To celebrate 2024, eggs

I'll address my longest absence later. The more joyous bit of it was spent in Virginia in February. Arrived on a Monday to a wonderful CSA share that included my favorite eggs ever.

I first had them two years ago on the same residency. Four years prior, they didn't yet have chickens. I loved the eggshell color variety so much that I saved them, then never got around to using them in my books, then brought them back to Virginia! This is the collection doubled.

I worked for Robbin Silverberg years ago and she was the one who inspired me to want to use eggshells in my books, because she did it so beautifully.

I knew it was hard because I helped edition her books, but she always kept the hair and eggshells as her job. I learned why very quickly.

It's really hard work! Also not good when you are in that eye aging stage where you don't quite need readers but you can't see through your distance glasses anymore so you're hunched over. I felt a LOT of neck, shoulder, elbow, hand fatigue and pain over the three-week stay.

This is a sketch of what I did in real life, which was crumble a bunch of shells in my hands as I ran out of the studio and threw them over a stone wall (many of which flew back at me), to prevent myself from having them to use on more books. I later learned from an old student that this was a practice of creating a barrier from evil. Indeed.

Two of the writers got a tour of the chicken house and even got to hold one, but I only ever got to see the roosters. This was my last visit, after the coop had been moved again, since they keep moving it for the animals to fertilize the soil that will be planted. I wondered what the geese were doing in there but later learned they protect the flock!

But my first happenstance was on a sunny day when I was walking to a luncheon. I wanted to take non-paved paths so I went around the back of the farm and was so excited to see this, because I had heard about the chickens but hadn't seen them. Well, these were the roosters and I thought, like other animals, that they would run away from me.

Well, I was totally wrong. When I arrived, most were inside. Once I walked on the other side of the electric fence to see them and take pictures, I wondered why they were all jumping outside. Then I realized, duh, they thought I was bringing them food!! Sad to disappoint them but exhilarated by the crowd, I turned and went to lunch. Most of the chicken (to eat) was gone by then.

This was part of my final CSA share, such faves. I adore microgreens and the eggs have had my heart for years now.