Chicken hints (are they trying to tell us something?)

I think our chickens are trying to give us a hint, namely "get our coop done already, we are tired of waiting!" Chicken Little, our resident busybody and only full time free range hen (she lives with the guinea hens), has decided to move into the coop earlier than expected. In the bottom picture, you can see her hanging out in the new yard (in the lower left corner of the picture.) She also decided to start laying her eggs in the coop, as you can see in the top picture. Yes, we have power tools and nails and such in the coop as we are still working on it but she does not seem to mind all that. Ray is happy as she was laying her eggs in the garage while he was working in the garage and chickens tend to announce quite loudly, with lots of squawking and the like, when they have accomplished a successful egg laying. The good news for me is that her eggs are 100% for sure unfertilized so I can gather them wherever she decides to lay them and stick them right in the fridge. They are absolutely delicious and as fresh as you can get. If you have never had a fresh from the chicken egg, I suggest you try them given the chance. The other hens are with the rooster all the time so I won't gather their eggs for eating until we have seperated the flock.

We have quite a few peas and radishes coming up in the raised beds. I have also put in some beans but we had a pretty good frost the other night so I don't know if the 1st planting will be a success. I have plenty of seeds to plant again and I know I shouldn't rush the season but I do every year anyway. April is coming to a close and most of the perennials we planted last year are coming back full force (along with the weeds but you have to take the bitter with the sweet)! I was so happy to see the plants poking their heads up these past few weeks. We have also installed a clothesline, the umbrella type, so I will be able to line dry from now until it is entirely too cold to do so outside. I love the smell of line dried clothes and sheets and enjoy ironing so it is all good where I am concerned. I know that is strange but all of you should know how strange I am by now!

Ray finally goes back to day shift next week, hooray! I like having him home in the evenings, especially in the spring and summer months, and he likes having a more steady sleep pattern. With the longer daylight hours we can get a few things accomplished in the evenings and he will still be on the 4 on 4 off schedule so he can really get things done on his days off.

Happy Spring to everyone and remember to get outside and enjoy the season!
Love to all!