Eggs....

My hens have been laying for about two months now, and we've passed the 100 egg mark already! The two birds I ended up with (post raccoon attacks) are only supposed to lay four eggs per week. I've ended up with an average of 13 eggs each week instead of 8. Schitzo, the Barred Rock on the left (a type of Plymouth Rock) and Henny Penny, the Black Sex Link (aka Black Star) are laying at the same basic rate.

Yesterday, for the second time, Penny (I know, Mandy, you told me not to name them!) laid a huge egg. I mean, HUGE! Usually the eggs are about 55 grams. This was a whopping 87 grams!

According to the limited research I did, it's either because the hen's system hasn't regulated laying yet, or it's a genetic mutation that causes some breeds to lay double-yolked eggs. That is why it's so large, she's done it once before.

I also dicovered that sometimes birds lay two shelled eggs with what's called a 'wind' egg in the center of another shell. No yolk in either egg. Okay, way more information than you wanted, but there it is!

The Day After Christmas

This year, John decided that it might be a good thing for us to think about someone other than ourselves during Christmas. He contacted a group in Placerville that feeds the homeless people up there. They agreed to 'let us' come with a meal for about 40 people on the 26th. (I say 'let us' because they have many groups that bring meals on a regular basis. They are always looking for more help, of course, but they must get offers that never materialize because they were quick to make other plans.) We were a bit late in responding to them, and someone else took on the lunch, so we offered to bring snacks and supplement the one meal these folks get for the day.
I baked cinnamon rolls and pumpkin muffins, then we added some vienna sausages and peanuts to round out the sweets.The family assembled everthing that morning and we were off!
The 'camps' are located behind stores, parks and motels. I guess if I had really been looking, I'd have noticed excess trash in the area, or a flash of blue tenting. Generally, I would have never known there were people living there. In one area, we only met one person. She took 14 meals in to the campers. We went to about four places. Some of the people had cars; it looked like they were living in them. One man was pretty drunk and very talkative. Ben said that he told them that beer is more filling and cheaper than food. Now I understand why homeless people have a reputation for being drunks. Not only does it fill their tummies, it helps them escape reality for a while.
The woman who was showing us the ropes was incredibly nice. She and her 18 year old son have been supplying meals for about a year now. Not very often, just "once or twice a month". She didn't look like she had money to spare, but she was willing to share what she did! It seems to me that those who have a lot tend to be cautious about who they give to, and those who have little share freely, especially with those who have very little.
Anyway, I had a good feeling as we left and I hope we can do this again. (Notice Ben's face? This is him thinking "Enough with the pictures, Mom! I actually took my camera with us, then realized how weird it would have been to take pictures, so my family was 'overshot'.)

Snow...In Folsom!

It has been cold here for the past two days. I mean 'Utah cold'! Yesterday, Savanah told me that the forcast for today was snow/rain. I thought for sure the weatherman got it wrong! This morning, I awoke to about 1" of snow on the ground. It's now almost 11:00am and the snow is still in our back yard although water is falling from the roof.Who'd have thunk? Snow in California! We've lived here for 18 years and have never seen the snow stick like this. I was just noticing a bunch of posts from people on Facebook wondering if Al Gore is eating his hat about supporting global warming. (I don't think so, it was a machine for accruing wealth for him. I don't believe he sees it as anything but a money maker.)So, we'll 'enjoy' the snow while it lasts. I hope it doesn't snarl traffic too badly....

Christmas Tree time!

Saturday was the designated day for picking up our Christmas tree! We have a 'tradition' of driving 30 minutes to Slough House to cut down our own tree. Partly because it's $35 for any tree on the lot, and partly because when the kids were little, we got free hot cider at the Inn next door. The Inn is now closed, but the tree farm has vendors there on the weekend selling things like ice cream (it's too cold for ice cream!), kettle corn, and mandarine oranges by the bag.
On the drive down there, I remembered that I hadn't brought my wallet, so we detoured to Sunrise for an ATM machine and then some food!
We finally made it to the farm and began the search for the perfect tree. Pat (Ben's brother from another mother) came with us...well, we kind of kidnapped him. Anyway, the three 'kids' spent some time playing hide-n-seek through the forest. I lost sight of everyone and couldn't get them to answer me even though I used mom's trick of 'singing' their names. The place was packed with people, and I kept hearing what I thought were their voices. I'd head toward them only to find they weren't my family!
I finally went back to the truck and found John. The kids had decided that there weren't good trees in the area we were in, and crossed to another section.
We picked out a great tree, cut it down and brought it home. Okay, so it sounds so simple when I put it that way. In reality, John trimmed off some lower branches, and Ben and Savanah chided him for taking them off on the good side of the tree. It worked out just fine, though. John actually had to trim a bit more off for anything to fit underneath the tree. He said he does it every year, we just don't see it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! (And God bless us, every one!)