluvian species of fowl, with a large white, puffy-speckled body and a tiny pointed head and red wattles. She didn’t cluck like a hen either, she made a high-pitched “peet-peet-peet!”.

At feeding time she’d be the first to burst out of the hen house to see if there were any leftover veggies, spaghetti or fruit. I liked to think I was special to her, but knew in my heart that I was merely a food source.

One day I arrived at feeding time and there wasn’t the usual wild rush and the frantic greeting of “peet-peet-peet.” Pearl had disappeared during the night. How she did it is a mystery, because her wing was clipped and aerodynamically it would have been impossible for her to fly. It would be like a plane flying with one and one-half wings. There were no sad piles of white feathers, no evidence of a break-in by any four-footed critters.

I’ve since learned that mature guinea fowl, if transplanted, will depart if left to their own devices. If they’re hatched in one place they’ll stay there. Also, if keets, (what baby guineas are called), are raised with baby chicks, they will learn to go into the hen house and roost there instead of looking for a perch in a tree or on top of a gate or fence.

In about another month a box will arrive at the Post Office emitting tiny peeps. The Post Office will call me and I’ll go pick up my peeps, bring them home, and begin to raise them in an old watering trough. There will be 6 Delaware Whites, 6 Blue Copper Marans, 7 Araucanas and 6 Barred Rocks. And as the icing on the cake, 4 white keets!

The Chester River Yacht & Country Club was the setting for the Benchworks Employee Appreciation event on Thursday, March 1. The reception was held to honor two employees, Andrea Terry and Melissa Johnston, for their service and accomplishments.

Andrea Terry

Andrea Terry, Vice President, celebrated her 10-year anniversary with Benchworks. She has been instrumental in the company’s growth from a boutique advertising specialty company to the full-service marketing firm it is today. Andrea uses her strong communication, organizational and interpersonal skills to manage and develop key Benchworks client accounts. Prior to joining Benchworks, Andrea gained extensive marketing and account management experience in the professional services, healthcare and online product industries.

Melissa Johnston, Senior Vice President, was recognized for her years of service, and was honored as the Benchworks MVP for 2011. She started her career with Benchworks in 2005 and quickly became a valued member of the company’s management team. Today, Melissa manages Benchworks’ pharmaceutical marketing practice. In addition, her duties include implementing business procedures and controls, managing financial and balance sheet matters, helping to administer Benchworks’ go-to-market plan, and managing Benchworks’ project management staff.

Melissa Johnston

Commenting on the occasion, Benchworks president Thad Bench said, “We are very fortunate to have Andrea and Melissa on the Benchworks team. Both of these professionals give extraordinary amounts of time and effort to ensure that we deliver excellent solutions and service to our clients. Recent client wins and product line extensions are directly related to their hard work and dedication.” Bench continued, saying, “I am proud to call Andrea and Melissa my colleagues as well as my friends.”

Benchworks, a comprehensive marketing services firm headquartered in Chestertown, Maryland, was founded in 1991 and recently celebrated 20 years in business. The company specializes in the design, production, and launch of complete marketing and branding services. Clients include a wide variety of companies in the pharmaceutical, beverage, automotive, manufacturing, marine, tourism and education industries in the mid-Atlantic region.

For more information, visit www.benchworks.com, or call 410-810-8862.

Hundreds of realtors and homeowners weathered a Maryland rainstorm on February 29 to turnout for the SaveMdMID.org Rally on Lawyers’ Mall in Annapolis, immediately in front of the State House. In a sea of umbrellas in a soaking rain, they expressed their opposition to the proposed reduction in Mortgage Interest and property tax deductions in the Budget Bill currently before the General Assembly. Maryland is the first state in the U.S. to consider reducing the mortgage interest and property tax deductions.

More than 20 Realtors from the Bay Area Association of REALTORS(R) attended the Rally to voice their opposition and protect the deductions for property owners in Kent,

BAAR Realtors(R) pictured above include (left to right): Donna Owens, BAAR President Dick Sells, BAAR Association Executive Fran Long, Bill Ruckelshaus, Sue Hitt and Paula Ruckelshaus.

Queen Anne’s and Caroline Counties.