Tea Time Tuesday ~ Prudence Olive-Egger

 I featured Prudence and her brother Cheepers in a blog post* awhile ago. There she is , a cute little chick sitting in one of my teacups.

 Prudence is all grown up now, and at almost 7 months of age she is a sleek black hen whose feathers give off a beautiful metallic green shine when the sun lights on them. Her mother is an Americauna hen who lays minty green colored eggs. Her father is a Marans , a breed of chicken noted for their dark chocolate brown colored eggs. I was excited to see the color eggs Prudence would lay. Last month she laid her first egg...

... and I am so happy to say she is Prudence the olive-egger ! Yes, she laid the olive egg in the center of the eggs I gathered on her first day of laying. I don't think I'll be bringing her indoors to sit in a teacup for any more Tea Time Tuesdays ,but I will give her a special treat of cracked corn and maybe some of the pumpkin left over from our fall decorating. I think she'd appreciate that more, but not as much as I appreciate her olive eggs.

Linking up to a new Tuesday parties ~

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage ~ No Place Like Home*

Bernideen's Tea Time, Cottage and Garden Blog Party *

 

 ~Thankful today for a warm home , abundant food, and my husband's love.



Thursday Tea In The Garden ~ Chicks & Thyme

 Spring time and I have chicks hatching out all over the place.

 Well, not really. But I have chicks whose mamas are hatching them out in the right places ( underneath their mamas ) , quite successfully.

 These two chicks were hatched out by my grandchildren using an incubator they borrowed from me. The eggs the chicks hatched from were green because they came from my Americana hens , and the rooster -father is my Black Copper Marans . I am hoping they are hens.

 I have decided to celebrate Thursday Tea In The Garden because Thursday is a wonderful day for me to take time to blog, and I really do spend all sunny days outside working in my poultry pens, my gardens, or with my sheep & dogs. I got the idea from Judith at Lavender Cottage. * I don't think this is a link-up party but she gets the credit for a Thursday celebration I am excited to celebrate in my own gardens., thank-you Judith !

 Oh, by the way, these two chicks were given names by one of my granddaughters whilst being cared for by her & her younger sister after they hatched out of the incubator. Welcome to the big wide world Albert Cheepers McNugget Featherweight Esquire the 1st  and Prudence. Just hope one is a hen & the other a rooster !

 Not to forget the garden part, yes, I did have tea in the garden, a chamomile blend, most soothing. I looked over my herb ( Blue Bottle ) garden , pondered it a bit and decided I will plant this pot of lemon thyme in the thyme bed tomorrow.

Cheepers & Prudence are safely tucked into their small brooder in our sun-room after modeling for me earlier today. They really were not too excited by my pretty Japanese tea-cup , my cheery yellow polka dotted teapot, nor my bunny planter which now holds a blooming orchid. But then, they are baby chickens and food, water, warmth, & safety are all they desire.

I hope your spring plantings are beginning to bud & your hopes and dreams are too. Happy gardening, happy tea-time. Cheep ~ cheep.

Spot On Freshly Gathered Eggs

I just gathered my eggs and took a picture of them. Aren't eggs beautiful? These eggs come from the chicks I posted about last year. The chicks that grew up into chickens.The chicks were Ameracauna and Cuckoo Marans. The Ameracauna hens are Aracauna chickens bred with different varieties of chickens and the shade of green, from blue to mossy green depends upon which variety of chicken the Aracauna is bred with. If an Aracauna is bred with a brown egg layer the hen will lay the darker mossy green eggs. If the Aracauna is bred with a white egg layer the eggs will be a light minty green to almost aqua or blue. These are my favorites. The Cuckoo Marans lay a dark brown egg. The best of the Marans lay an egg that is a dark chocolate brown, my desired brown egg color. My favorite way to eat freshly gathered eggs is to whisk 3 or 4 eggs with a dash of soy sauce and Johnny's seasoning salt to taste. I cook the eggs in a small frying pan turning and turning with a spatula until the eggs are JUST done and not a bit more. I then add a lot of grated cheddar cheese, turn over in the pan again until the cheese is melted then flip it onto a plate. I pour myself a cup of freshly ground and brewed coffee and butter bread right out of the toaster to add to the plate. This is the best brunch ever!( I don't eat breakfast, my tummy does not desire it) A brunch like this is often all I need to sustain me for the whole day and I am very happy to repeat this again the next day.If you're unable to raise chickens yourself it is well worth it for you to find a source of fresh eggs from a local egg seller, the difference in taste of fresh eggs versus the best eggs from the average supermarket is vast. Try it, you'll like it, fresh eggs that is.