four dozen eggs dyed between four kiddos today. and a 16 egg frittata nearly put away by those same kiddos, plus two mamas and a couple of babies. wow. that's a whole lot of eggs for one day, don't you think? thank goodness theres about 45 chickens between the two families--we've got eggs to spare. i'll confess that some of mine were store-bought, however. i'm a firm believer that the pure white eggs take on the hues a bit better than the rest, and our chickens are mostly brown and green layers.
as far as the coloring goes, this was another year of trying the natural dyes with mixed results. red beets and purple cabbage = okay. turmeric = very good. orange tea, green tea, carrot tops, spinach, and paprika all get a big thumbs down. a cup of water and blue food coloring got thrown into the mix and it was the best by far, though obviously not very natural. of course, we're coloring with kids who don't have all that much patience to wait and wait and wait and wait some more. we need instant results, people.
when using straight-from-the-coop eggs for coloring, it's important to wash off the protective "bloom" that coats the eggs. otherwise the dye has trouble sticking. lesson learned for next year.
in other things egg-related, my chickens are hiding their eggs in the yard and my dog is finding them. OR, my chickens are laying their eggs in the chicken coop and my dog is stealing them and attempting to bury them. i haven't quite decided. all i know is that after some 5 or 6 years of having chickens around, my dog has suddenly developed a keen interest in all these eggs laying about. we'll find her wagging her tail at the back door with an egg cradled gently in her mouth. if it weren't quite so naughty, it'd be very cute. okay, it is very cute. and naughty, too.
happy egg days!
happy egg days!
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