Eggs

Today's post is all about eggs. For some reason, there is a lot of "egg stuff" rolling about in my head today...so you are lucky enough to get to read all about it! Hahaha....

We have a hen that consistently lays big eggs. I mean HUGE. In fact, everytime I pick up one of those eggs, I wince. I sometimes wonder if chickens have any pain when laying eggs...I mean, is it similar to childbirth? Because if so, this hen is laying a 24 pound baby every few days!!! Poor girl! Let me show you exactly what I mean here. This is a normal egg....

This is a super-sized egg... Holy mackerel.

I think that hen is going to get fresh strawberries tonight for dinner.

She deserves it, don't you think?

And in case you're wondering what an egg that big looks like in the skillet...here ya go. I ate this one for breakfast today, and it was Taaaaaasssty!!!

On a side note (but also egg-related), it is a little known fact that I cannot eat eggs unless they are WELL done. No nasty, runny, sunny side up eggs for me. GAG. ME. WITH. A. SPOON. I can hardly stand to watch people dip their toast in those runny eggs. ICK!!

For the same reason, I don't do poached eggs or eggs benedict or anything like that either. Egg yolk that is not cooked completely looks like ear wax to me...and that is nothing that I want to eat. (I know this sounds crazy, but I'm just being real here.) I have never been able to eat eggs other than scrambled (and not runny AT ALL), hard boiled, or fried up nice and crispy.

Ok, enough about my weird egg neuroses.

I found this out at the pond the other day while Noah and Luke were fishing.It was not in a nest, just laying out by the pond. We have a cute little mallard couple who have taken up residence on our pond, and we're wondering if this little babe belongs to them. Anyway, because Kendall the Nature Girl lives with us, the egg was immediately taken into protective custody and put into a nest fashioned out of a glittery box and lint from the dryer. Don't you just love all the Scout hair ? Lord have mercy.

So anyway, Kendall candled the egg and swears there is a baby inside. The likelihood that it will not hatch is, of course, extremely high, but she wants to try to save it just the same. And so, this is what we have going on in our basement now...
That's right...a heat lamp. Kendall checks on her egg every single day, turning it and cooing to it. I can't decide what would be better...for it to hatch, or not?

Here are a few other random egg facts, because well, I like to be random.

Can’t remember if an egg is fresh or hard boiled? Just spin the egg. If it wobbles, it’s raw. If it spins easily, it’s hard boiled.

A fresh egg will sink in water, a stale one will float.

The color of the egg shell is not related to quality, nutrients, flavor, or cooking characteristics. White shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and white ear lobes. Brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. Brown egg layers usually are slightly larger and require more food, thus brown eggs usually cost more than white eggs.

Don't you just love eggs?

A date with my favorite boy!

Noah and I took a day and went to the zoo...just the two of us. The weather was beautiful... not hot, but sunny. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this little "date" of ours! We chatted, had indepth conversations about the animals, held hands and shared ice cream. It was a perfect day, and I am so thankful to have had it! I'm thinkin' he had fun too!

Noah loves to have his picture taken, so there were many to choose from. He'd stop at the weirdest places and shout, "Hey Mama!! Take my picture RIGHT HERE!" So, like any good Mama would, I did. And here are a few we came up with...

Noah LOVES the sharks. And the snakes. But mostly the sharks. So of course, this photo op was not to be missed!

A favorite place of ours is the Australia section of the zoo. There's a boat ride (which wasn't yet open on this trip), koalas, the kangaroo walkabout, a big ol' komodo dragon, and the lorikeet garden, where you can feed the colorful little buggers.

The lorikeets are always a hit, so we stopped in to give them a little nectar. One big fella got a little aggressive with another lorikeet and ended up biting Noah's index finger. Noah decided he was done with the lorikeets after that. They are now dead to him.

We never EVER miss a chance to ride the grand carousel!

Look at this sweet girl...she was more than happy to sit and let everyone take her picture and even put her hand up to the window for the kids to mimic. So sweet...

What day is complete without a little hide and seek?Did you know that Columbus has the #1 zoo in the nation?! It's true! And let me tell you, we appreciate our zoo so much! If you can make a trip to see it, you definitely should!!!