If Jerry Allegro could have lived in the little house on the prairie, he might have been perfectly content. But it’s 2012 in Dallas, so he is trying to make the best of it.

“We’re homebodies, really,” he said. “We don’t drink, we don’t smoke, we don’t do drugs…so we might as well have chickens.”

And a garden. And a green house. And a pottery studio…

Even though he has had a successful 28-year career as a real estate appraiser, owning his own company, Jerry Allegro and Associates, he is a farmer at heart.

His wife, Nancy, is his partner in agriculture and business. Growing up in Plano when it was still rural, it was her job to tend the chickens her parents bought from a mail order catalog. She tried to dissuade him from his poultry passion, but to no avail. Now, she just tries to keep a cap on the cackle.

“We could have up to 50… ” he began.

“… but we’re not!” she finished.

Allegro has lived in Forest Hills for 52 years and in his current house for the past 18. His father owned a grocery store at Columbia and Beacon. Like Nancy, Jerry had a chicken as a child. Each day, Allegro would enjoy an egg from his pet. One day he came home from school to find they were having chicken and dumplings for dinner. And that was the end of his daily egg.

Sympathetic to his trauma, Nancy gave him the materials for a chicken coop for his birthday a few years ago.

Today, they not only enjoy their fresh eggs, but sell them to neighbors and friends for just $2 a dozen. There is a waiting list and something resembling a co-op for the coop. Friends bring scraps or help pay for feed in exchange for some goodies.

They also will not serve chicken and dumplings, at least not from their flock.

“It’s an old folk’s home for chickens,” he announced.

Their garden is prolific as well. A pantry bulging with homemade jellies, tomato chow chow and other yummies is testament to their industry and passion.

Long-time friend and pottery mentor Michael Obranovich extols their talents and generosity.

“They gave me some of their broccoli last week, which was just amazing. Jerry even grows eggplants for me, even though he doesn’t eat them himself. If he had all the money in the world, he would still stay home and work in his garden…or with his chickens…or his studio…” said this co-founder of the White Rock Artists’ Tour.

“We’re trying to live off our property. We have our own eggs, we can as much as possible, we grow veggies in season. We had fruit trees before last year’s ice killed them. Between the dogs [they have several] and the chickens, we try not to waste anything,” she said. But unfortunately, he does not have all the money in the world. The Allegros' appraisal business was virtually wiped out overnight – collateral damage from the new banking regulations required by the Obama administration following the mortgage fiasco in 2009.

“I know East Dallas like the back of my hand, but now I’m not even considered for an assignment by the new middle men they have put between the appraisers and the lenders. I had a great reputation – still do. But it’s been hell for two and a half years,” he said. They are putting their financial life back together, still doing appraisals but relying mostly on foreclosure assessments. Ironically, those same foreclosures are fallout from the system that caused the Allegros to lose their client base.

And boy, do they have stories to tell! Jerry said he should write a book someday. There was the time, for example, when he arrived to do an appraisal and the homeowner followed him everywhere. Naked. Or, what about the time he found a marijuana garden in someone’s attic?

In addition to his other pursuits, Allegro nurtures a robust orchid collection in the green house. Evidence of his pottery puttering is everywhere, capturing a variety of plants from cactus to ferns.

Allegro’s hobby started with winning a neighborhood auction item and has become a pottery studio complete with a kiln, glaze machine and pottery wheel. “It’s cheaper than a therapist,” he reasoned. “I like pounding that clay. It’s quiet and peaceful. Our house is also one of the biggest draws on the White Rock Artists’ Tour.”

They also take great pride in their two daughters, both graduates of Ursuline. He told them a good education is the only thing he can give that no one can take away from them.

While some empty-nesters make big plans for travel or time in their second home, the Allegros’ tastes are simple. The constant haranguing from lawyers and bankers since 2009 has wearied them.

“We just want a peaceful life,” he said.