Saturday, February 5, 2011

First Egg of the Season and Winter Greens...and the Wisdom of Our Older Friends...

Yippeee!!  I brought feed to the chickens this morning, and lo and behold..the First Egg of the Season!  They are old enough now, that I know I will not get enough through the spring and summer to cook with but there will be enough to eat for breakfasts...

                                                              
I wish I had a bowl that showed the correct color, or contrast.   It is a very pale green.  The two hens I lost this winter had blue eggs, and they were tiny.  Bantam sized (In case some one out there doesn't know what a Bantam is, it is a mini chicken, and they lay very small eggs but they are very prolific.  The yokes take up almost all of the shell and they are a deep orange.  When you use them you use 2 eggs to equal one.  My two were "home grown"..a mix of Bantam and Aracauna ....the ones that lay colored eggs...hence the small blue eggs.)

The egg in the picture is slightly smaller than a large egg (from the store).   Aracaunas are my favorite birds.  The eggs are slightly smaller then the usually brown or white egg layers, but they have a deeper color yoke and the hens lay well into the fall and are the first to start laying in the winter.  (most other breeds start laying in the spring, after a winter rest.)  They also keep laying well into old age, when other breeds have stopped.  I am so happy!

I always keep a glass of parsley on the counter.  Some time ago, I was sitting in a chiropractor's office when an older woman in her 80's came in and started talking to me. (we were talking about health) She said she always kept a glass of fresh parsley on the counter, and she put it in everything, and often would just walk by and pick a piece to eat as she went through the kitchen.  She was so strong, and sweet, and still very active, and even still driving herself.  I bought some parsley on the way home that day, and have kept a glass on the counter ever since. It brightens the day when it is gray, or white out, or stark and bare...it is a piece of spring in a glass...  I'd like to say that I grew it myself because what you find in the store in the winter leaves a lot to be desired, but alas..my sweet Sugar likes to eat plants..and from what I read, parsley is not good for cats...who knew?!  So I have to wait for spring, at least while we are here, to plant it outside...

Another gray day..no sun...but we didn't get the snow/sleet/rain mix we were supposed to get, although we will probably get some rain later on...maybe this is the beginning of the end of winter, because the pattern, seems to be changing...

See, you later,

Janie

4 comments:

  1. Who knew parsley is bad for cats????

    The color of the egg looks so lovely!

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  2. The color of the egg is visible and very nice. And, I think the parsely is actually quite attractive to have around.

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  3. I Love the Aracaunas..the eggs come in blues (various shades) and greens including khaki. And some that are almost pink. The eggs are said to be healthier..I don't know if that's true but they are gentle birds, and very winter hardy, laying later into the season, and starting up again, earlier in the late winter then others.

    Isn't parsley nice? I am not sure if that's true about parsley and cats.. I have read conflicting things. I would think it would be good for them, but cats (I am told by several people including natural health Dr and a homeopathic vet!) are very different (physiologically) then other living things...I do know that after one of ours ate what I had in a pot, down to the stems, she was sick for 4 days. But who knows..maybe she ate something else too.

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  4. I am thinking of starting a coop at this old house this spring! I love the pale green blue eggs, and have been told it's the Aracauna (sp?) that lays them. I plan to add two to the roost for this purpose.

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