First of dozens (we hope)

I'm not sure you're really a chicken lady until the first egg appears. And despite the fact that small unidentified children come up to me and ask. "How are you're chickens?" I have really felt less-than when it comes to my newest endeavor to leave egypt. Everyday I would go out to the coop, lift lids looking for egg, only to find my kitten Boogie was the only one resting in the nesting boxes (he thinks he's a chicken). I had even resulted in looking through the woods trying to find hidden stashes of eggs, but each day I would come back empty. No eggs. No fritatas. No omelettes. No deviled eggs.

I had pretty much resigned myself to failure, when Friday last week there was a commotion in the coop- and not just in the coop, but in the whole yard. I had read about such things but had dismissed the stories as myth- but there my chickens were- SINGING! The Egg Song, oh what a beautiful melody. Bok Bok Bok BOGAWK! Over and over they all sang it. It was like a chant of encouragement to my sweet girl Bea. It lasted for 2 hrs.
When she emerged from the coop. Bea got a drink of water and a bite to eat and joined the flock, leaving me to find the prize- and there it was. What a gift! A wonderfully peach colored small egg. Now that would be wonderful enough, but later in the morning I realized one of my other girls Leila was missing. I looked all over for her, but she was nowhere. Maybe she was sad because she had no song. Maybe she was jealous of her sisters newfound ability. Maybe she was......naw that would be crazy. I opened the door to the coop and there she was. Comfy and secure and as I later found out- laying an egg!

So all the waiting was worth it. Bea and Leila have started laying pretty regularly, so much so that 2 loaves of Banana Bread were made with their gifts this morning. And when my hubby came home he was just in time to retrieve another of Leila's eggs still warm from her body.

I am finally a Chicken Lady.