So apparently, the chickens need a little more calcium in their diet. I guess I haven't been putting out enough yogurt on the back picnic table.

Tonight, when I went out to put the chickens in for the night, I was confronted by this odd-looking egg sitting in the grass outside their coop. I gave it a little tap with the toe of my boot, thinking it was cracked and not worth picking up, and it bounced and rolled across the grass, unharmed.

As my kids would say, it gave me the "heebie-jeebies" but I picked it up and brought it inside to my little chicken farmers to see what they thought of it.

It has been raining all day, and their first thought was that maybe it was water-logged. After bouncing it across the kitchen table a few times and playing all kinds of games with it, they decided to take one of the good eggs out of the fridge and "water-log" it overnight. To see if we could get the same results.

Meanwhile, I jumped on my computer and after a little googling, discovered that the hens need more calcium in their diets--some grit or some oyster shells. So tomorrow we'll head to the feed store.

Wish you had your own rubber egg? Here are some directions for making a rubbery egg, or even a folding egg! (but make sure you have that last ingredient on hand). Or try getting the egg in the bottle, without breaking or these other fun egg experiments. Now I know what to do with the four dozen eggs in my refrigerator!

As if we didn't have enough sadness to deal with last week, the girls and I were faced with the strange disappearance of one of our beloved cats, Rosie. Most of you will probably recognize Rosie as the "upside down cat". She was a total sweetheart. The kind of cat you're constantly tripping over as she flops her body down in your path hoping for a rub of the belly or a scratch behind the ears. And she put up with all kinds of loving "abuse" from the girls.

At first, we thought she'd disappeared to have her babies. But I still remained suspicious, knowing it was about two weeks too soon for her to be due. Emma wandered the yard every morning and every evening calling for her. It was heartbreaking. She didn't understand why Rosie would disappear for so long because she always showed up when it was time to eat.

After being gone for two days, I decided it was time for me to check along the roadside and this time when I did, I found the grass littered with clumps of her fur. I can only imagine that she must have gotten carried away by something in the night.

I've been gently trying to warm Emma up to the idea that Rosie might be gone for good. And she's finally embraced the fact that she's not coming back.

Though the heartbreak is difficult, I believe these times of loss teach my children a lot. I truly believe they've been able to process and talk with me freely about the death of their great-grandmother because they've experienced death in other forms, since we've lived on the farm. Though no animal is as dear to their heart as my grandmother, I still believe these times have been used for their growth and understanding.

Meanwhile, by the sweet grace of God, there was a kitten in this newest litter of Black Walnut's that is the spitting image of Rosie. It really is miraculous because Black Walnut is, well...black. And the father was a solid, dark grey cat. But somehow in a litter of all black kittens and one grey kitten, there emerged a striped cat, just like Rosie.

I told Emma she could keep her. And Emma's pouring all her energy and love for Rosie, into the new little Rosie.