As if writing the ebooks: Do the Funky Kitchen and What to Do With the Chicken in Your Kitchen just weren’t enough for me.
This week I actually had a chicken encounter…and well…it was…funky.
Tuesday afternoon I received a phone call from a friend who has….chickens. (Bet not everyone out there can boast that they have a friend with chickens.) (BTW, say “friend with chickens” five times fast.)
Anyway, my friend with chickens was out of town and wasn’t going to be back home in time to gather the eggs for the night…and “would I mind going over and gathering the eggs?”
I got a few instructions…and said, “Sure. How hard can it be?”
My big boys were all with their Daddy, so I loaded up Malachi, and the 13 month old that I babysit for and away we went to go gather eggs.
Both little boys LOVED seeing the chickens (yes, there were A LOT of them)!
Malachi and the baby were fascinated!!
So was I…because I think farm animals are awesome…and I also really like watching these happy, free ranging birds…who provide me with wonderful, healthy eggs. (Yeah, I’m a nerd like that.) They’re just so cool!
After watching the chickens for a while we decided to go in search for the eggs. There didn’t seem to be any easy way in…and I had not asked my friend exactly where the chickens laid their eggs.
But, if you look in the pictures I took, you’ll see two ways into the chicken coop. One is the door…which of course you can’t get to without going into the fenced area where the chickens are.
The second is the tiny little opening that you see in the picture above with Malachi. See on the very left where that chicken is coming out of the coop?
Yeah…I opted for the other door.
(Keep in mind, that I’m holding a 25 lb. baby…a camera, three egg cartons, and Malachi’s hand.)
We made our way into the fenced area with the chickens…went in through the door and into the coop. There were no eggs in there. Hmm…
We went back out…and I’m thinking to myself, “WHERE would they have layed their eggs? I KNOW chickens usually lay their eggs where they roost, right? They don’t just randomly lay eggs out all over their yard and in the hay. They are not Easter Bunnies.”
And yet, I didn’t know where else to look…so we walked all around the inside of the fence looking for hidden eggs. (and don’t think I didn’t feel silly…because…I did.)
There were no eggs.
I even went so far as to talk to the chickens. I thought perhaps one of them would take pity on me and walk me to her prize of the day.
Either they didn’t quite understand what I was asking…or they were just enjoying watching the crazy lady who couldn’t find their eggs. Regardless, they didn’t give me any helpful information. (But I bet they had a big chuckle over me after I left.)
The baby I was holding now weighed 50 lbs and Malachi was getting a little freaked out being followed around by so many clucking creatures…
So, I went and put the boys into the van and gave them some toys…
And went back free handed to see if there was a door I was missing somewhere.
A-HA! A hidden door! And I heard bawking on the other side of it. So, I opened the door…and it led me to….another door.
And that door opened to the “secret room” that I had been looking for! And there…along with bunches of chickens…were two and a half dozen eggs!! Warm and just waiting for me to collect!
The chickens and I exchanged a few more pleasantries…because now that I knew where the hidden eggs were, I wanted to be sure and let the chickens know how much I appreciate their hard work and how much my family enjoys their delicious eggs. (Really, one mustn’t take the work of a chicken for granted.)
You won’t tell anyone will you…that I actually talked to the chickens?
(You know, don’t you, that YOU would have too?!)
Filed under: 
