Our very first egg

Here it is: our first egg. Squeeze found it in one of the nesting boxes this morning. Isn't it beautiful? So tiny, but what a thrill it was for all of us. [Diego sucked in and gaped at it while Squeeze and I grinned from ear to ear.] I fried it in the cast-iron skillet and we shared it for breakfast. The yolk was a deep and brilliant gold - a good sign that the pullet is eating well. The brighter and deeper the yolk, the more beta carotene the chicken is eating: from greens. In addition to its beauty, it was delicious.

We've been checking the nesting boxes every day for the last few weeks, as we are aware that the pullets are approaching maturity. It will be interesting to see how things take off from here. We only have eight pullets left after our unfortunate dog attack the other week. Before that, we had twelve. Sad.

Squeeze wasn't able to go into work today because SW Minnesota was frozen in a sheet of ice. Sleet came down all morning; everything was shimmering like glass and even our gravel driveway was shiny under the layering of ice. He got ready and went, like usual, but couldn't even leave our driveway. Good thing he knows how to drive on icy roads (or as it were, long driveways).

Today was like a special treat: not only did we find our first egg, but we were able to stay home together, cozily, and see the beautiful white world outside our window. Squeeze even lit a fire. I was also able to finally finish processing our apple harvest. What a relief! I canned 6 quarts of applesauce this afternoon. That gives us a total of twelve for the winter, and there is nothing I like better than applesauce on my pancakes.