The Almost Quarterly Egg Report

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men."
-Longfellow

Yes, may we all repeat that last line (with a bit of editing) loudly: OF PEACE ON EARTH,GOOD WILL TO ALL WOMEN, MEN AND CHILDREN!! May we shout it from on high, low and everywhere. May there be peace in every heart. The hens are quite peaceful, happy for any and all grain and vegetable parings that come their way. The Buff Orpingtons are all big and beautifully golden. The rooster's name is Golden Boy and so far, he is still being a sweetie to me at least. And their egg- laying has been very good. Most days they give me 15 - 18 eggs. One day, the cup really overflowed and I found 23 eggs!

Tom the Royal Palm Turkey is still with us, as are the last duck and the last three Narragansett turkeys. Sadly, we lost the last goose about two weeks ago one night when the pond was frozen and she and the duck wouldn't go in the pen for the night. In the morning both were gone, but - Hallelujah - the duck showed up a day and a half later. We conjecture that she(the duck) must have flown off into the woods and hidden for awhile. I am sorry to lose that goose as she was quite delightful, and the turkey, goose and duck made quite a trio of inseparable companions. In the spring, we shall get at least four more geese and perhaps a few more ducks to raise. At Spring Brook Farm where I get the hay for my sheep, there are four geese. The farmer there says they manage to ward off all predators. Sounds good to me.

Otherwise, all is well on the farm. The sheep were happy with an extra dose of hay this morning. Hopefully, they 'll have a peaceful day and not be up to any sheep shennanigans like they were a couple of days ago. I had gone out in the morning and when I arrived back about noon, I saw something I had never seen before - all six sheep were out of their pen and inside the little barn helping themselves to a bale of hay - and Belle had her head inside the grain bag! Luckily, Noah was here and could help me get them back into the pen - not until after the required amount of rodeo running around, of course.

So, I think I will shout it out once more: PEACE ON EARTH TO ALL WOMEN, MEN AND CHILDREN...TODAY AND EVERYDAY!!! May you all have a blessed, holy Twelve Days of Christmas and the Happiest of New Years!