Sometimes, when I disappear from my blog, it's because something is sucking all the creative juices out of my body, leaving me feeling empty; like I have nothing to say, nothing worth sharing, nothing worth noting. Other times, when I disappear, it's because I'm up to my elbows in life--schooling, gardening, children, cleaning, laundry, knitting.

Thankfully, this time I can say my short absence is due to the later. I've actually been sitting in front a sewing machine--something I haven't done in a really long time. I've been stitching little things, by hand. I've been reading, lingering outside when the sun shows its face from behind the clouds, attacking a closet full of smelly laundry, exercising, taking pictures, cooking*....all good things.

Yesterday, I took a big bowl of scraps out to the chickens. I have to confess not everything in the bowl was completely spent. But I went to the grocery store yesterday and needed some fridge space. And these were the leftovers from last week's meals. It has been interesting to see which things disappear first--the rice I threw in after the picture was taken, the moldy pancakes (which I suspect disappeared into the mouth of a four-legged beast), the tomatoes and pepper seeds.

Dan is building me a compost bin this weekend, finally, and I have a feeling I'll have a lot of clucking and scratching and pecking going on around it.

I also defrosted the last batch of summer berries. I didn't freeze very many, and I'm regretting that now. I'll have to remind myself of this come hot, sticky, summertime, when I don't really feel like being in the kitchen. But there's nothing better than summer berries in the freezer.

Dan left me an online shopping cart full of seeds he wants to order for the garden. I've added the flowers I want for a cutting garden and the neighbor is going to plow our plot with his tractor this weekend, if things dry out.

Spring is definitely showing its face around here.

*I made this Everyday Food recipe last night, swapped out the shells with orzo pasta. It was killer good.*

I feel like a proud mother. Or maybe a proud mother hen. We've been waiting for this day since September. And lately, with all the spring-like weather, and rooster hanky-panky, I had a feeling it would be happening soon. We even gave them a freshly cleaned out coop and fluffed up those nesting boxes, just as a little encouragement.

Someone else in this house has been anticipating this day even more than me.

So when I woke up Friday morning to, "MOM!!! WAKE UP! You are going to scream your pants off!" I knew what was coming before I even opened my eyes.

(And yes, Emma does wake up before me some times. And she sneaks downstairs and does things like burn toast and set off the smoke alarm (Thursday), or sit and draw pictures at the kitchen table, or bring all the outside barn cats into the mudroom for "snuggling". )

On Friday, she must have sensed it was THE day, because she got up, got dressed and went to let the chickens out and check for eggs, very early.

And she was right!

EGGS!!! WE HAVE EGGS, people! Three of them, in fact. And two of them later in the day--because, you know she checked almost hourly. That's one egg from every hen.

I feel so proud.

And we're keeping track--the official "chicken chart" has been placed on the kitchen wall and a tally system is in place. So far, we've collected eight eggs. And Dan, to the shock of our children, fried up a few of those eggs Sunday morning. The girls, apparently, are on an egg strike.

And when I went to the grocery store on Sunday afternoon, I walked right on by those shelves of eggs. There's nothing like the feeling of producing your own food, even just a little bit.

Gets me excited for this year's garden.

And makes me want to give these hens a day at the spa or something...for all their egg-laying work.