Perfection in Nature

Yesterday afternoon was really hot and Tamera seemed to have a hard time with it being in the coop.  I got the mister going on the outside of the coop, trying to cool it down a little without getting them wet, and offered the hens some water to drink.  After I backed away a little, the girls stood up to drink.  Then it happened!  I saw the eggs move!!!!!  It was the slightest quiver in about 5 or 6 of the eggs, like water on a lake when there's a slight breeze blowing.  It was almost the same excitement as feeling one of the kids kick for the first time or seeing them in a sonogram!  Those babies were moving around in those shells!  I couldn't believe my eyes!  I asked my chicken friend if it were possible and she said, sure we only have about 6 days till hatching.  She once had one fertilized egg that did a complete 180 degree turn!  I'd probably had fainted right there in the pen if that happened! lol  It was absolutely amazing.  Wow, I'm going have a hard time not tearing up when those little fluffballs poke through for the first time.  Just seeing the eggs move for the first time was such a high!  I'm so glad I have the opportunity to watch all this!

The natural world is so full of amazing simplicity.  The clean lines found when you look intently at a leaf or the petal of a flower, the patterns of the sun dancing through the trees or on a lake.  Birth.  That simple egg that we take for granted...that helps make cakes fluffy and gives us energy for the day in the form of breakfast, whether they are served sunny-side up or scrambled.  How the whites will whip into meringue.  These are such eggs that are protected and kept warm by my two hens and are full of life.  Look at a leaf, the patterns you will find in it and think about the functions of the cells that form it.  The changing of sunlight into food, its breathing in carbon dioxide and breathing out oxygen.   Think about how that oxygen the plants exhale is what we breathe in for life.  Now...inhale.  Exhale.  The simple things of God's design are so amazing, so inspiring, and yet so overlooked in our busy lives.  Take some time to find those things around you, and let me know...what are you finding there?

Day 9 of Baby Fever!

Claire, our Easter Egger on the left in the picture, has decided to join in keeping the eggs warm.  She seems to be a part-timer though, alternating between setting and leaving the chicken pen to hunt bugs.

I took this picture this morning.  Claire was setting on the majority of the eggs, while Tamera is behind the wall of the coop with others.  Claire has the motherly spread going on now! lol  They tend to flatten out to cover all the eggs.  I'm so amazed they are sharing the eggs.

Spring is for Baby Fever!

My faverole hen, Tamera, has mommy fever!  She has been broody for about two weeks now, and I haven't been able to break her of it.  Typically you can take them out of the coop and lock it up for the day, and after doing this...probably a few days at least...they will come out of it.  So we are going to try to hatch eggs.  I have a friend in Decatur who is collecting fertilized eggs for me, and I'll pick them up on Sunday, Mother's Day.  (Isn't that cute?)  This will be our first time to try to hatch eggs so I'll keep you posted as we progress through the 21 days till they hatch.  In the meantime, I've been reading on the net, and one of the fascinating things I've read was that you can hear peeping a day or so before the chicks break through the eggs.  That will be so cool!  Since deciding to let her have some fertilized eggs, I've left her in the coop and everytime I get close she fluffs up her feathers at me, like in the picture, and cackles at me.  Sometimes she sounds like one of those little dinosaurs from the Jurassic Park movies!  Thankfully broodiness has not brought pecking, but then she's always been a fairly docile hen, who although doesn't like being picked up, will tolerate it when I finally catch her and sometimes will even snuggle against me.  I think she will be a great mom!  Happy Mother's Day, Tamera!

Spring has Sprung!

The crepe myrtles are making a show!  I love this time of the year...the fresh green of new growth and the bright colors of flowers blooming.  It's time for Down Home Design & Glass to come out of hibernation.  We are gearing up for a busy summer.  If you have been on our business website lately, you have seen that we are looking for an experienced glazier.  My goal for the end of summer is having two to three trucks running full time, and three to five employees.

For businesses like ours that are gearing up for their busy season, spring is a time of preparation.  Time to make sure vehicles and machinery are operating correctly,  and operating procedures are fine-tuned as well.  How is marketing?  Other than adding signage to the truck(s) this year, and possibly improving our online presence in the Yellow Pages, I don't think I will do anything different than what our current marketing strategy is, unless is falls substantially below our 15% threshold.

What are you doing this spring?  Do you have a business idea you have been mulling?  Is it time to act on that idea?  Are you planning any home improvement projects?  Do you have any special plans to spend time with your family?  Planting anything in the garden?  Or maybe you are considering raising a few chickens?  : )  Whatever your goals/ambitions are, I hope you enjoy this wonderful season!