Signs of spring

I love it that we are actually enjoying some spring here in Iowa.  For the past several years, winter has hung on through the beginning of April and it’s gone from winter to summer or it’s been so rainy that spring wasn’t any fun.  For several weeks we have had warm sunny days and mild nights.  I am so grateful.

One of the things I love about spring and fall is sleeping with the windows open and waking to the sounds of birds.  Another sign of spring at my house is the sounds of birds in my BASEMENT!!

When we first moved to our country home, my daughter was in preschool and one morning she came and gave me a hug and said “Mommy, baby ducks are so CUTE!”  (You see, Sesame Street, and Elmo give them dangerous ideas.  Beware!)  From that point on, she was convinced that we were getting ducks.  She was right.  We ended up with a pair of “yard ducks” who lived here until they disappeared before winter.  (this was also before we got a dog)

Flapper and Tweeter

Fast forward several years… Now my daughter is 11 and has an egg business.  She started with some Rhode Island Reds last year.  She’s convinced that brown eggs are superior to white.  Her 4 chickens have kept us in fresh eggs, with an occasional dozen extra to sell to friends/customers.  This year, she wanted to increase her flock to increase her business.

But being a cautious sort of girl, she originally planned to buy 6 more baby chicks, of a rare breed, from a hatchery in Missouri.  Knowing that sometimes they don’t all grow to maturity, my husband convinced her to order 10.   Then the hatchery cancelled the order because their minimum is 15.  So she ordered 5 each of 3 breeds, varieties of Wyandottes.

Meanwhile, our pastor asked us to bring some chicks in last sunday for the children’s sermon.  Her chick order wasn’t scheduled to be here yet, so we went to the farm store and bought 2 Barred Rock chicks last Thursday.  The children were enthralled. Also, our pastor who grew up in the Chicago area was very impressed that these girls were named Jake and Elwood (Blues Brothers)!

Monday night as we sat around the dinner table, the kids were high on the Blues.  My oldest son put on some blues cds.  They all were quoting lines from the Blues Brothers movie, and my daugther made a list of names for the rest of the chicks–some great blues men, women, and her favorite authors.

The chick order from the hatchery was shipped via the Post Office.  They called Tuesday to tell us they arrived.  My daughter was at soccer practice and so my son and I got to unpack the chicks and put them in the box with Jake and Elwood.  Imagine our surprise when we opened the box and found not 15–but 27 chicks.  One of the breeds was not sorted by sex, so they sent extras–lots of extras!

We haven’t worked out with her what we will do with the boys… my mom raised chickens for meat when I was a kid and I had to help with cleaning them.  But that’s a skill I’m not sure I want to brush off!  And we’re not sure if sis will allow that, either!

Anyway, as I pondered the situation, I’m pretty sure I could hear God chuckling.  She originally wanted a flock of 10, but now she has 33!

that's Jake and Elwood on the right

Funny, she’s no longer trying to name the 27 new chicks!

Blessings and laughter,

Patti