It's not about the eggs.

Meet our lovely ladies, Lucille, Ruby, and Becky. James named them after women in Kenny Rogers songs. We inherited them from our neighbors, who were tired of cleaning up chicken poop. And after having them just a couple weeks, I can see what they mean. I had no idea how much chickens poop. And the neighbors let them out of their small enclosure a few times a week to run free all over the back yard, which meant poop was everywhere. So when we got them I made sure that their enclosure was big enough for them to scratch, dust bathe, and exercise so we wouldn't have to let them out of it. Ever. And I have dedicated one pair of shoes to be my "chicken shoes," and they don't go past the back door. 

I'd been wanting to get chickens for a while now, but the start-up costs and planning and decisions were a little prohibitive. Where would we raise chicks? Buy a coop or build one? What design? How much is this all going to cost? And in one fell swoop, all of those decisions were made. The neighbor wouldn't let us pay him for anything, including almost-full bags of bedding and food pellets, heat lamps, and a watering container we can plug in in the winter so it doesn't freeze. The coop is made of crumbling particle board and will need to be upgraded/replaced soon, but it works for now. 

We get two eggs a day, one greenish white (from Lucille) and one brown. I'm not sure if only one red hen is laying or if they're alternating. Becky has an injured foot, which made me think maybe she wasn't laying, but she seems healthy otherwise. Her comb and wattle are bright and firm, which the internet says is a sign of good health. They're all eating and scratching and getting around fine. 

And they love us. Ruby (I think she's the alpha) used to peck the neighbor's feet whenever he entered their enclosure, but we've never been pecked. Well, I did get pecked on the hand the first day we got them, but I guess that was enough to put me in my place. They get all excited when we go into the back yard, following our movements and clustering where they are in the photos. I don't think they got food scraps very often before, and they never got "scratch," or the mix of wheat and corn and millet that they love. They also needed some calcium supplementation (oyster shells) to improve their eggshells. I feel like we've improved their quality of care, and they seem to like being here. 

So now I'm trying to figure out why I love having them so much, what need they fill. Because like the title of this post says, it's not about the eggs. My friend's 9-year-old daughter gets all wistful when she talks about how we get "fresh eehggs," which always makes me think of this video, which still makes me laugh since the first time I saw it (thanks, Suz). The eggs are great, don't get me wrong. But I can get really good eggs at the store for not too much money. And honestly, I don't eat eggs that often (though I plan to eat more now). But it still makes me very, very happy to see them out in our yard. 

They're not pets, and I don't pet or touch them or try to feed them out of my hand. I love that I can feed them my yellow lettuce that would otherwise go in the trash, but it's more than a practical thing. I feel silly saying that it's more of a spiritual thing, because it's not like I'm learning life lessons or anything. 

But it's more like I feel more connected to life. More real somehow. When I was applying for the job I knew that the trade off if I got it was that I would have to keep things at home pretty simple. Surface cleaning. Surface meal planning. Surface gardening. All so I could be more than a surface wife and mother. Yes, James would take a larger role in all of those things, so it's not like they'd be neglected, but my participation would be surface-level. When I didn't get the job, I asked God, "now what?" And the impression I got was "deeper roots at home." 

I can't quite explain how, but the hens are part of those deeper roots. I'm working only three days a week so I can stretch those roots. Deeper cleaning. More cooking (still working on that, but I did make three kinds of fruit leather last week). Garden planning and preparation. Eventually I'll get to sewing and lotion making and family history and piano. 

But for now I have hens, and that's enough.

Garden Photos

Project for Saturday: build support for blackberries. It's hard to see with the chain link fence and weeds behind it, but it's really quite impressive. Our vines are still small, but I have great hopes for next year.

Project #2 for Saturday: Try to kill this tree. Again. This is one of those weed trees, and it has made itself one with the fence, so it's not so easy to remove. James cut it back a the beginning of the summer, and it's just as bushy now. We bored holes and filled them with epsom salts, but the tree has survived. More on this later.

Our happy trio of garden boxes. James made these in the spring and figured out how to get water to them.

Beans! Our most successful crop so far. I planted whole packets of carrot and beet seeds, but the response has been spotty. Very disappointed in the beets, and the carrots are almost spicy. Weird.

Tomatoes, and more unsuccessful carrots. I swear they've been that same size for a month. Our tomatoes are Hillbilly and Early Girl. They've been tasty.

Our one tiny melon! We'd given up hope on that vine when this little globe suddenly appeared. I took this photo Saturday, and when I checked today there were three more little globes. We can't remember what variety they are--our neighbor gave us the packet of seeds.

Our pumpkin vines have gone nuts. Here's the smallest of the three.

And the biggest, though it's hard to tell. It's a lot more orange today. There's a third, medium-sized pumpkin hiding to the left of the big'un.

The back lot (I'm standing in the garden). Not sure yet what's going to happen here, but we might put a peach tree in the sunnier half.

Another view of the same plot.

James has made considerable progress on the nasty tree, and Atticus decides to help.

If all else fails, bang on it.

We should have taken some of the wood-splitting wedges Dad offered us...

Today's garden haul. Did I mention this is our second crop of green beans? We've had a lot of rain lately, so they've been producing like mad. I might have to pickle some this weekend.

Atticus's portrait of me de-meating a crock-pot roasted chicken for dinner.
I guess it's only fair to include a picture of myself here.

Work Worth Doing

So I've had this scripture rolling around in my head for a while: "Do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy" (2 Nephi 9:51). What is of worth, and what will satisfy? Where will my time and efforts be best spent?

I'm still figuring it all out, as I believe the answer changes depending on your circumstances and stage of life, but last weekend was very satisfying. A friend in the neighborhood offered us the cherries from her sour cherry tree, so we spend a couple hours picking a cooler full. I then spent the bulk of the day processing them: most went into cherry pie filling, and the rest were dried or frozen.

The work was long and tedious, but ultimately very satisfying in a way that's hard to describe without being trite. It felt real, and practical, and worthwhile. My family would not have starved or suffered if we had not done these things, but I like knowing how to do these things, how to be resourceful and self-sufficient.

Plus it was physical work. I spend so much of my time at a desk in what is a very mental work. Physical labor like gardening and yard work and pitting 20 lbs of cherries is a refreshing change from that. If my work were primarily physical, would I crave mental labors? Probably.

I feel very blessed that I have both options. Balance and variety makes for a happy Heidi.

Garden! Yeah, so it doesn't look like much NOW...

 Petit gris melons, Mortgage Lifter tomatoes, and Amish Paste tomatoes

 Atticus gave me a variety of flowers to plant for Mothers' Day.

 Garden boxes (and seriously pruned roses): front box has strawberries, nasturtiums (another gift from Atticus/preschool), arugula, and spinach. Back box is all bush beans.

 Basil and more flowers; parsley

Cilantro and flowers; thyme and flowers. I think the orange ones are my favorite of the bunch.

Fantasy Garden

Isn't this beautiful?? The fence, the neat beds, the fruit trees, the woods beyond. There has to be a stream in those woods, right? Read more about it here.