I went out on to the patio to upturn a pan containing some hen food. (Soggy burnt pan–bottom mashed potato, if you must know.) And thought while I was there I would check for eggs, in the dark corner past the downstairs bathroom window. I’d spotted a couple left lying there two days ago. If my magpies hadn’t found them first. Like Town Mouse’s crows.
I stepped over a low wall to get there, carefully balancing so as not to stumble and break the eggs, and turned.
There were more eggs.
Tons of eggs.
A whole carpet of eggs. Absolutely magic.
Close together, laid between the big ivy plant pot and an upturned plastic box, hidden from view for how long ?
Transferring them one by one and very carefully from the safe, soft leaf–mould to a big jam pan, I counted them.
The first two I’d seen, plus thirty–six more.
I’ll have to wash the leaves off them, put them in a big soup pan full of cold water and see which are freshest, (the stalest will float point upwards - gaaas, you know - and the fresh will sink) and then shut myself under the stairs without the light on, and shine a torch towards me through each one to check they are only eggs, and not hen babies (but I think they're just eggs) and then perhaps I should open a stall at the side of the road with a big sign scrawled on cardboard.
Or I could take them to everybody I know and everybody at my mother’s flats and if there are still some over I’ll just have to eat them, at the risk of being bound over for a month, if you get my drift.
I decided, ages ago, that every so often I would dedicate a post to a blogger and/or commenter you might or might not find on my sidebar.
Just because I can.
And because I'm glad of their moral support. One such case is Town Mouse, so this one’s for you !!
Humans 38 - magpies nil.
Humans 38 - magpies nil.
 | ||
| my version of Town Mouse in the country |
4 comments:
Thanks. And wow. Those have been some busy hens...
(this is why I always break eggs bought from roadside stands into a cup before adding them into the main dish. The one time you don't, the fifth egg is likely to be either bad or a baby hen...)
Oooh that would put me off eggs for life. I do break them into a glass first so I can dig out any shell or red bits. Am squeamish about eggs at the best of times. Hard boiled bullets or welded to the frying pan.
Anyway, this was a case of Saw This and Thought of You. Or saw 38 of them and thought of you. x
From experience, I'd ditch the lot and wait a day for a fresh new egg...
Hello Uhdd ! Sorry for delay - moving and not having computer up and running - well in the end only one floated, but something felt icky about it all and I gave them to my neighbour (whose hens they were, really) and I have had the decency NOT to ask what she did with them !! Wouldn't be surprised if she dumped them. Your advice sounded pretty spot on. .... and you spoke from experience ???!! but there weren't any more !
Post a Comment