She may be small in size

Meet Sarah.

She is super sweet and loves to be held.

Shes also the first of my 16 hens to have laid an egg.

She laid it right there. Can you see it? In the far right nest box. Even before I had the chance to add pine shavings to the boxes.

I got the girls on March 26th and Sarah laid on July 19th. She would have been 16 weeks and 3 days old at the time. That delightful little egg weighed in at 1.375 ounces. Not bad for her very first one.

The great thing was, that aside from being totally ecstatic that I had gotten my very first egg ever in my life from my very own chickens....was that she laid it 4 days before I was due to head out of town for 17 days. Thats right. I was going to be gone for 17 whole days. I was so worried that I was going to miss the very first egg being laid that I took all the girls aside and had a little talk with them. I told them how happy I would be if they decided to lay before I left....and then that sweet Sarah...she just got to work. 

Sarah is a gold sex link and she also happens to be the smallest of all my 16 hens.

Which is how she manages to show up in there.

There is where she should not be.

But as you can see, she is oblivious to that fact.

She should be contained like the goats.

And the little guy.

And yes. Like the other chickens.

But no...she thinks she just has run of the farm.

Look at Niko giving her the stink eye because hes inside the fence and she is not.

Im pretty sure she thinks that since she laid the very first egg that she can do whatever she likes. Well, I think not. 

But it totally could be because she loves me and likes to be next to me...even if that means right at my feet.

Now that was a long walk.....

So, after the inquiries and comments of many wonderful friends and family...Im beginning to think that maybe some of you think that I got lost on that walk I took way back in June with Prize and Allie.

I could totally see how one could think that since it HAS been 4 months since then.

Well, after I returned Allie and Prize back to the pasture we decided to go to the coast.

Okay, fine. Not right then that minute. But, we did really go this summer. And it was amazing.

I mean, take a look at this awesome fort we found on the beach.

Thats just one of many, many things that took place during the summer.

And now... its Fall. Can you even believe it? Honest. Look. We all know that mums are a sure sign that Fall has arrived.

And if thats not enough proof, well, look at these pansies. Another Fall flower to be sure.

As you can see, Allie

and Prize fared very well on their walk. The two of them have settled in very nicely here on the farm.

Niko and Kip are still mamas boys.

The goat boys are beginning to get their winter coats. I love this because it makes them look all fuzzy and chubby.

And Dolly still loves her hay bits.

She has even begun to share them. Even if its only Finley that she will allow to eat from her pile.

My ma is in town.

And she adores the chickens.

All the girls are doing really well.

Were getting about 14 eggs per day so I cant complain.

Oh, and guess what? I also got pretty new blinds for my bay window. After being here for about a year and a half and having the sun beat down on us in the living room...it was probably about time dont you think?

And see? Things havent changed too much around here.

I still have post it notes all around the house. They are a necessity, you know? Especially when you forget how to work the blinds.

I heart eggs

A few weeks ago I posted that my egg share had in fact been canceled. Sigh. This still sads me. I love my fresh eggs. Once you have them it is hard to go back to those watery, yellowy, store bought eggs. I am still in search of a new source for fresh eggs that I will be able to get on a regular basis.

However, there was a big smile on my face when I saw Mim this week and she handed me this.


And in it were these. 3 dozen of these! 3! 3 dozen I say! I was totally excited to hear that news and to see all 36 of them peeking up at me.



I had to take one out and hold it. Everybody does this, right? Holds their eggs and tells them how pretty they are and how much they love them. Cmon. I know Im not the only one.


Even tho they werent my eggs from the beginning. I mean, they didnt come from my chickens. I dont have any chickens....yet. I still could not resist weighing each and every one of those amazing eggs.


Among those 36 eggs, I discovered that the the majority were coming in at 1 5/8 ounces. (Or 1.625 ounces for those that prefer the decimal system.) There were a few that were 1 1/4 ounces and a few that were 1 3/4 ounces. Heres the littlest and the biggest.


But thats not all. Since we were finally able to see each other it was the perfect opportunity to exchange gifts from the holiday season. It delighted me to open my gift bag to see some chai tea(chocolate, no less), some yummy tea bags, and a very pretty bookmark. I love to read, and there are times when I actually have a few books going at once...so this is a perfect thing for me.


And then there was this.


Yep, you guessed it. A cutting board. A bamboo cutting board to be exact. I cant wait to try it out.

Okay, well, I kinda tried it out.


Thanks for the eggs, Mim. And the great gifts! As you can see, I love them all!

Sad times

Sigh.

I was delivered some sad news today. The local farmer that we have gotten our egg share from for the last few years has had to discontinue his egg deliveries. Hard times seem to have fallen in some shape or form on just about everyone these days. This particular situation stems from the increase in fuel prices, increase in the cost of egg production, and the significant decrease in the egg yield right now.

Needless to say, this sads me. I love my farm fresh, free range eggs. I love that I was getting them from somebody semi-locally. I love that I was able to see and talk to our farmer when I was at the market every Saturday. I love knowing that the chickens were being well cared for and that they got to free range pret' near all day long.

They wont be closing the doors of their farm all together. However, I can only imagine how hard it was for them to make such a huge decision. A large portion of their time was committed to the chickens and making sure they were happy and healthy.

So, to help lighten the mood after hearing some sad news, I decided to cook eggs for dinner. Breakfast for dinner always seems to make things a little festive. A little more laid back, carefree.

Here are 2 of my eggs getting ready to be whisked together to make some waffles.



Heres my waffle batter.


Here are 2 pears sitting behind the waffle batter.


Heres a waffle.


Here are 2 more of my eggs being fried up in my cast iron skillet for the kids.


Sigh. I love my eggs.

Egg enlightenment Episode 2

So, I have finally found it. The egg I have been looking for all my life. Okay, so I haven't actually eaten one yet, but I will. Soon. This Wednesday, in fact.

I hunted and hunted and found this farm. Which happens to be about 50 miles from home. And they come to my town every Wednesday to make fresh egg deliveries. So, this week will be my first batch! I am so excited. I had heard of the farm before because they are at our market every year and they have the hugest tables filled with totally delicious stuff. I just never dug deep enuf to know that they sold eggs, too.

I will let you know more after I taste one. Many people have said to me that they are going to taste a lot different then what I think an egg tastes like. Do you think so? Are real farm fresh eggs that much different in taste? Tell me what you think.

Egg enlightenment

I am searching for eggs.

I am really having trouble with this one.

Cage free, free range, free roaming, organic...anyone have any more to add to the list?

From what I can see so far there is really no universal labelling program in place for this mess. Cage free sounds good, but all the hens are still just jammed all together. Just not in a cage, so to speak. Free range and Free roaming I think are one in the same. I may be mistaken tho. They have the ability to roam freely, but can still be fed not so good things to eat. So, that leaves us with organic. Is it really better in this case? Are they still all shoved in pen somewhere laying eggs like crazy, but getting good food to eat?

Can anyone enlighten me on this?