03.19.08 EASTER EGGS

It certainly isn't difficult to figure out the origin of the connection between egg hunting and this spring holiday! My tiny flock of chickens laid no eggs for months during the cold and dark days of winter. But as the days started to get longer and the air warmer they have all felt the urge. The first egg of the season arrived on the last day of February and we have been getting two or three a day since then. Many more than we can eat, so we are happy to distribute our flock’s bounty with friends and neighbors. My flock consists of only eight chickens, two of which are little bantam rooster brothers. Five of the hens are five years old and one bantam hen is three years old. Good producers worth keeping until they retire of natural deaths. They keep the garden fertile, the weeds and bugs down, and offer us these wonderful gifts during the warm months.

Since all my chickens live in one house now, I plan to refurbish both of my "chicken tractor" houses and start a new flock for the empty house. Twenty-six new chicks for myself and friends are due to arrive by mail from the hatchery on April 4!

2.24.07 PLANTING SPINACH

This is quite a big deal this year. Can I use a shovel? Four months since I broke my back in a car crash. Three months solid in a huge plastic brace. One month weaning myself from the brace and the narcotics. Slowly strengthening my chest and back muscles. Lots of naps. Still pain in my back: a sharp knuckle shoved in right next to my back bone. Ouch. But it is time to garden! I MUST garden. And I must slowly and carefully bring my body back into shape. Digging and turning soil with all of its bending and lifting is not going to work. I choose a well-worked bed – not long ago it was the floor of one of the chicken houses. I slowly and vigorously rake off the dead weeds and grass. Then I plant the shovel in the soil and using the handle as a lever pry the soil up to loosen it. After loosening a five-foot row of turves, I use the shovel like a digging bar, letting it fall of its own weight to chop the turves into clods. This works well. No pain! I rake and smooth until I have a nice bed for this year’s spinach. Out pops an early earthworm to check on the commotion. The soil and I, we are ready.