Photo Essay: Breaking Out

On the evening of March 21, we put 25 eggs from our chickens

into an incubator.

After 21 days of 100 degree warmth, 45%-55% humidity, and constant, slo-o-o-o-w rocking back and forth,

the hatching began.

This was the first little guy to break out of his shell. It was hard work! Over the next 36 hours, 15 more babies made it into the world. They spent their first 8 hours or so in the incubator, resting, drying, and getting steady on their legs. Then they were moved to our brooder, which is really only a big cardboard box with a heat lamp. There they finished drying and began drinking water, eating chick feed, and making that sweet peeping sound. I love to just watch them, so fluffy and cute.

From shells, yolks, and whites to these fluffy chicks in 21 days. Nothing short of a miracle, I'd say.

Mothering Magic

At church today, our pastor remarked that this holiday should be called "Mothering Day" because not every woman is a mother in the literal sense, but most of us females find ourselves mothering creatures of one kind or another. Whether they have two legs or four, whether they're covered with hair, fur, feathers or scales, we girls just can't help nurturing little living things. And that is something to celebrate! Without all this mothering going on, our world would be a heartless place indeed.

The highlight of my Mothering Day was watching this little Bantam hen with her new chicks. It was mothering at its finest!

Here's hoping you've had a Mothering Day that made you smile!

The Wonder Egg

I've written here about eggs before. You'd think there wouldn't be a whole lot more to say. After all, an egg's an egg, right? But I'm telling you, when Robin brings in the day's eggs, you never know what you'll find when you open that carton.

Most of the time the eggs are relatively normal, meaning they're fairly clean, average in size, and the usual colors of brown, light blue, or light green. Sometimes there are surprises that involve mud, straw, dried egg yolk, and poop, either alone or in combination, making the daily task of egg washing not so pleasant. (I'll spare you the photo!) Today, though, we got another whopper.

The last one was blue. This one is pale brown. I didn't weigh it, but it's huge, much larger than all the others. It's just about too big for the carton.

And it's especially bigger than the egg right next to it, which is the smallest egg we've gotten yet!

Tiny as it is, it looks as if some discomfort was involved in its production.

It's not much bigger than a penny.

My wedding right makes a perfect display stand.

When you place it next to today's whopper, it's hard to believe they both came from the same kind of bird!

Their difference in size is so great that I can't get them both perfectly in focus at the same time.

It could be the chicken's very first egg, or its very last. I'm pretty sure there is no yolk inside. But on the outside, it's a tiny, perfect egg. I've put it on the kitchen windowsill to dry out.

It will be a sweet little addition to my Easter decorations.

Once again, we found a little bit of wonder in one of nature's simplest things. Life is good.