Monday, February 7, 2011

Eggs!

This is just a small digression so I can show you what I'm excited about this week:


Those are eggs and my chickens laid them. Aren't they beautiful?

If you didn't know, we keep chickens in our backyard. It started as kind of an experiment several years ago, and now the hens are as much pets as they are egg-providers. (We only eat the eggs, as they--unlike the chickens--do not have names.)

Keeping chickens isn't cheaper than buying grocery store eggs, but it's a lot more entertaining. And the to-your-plate distance doesn't get much shorter than your own backyard.

But the real beauty of these eggs is the meaning they carry: longer days, MORE SUN. Chickens only lay eggs when they're happy and healthy enough, their egg cycle governed by the amount of light in their day. Instead of supplementing with artificial light so they lay year-round, we give our ladies the dark months off. So when the first eggs start appearing in the coop, I get really excited. In part because no grocery store egg can compare to these gems, and in part because I LOVE THE SUN.

This post is dedicated to the birds: Annie, Speedy, Aiysha, Lucky, Ruby, and Weenie.

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