Rita's First, and other Joys

Rita's very first, very tiny egg was such a treasure that I had to preserve it for posterity somehow. How better than a photo! They're both hers--but what a dramatic change in size over the course of a week. I snapped lots of pix, then I retreated into the kitchen and forced myself to sacrifice such cuteness for a meal.  How mundane though incredibly delicious.

Only later as I was adding the eggshells to the compost pile did I realize that if I'd blown out the contents, I could have had my egg and eaten it too! Ack!  I'll be kicking myself for quite some time over that mistake.  Can you imagine how sweet it would have been to have a little Spring nest with four miniature hens' eggs as a centerpiece?


No bird is more intent than a hen waiting for a treat.  She's not eagle-eyed..more like chicken-eyed? or hen-eyed?  Definitely not cock-eyed (chicken humor, I couldn't resist, sorry).

There are few things more satisfying being greeted by four eager beaks on a gorgeous summer morning.

Unless it's opening up the nest box to find four rich brown eggs.

Their coop is actually that lovely blue (an intense robins-egg blue called Cape May) inside. And that would be a vintage pillowcase with pink roses softening their nest box. And I can usually tell you which hen laid which egg, which is pretty amazing considering that most people can't tell Norma Jean from Rita from Carole from Sophia.  Us chicken mamas  know how to keep our girls happy.

Maybe I'm keeping them too happy--jumbo doesn't even begin to describe the size of this latest egg.  It's ginormous!  (I took more photos later that showed how truly large this egg was but my camera "ate" the photos.  Who says an old camera can't learn a new trick?  I hope it unlearns quickly or I'll be in the market for a replacement.)

Could you hear us oohing and aahing?  The Queen Mother suggested that it might have a double yolk too.  That would be another first--but I'm in no hurry to find out.  I want to enjoy opening the fridge and being astonished at the talent of my Bombshells for awhile longer.

Smiling,