Wednesday, February 24, 2010

For the love of chickens


Remember my little chicklings, so fluffy and charming last spring?

 

My, how they've grown!



They're big, beautiful hens now, and laying lovely organic eggs, with bright yellow yolks perfect for simple feasts at the old oak table. 

Sipping cocoa and eating bread warm from the oven and fluffy omelets with friends...
We're making sweet memories.


The chickens give us more than eggs, though. They have us laughing at ourselves, looking ridiculous as we chase them out away from the tulips and out of the vegetable garden (which, by the way, they ruined last year with their endless hunt-and-peck scratching games!)

Nobody warns you how silly those hens look with their funny petticoats pointed skyward and their heads tipping to one side and the other to eyeball a slug or a juicy weed. They keep us amused.
 

They have been playing hide-and-seek, laying in odd spots in the garden. We're having fun exploring the yard in the chilly morning air, returning with a basket full of bounty.

Life is rich with simplicity here.

"You, my dear," someone told me yesterday with a laugh, "You live under a golden star!"

And I think she was right. I am very blessed. Even the chickens bring joy.