Blast from the Past

The Columbia, MD subreddit continues to be a refreshingly drama free source of local information and lore. Consider the following:

What’s something about old school Columbia that newer residents never experience?

There used to be a peacock farm visible from 175.

Where was it?

The farm house was about where the hotel (was a Hilton, now Double Tree?) and the barn was about where the funeral home was. Back along Twin Knolls.

The hill was great for sledding before it became a bunch of businesses and peacocks wandered a bit.

- - Where the Walgreens is.

A peacock farm? I live right down the street from the site of a former peacock farm and no one ever told me?

A quick Google search didn’t turn up any record of this place, but, I’m not done looking yet. In the meantime, I did discover two HoCoLocal places that raise peacocks.

Breezy Hill Alpaca Farm, Woodbine

Clark’s Elioak Farm, Ellicott City

Neither of these businesses has photos of peacocks on their websites. Phooey. It seems rather ridiculous to write about the male of the peafowl species without letting you look at one. After all, in general the fuss is all about the feathers. At least, to me it is. I remember being fascinated in my childhood by the peacocks who roamed free at the Cleveland Zoo. I don’t know if they do that anymore.

Well, here’s Oliver. He lives at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. That’s apparently as close as we’re going to get this morning.

It turns out that farmers raise peafowl for a variety of reasons apart from the male’s decorative plumage. You can indeed eat their meat and their eggs. Plus, peafowl are prodigious foragers which helps with pest control.

Do you remember the peacock farm in Columbia? Or, have you visited with any other local peacocks? Let me know.

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