A good year it was

So 2010 is here, but 2009 was a good one. My goal for my little egg selling project was to raise $150 for 2009. The girls came through and we ended up donating $165 to Heifer International. I went with 5 donations of chickens and the rest to where ever it is needed most.

I'm planning on adding a few new layers this year to keep production going. The winter months are very slim on eggs, but they are stilling running around enjoying life on the farm.

A huge Thank you to all my loyal customers. My girls work for you.

Remember to do for others when you can, it feels good even when it is something small and a lot of times the small things you do for others are the most important.

Spread the word, spread the love and BE A GOOD EGG!

P.S. the picture is of Meadow and William. Meadow loves to guard eggs so sometimes we just put a few in the grass and leave her in charge. She won't let the other dogs or chickens near them.

I thought I was clever

I thought I was being cute and clever by calling my blog Be A Good Egg, but there is a charity in the UK that goes by that name. Originally I just wanted to call my blog Good Egg, but someone else had that and wasn't doing anything with it. So now I find out that there is a nice group in the UK that raises money to buy chickens and they are called Be A Good Egg. Of course I am not actually upset because we are both doing really great things for those who have much less then we do. My operation is a much smaller scale, but helping just one family is still help. Also, I wanted to use this blog as a way to point out different charities or ways you can get involved in your community and make a difference to others. So check out Be A Good Egg and other charities on this blog and try to find the one that works best for you. Of course let me know about it so I can post it for others to learn about.

Remember...Spread the word, spread the love and Be A Good Egg!

But summer went on

Our experiment was not successful. My broody Australorp decided she had enough for being cooped up, pardon the pun, and went for a walk about. She abandoned the eggs, including the duck egg, she had under her for about 20 days. It just was not meant to be. She is back to laying delicious eggs and sales are doing great. The last time I counted our fund we already met my goal of $150 and we still have lots of year left. Way to go girls!

Speaking of good causes...have you heard of Empty Bowls? Wikipedia has it defined as “Empty Bowls” is an international project to fight hunger, personalized by artists and art organizations on a community level". If you Google it you will find lots of local Empty Bowls events. This is a great way to do something small and make a big difference. The Oregon Potters Association is a good example of a group of artists raising money for the hungry. Their event happens in conjunction with the Waterfront Blues Festival every year. Take a look around for these events in your area.

Spread the word, spread the love and Be A Good Egg!!!

-The showcased chicken today is Stacey. She is an '05 Araucana that likes to make a lot of noise, but is a consistant layer, even after all these years.

Crossing our fingers

Yesterday I got the sad news that a good friends Khaki Campbell duck, Stonkelbonk, was killed by a raccoon. Her mate Goober is devastated. She laid an egg the morning of the attack and last night we placed it under my Australorp, Teri, who is broody and we'll hope for the best. It's a long shot, but maybe Stonkelbonk and Goober's love will live on. I've read that the incubation period is 28 days. This puts us around the 16th of July. Cross your fingers and let's hope Mother Nature works her magic and gives us a lovly Khaki.

Remember to Be A Good Egg!!!

Chasing bugs

The summer season is moving right along and we are having fun on the farm. Sadly we have lost two chickens this year to either a hawk or coyote. Not a lot of evidence to support a theory of either one so we just move on and hope we don't lose any others. We are working hard chicken proofing the deck and garden. I love my girls and want them to have lots and lots of outdoor time, but they sure do a lot of damage to a garden in a short period of time. So it's a constant chore to revise chicken proofing. One of my Australorps has been trying to go broody, but it just doesn't seem to be taking. Maybe June will be a good month for her.

Another big deal on the farm this month is the discovery of three baby barn owls. Their fuzzy little white heads have been peaking out the owl box, curious to what the world has to offer them. Our mason bees are hard at work, but the squirrels have discovered how tasty they are and have been cracking open the bamboo tubes and eating the larvae. We figured we have lost several hundred eggs. So squirrel proofing the mason bee nests became a priority.

Be A Good Egg!

Mason Bees

What a beautiful couple of days we have been having. The swallows are back, the fruit trees are blooming, the daffodils are smiling at the world. Everything is waking up from a long winter nap and ready to do what they do best. What I'm most excited about are the Mason Bees. My little friends are emerging from their tubes and wondering around looking for things to pollinate. Gosh, I love those little bees. This is the third year now that I have been making an effort to make the Mason bee happy. There is some nice information on my little friends on Wikipedia. You can buy these bees from seed catalogs, but I'd like to tell you how I got mine. The research I did said you needed special sized tubes and houses etc...well one day I was cutting up bamboo and noticed what a nice cylinder bamboo was. It seemed to me that if I was a Mason bee I would love to make a home there. So I cut the bamboo in 6 inch lengths and stuck a group of them in an old ceramic pot I had and stuck it under the roof of the barn. The next day my little friends were in and out and mudding up the tubes of bamboo. The next spring I added more bamboo and when they hatched they got to work on the new tubes and also reused the old ones.

Have you ever noticed small holes in lawn furniture or on the porch or odd places that are full of mud. Don't rush to clean it out because it is probably a Mason Bee nest and a little egg is in there waiting for spring. I do not like bugs, but the Mason Bee has helped me with my fears.

So read up on these hard working bees. They are so important to our food supply and don't swat them, they are gentle and just want to put a hard days work in.

Egg in the Nest

This is a little meal I grew up on. My mom would make this for us and we loved it. I still make it often and especially when we have company. Basically, you end up with toast and egg all at once. I haven't used my toaster in a long time. I've heard it called several different things, must be regional, we called it Egg in the Nest.

What you'll need:
-Eggs
-slices of your favorite bread (I like using rustic homemade breads, but wonderbread would work)
-butter or olive oil
-a nice pan

I start with spreading butter or the olive oil on one side of the bread and then cutting a hole about an inch in diameter or square in the center. While I'm doing that I get the pan hot and drizzle some olive oil in it (you could use butter here too). Next place the slice, buttered side up, in the pan and crack an egg in the hole. Flip the slice with egg when it's ready, depending on how you like your eggs. Don't forget to also pan fry the little chunk of bread that you cut out. Serve hot!!! YUM!