chickens and kids

We still have chickens and we still have kids.

L-R:Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red, Partridge Rock, Ameraucana. All tasty. Seriously. The color and taste of these eggs is incomparable. Our backyard has some great forage. Oh yeah, they pretty much roam the yard all day long now. Its actually pretty fun to run around the yard with them. Unfortunately my favorite hen seems to have fallen to the bottom of the pecking order.

They sit like this sometimes.

One of Evangeline's favorite things to do is to press on her sister in order for her to be able to get around. I think Irene gets what is going on here with the whole abdomen pressing.

They didn't have any milk left, but I finally got up the courage to try the sour cream. It is good. If only the fascist government would allow them to sell it to people for their food. Seriously, how does it make any sense to just completely outlaw raw milk, so that I have to buy this stuff with the apparent intention that I am going to feed sour cream and ice cream to my dogs? They don't get to monitor it at all, but yet it still gets sold. Anyways, there is something exciting about eating sour cream that has a label like this on it.

Weirdness

Here are some videos of:
1. Evangeline being weird.
And then:
2 & 3. Me trying to get Evangeline to bounce and/or give Irene a hug and/or kiss.

And, today is Evangeline's baptismal birthdate. Happy baptism, girl! (we sort of observed her baptism on Sunday, which is the observance of The Baptism Of Our Lord, which was the day she actually got baptized, but we're not sure weather to celebrate that Sunday or the actual date. etc.)

d, 

More Eggs

These chickens must have read the same books that I did that talk about how they are supposed to lay eggs.

The Ameraucauna hen lays blue eggs.

I ate the other egg this morning and it was like nothing I'd ever eaten before, in a good way. I think this brown egg is from her again. The other two have some catching up to do.

Swingset

Evangeline took a turn on her "swingset" between church and lunch. I just noticed she's got a lot of pattern going here.

At Long Last... An Egg

If you have spoken to me very much in the last two years, you will know that I have been mildly obsessed with chickens. I am pleased to inform all who have been subject to my boring discussions, that we have an egg. I repeat, we finally have an egg. Today, at 3:32pm, a partridge rock hen laid a large, light brown egg in a nest box. It was exactly as it has been said to be in the books. I must admit, I did not think this was actually possible. But here it is. A genuine 1st article gift. Worms, slugs, grass, and grain go in, and this comes out.

There are so many people whose influence I should acknowledge for this remarkable achievement. Obviously I need to thank Concordia Seminary and the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod for making me think that raising chickens is a good Christian thing to do. Also, Pam Mietzner is at fault in the laying of this egg, as she gave me the Encyclopedia of Country Living for Christmas in 2008, as well as Q for making me read something in the Omnivore's Dilemma a few years back. After this, I was into goats for a while, but Fr. HR Curtis mentioned that chickens are easier. It was then at Rob and Q's that I first set my eyes upon the magnificent creatures that we know as gallus gallus domesticus.

Now we just have to figure out what to do with it.

Happ-Epiphany

 We made it to the Epiphany service tonight. We almost didn't due to Evangeline's cold, and a struggle-y day. We were glad we went and Evangeline managed to perk up a bit in time for Ms. Graeber's King Cake.

She did a few test-runs with this and we all
ended up with a delicious cream cheese filled
King Cake for Epiphany. Thanks Sharon!

Cold? What cold?

Shirley kept the baby throughout church and
the celebration after. She also got the baby in
her cake. See this space for Shirley's cake
creation next year.

Beehive

Today we went out to our local Quaker college and saw an art installation. While others might puzzle over it, Evangeline got it without hesitation, and buzzed around happily for some time.

 Irene's been smiling and talking a lot. We tried to capture it:

And Evangeline helped me make minestrone.