My Day

Today was just beautiful. Not too hot, not too cold, just right. The dogs were playing outside in this nice weather. Callebaut found a water bottle to chew on and was having fun teasing the other dogs.


I did my normal Tuesday thing, that is, collected eggs for washing, packaging and delivery. Today was a record day for the whole process. Last week we ran out of our recycled/recyclable egg cartons so I couldn't package up all of the eggs. After sending out a call to my egg customers I was able to package up all that the girls could give me. I figured that this week was the most important egg week...and I had best get them out there. This is what 14 dozen eggs looks like.


Last spring Farmer Jeff and I made the decision to add more Ameraucanas to the flock. We love the green eggs they lay. Little did we know that we really ended up with Easter Egger hens until we started getting these delightful little blue eggs!!!


My little hen that I hand feed (scissor beak issue) is an Easter Egger Ameraucana. I have such a soft spot for her. More will be revealed...
Once I had all of the eggs packed, then I had to label and date them, then pack them up for delivery. Oh, and prepare the invoice. I am happy to do all of this in order to share our eggs. You will never get rich selling eggs. If lucky, you will make back your money...maybe...



After I did Egg Duty, I started on laundry. I was lucky to have an assistant. Well, maybe not an assistant, rather a supervisor. She decided that she needed to keep the already warm clothes in the basket. That is in her job description, or so she told me.




Everything before 4 pm was satisfying and made me happy and content. Since then...and I mean for the last 7 hours, I have been working on my laptop, trying to figure out why I could not send my emails. Yawn...Farmer Jeff brought me dinner, which I ate at the computer while "chatting" with 2 different folks. I would guess with names like Namrit and ...that they are in India. I made sure that I didn't use slang and even threw in a few of my "Englishisms"for fun. Both of the techs have been very nice and very thorough, but after 7 plus hours, I am ready for bed!!!

I have faith that this problem will all be worked out. If not...I won't rule out using it as a very expensive frisbee!!! (just kidding but so very tempted!!!)

Amazing Little Eggs!

Some of the girls have just started laying and we can't believe just how amazingly TINY they are!!! The little green egg in the center is literally the size of a large olive! One of the eggs is pale blue and must be from one of our Ameraucana Easter Eggers. We think that our tiny little girl, Sarah, the bantam Olde English Game Bird, is laying the little pale brown/ivory egg and we are assuming that the long, light brown eggs is from Bully, the bantam Brahma.

It would really help if we could actually WATCH them laying the eggs, or check the nesting boxes right after they have laid the eggs. Why can't we? Well...the girls yell at us. They want their privacy. If we stand there...oh, heavens, they SCOLD us!!! They are too funny. They do like the nesting boxes and are finally getting accustomed to the remodel.

The only hold out is Josephine, the little spit-fire bantam hen that is Napoleon's special girl. She insists upon sitting on the edge of the door leading outside. I have to physically go and lift her out of the door way so I can lock up at night. I think she is really just sitting there trying to figure out how to better landscape the enclosure!

Pleased as Punch!

The Ameraucana chickens have been featured quite prominently in my blog lately. I guess we are pretty enamored with them. Not only are they physically beautiful and have quirky personalities, they lay GORGEOUS pale green eggs.

We have been waiting, not very patiently, for the our Ameraucana hens to "come of age", i.e. start laying eggs. Just in the last 3 days have we gotten our precious colored eggs. I am especially pleased, okay, not just pleased but really over the moon, that one of the hens is laying a BLUE egg. They are the two smaller ones on the left and possibly the one on the upper right. I will admit, it is a VERY close call and hard to definitively say they are blue rather than green. In any case, we are TICKLED that the girls have started laying. If ONLY Duke HAD been Duchess and Sophocles had REALLY been Sophia, we would be showing off more green eggs. Such is life, yes?

On a completely different subject, Farmer Chef Jeff and I, along with a talented staff, successfully pulled off a Hawaiian-themed Christmas party Friday night, complete with saxophone accompaniment. That part was a bit surreal. Anyway, the party was a wild success. The only thing left over from the party were these beautiful flowers. Farmer Chef Jeff and I will be taking it easy today and tomorrow, only doing simple things like raking all of the leaves off the roof and cleaning the rain gutters!