First Egg!

When things get stressful, I go to the garden. There's something calming about walking among the flowers and plants and trees and this afternoon, I needed that. Some health issues in our family are an immediate priority at the moment and while the rest of our lives needs to keep up, family comes first.

So I grabbed the camera and walked out back and started shooting. The colors of fall are some of my favorites - in the leaves and in the flowers that bloom this time of year.

Short's Goldenrod (Solidago shortii) - an endangered species thriving in my
garden

Endless Summer® Hydrangea macrophylla Twist-n-Shout™  has darkened
with the cooler temperatures

 

Sedums with aster and creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia)

Geranium 'Rozanne' reminds me of a floor lamp

Sunjoy® Gold Pillar Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) from Proven Winners
with unnamed dahlia

'Autumn Joy' Sedum (Sedum telephium)

Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate'

Japanese maple (Acer palmatum 'Emperor I') has its autumn color

After some time of shooting this and that, my batteries were waning so I headed back to the house for some new ones. I walked past the chicken run and as usual, the chickens came over to see if I had a treat for them. No, I didn't, but they sure had one for me!

An EGG!

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Right there, in front of God and everyone, laid an egg on the ground. I thought it was too soon. They're about 16 weeks old. The age at which a chicken will lay an egg varies according to breed, and we didn't expect any of them to lay until at least the middle of next month. Buff Orpingtons will start laying at about five months of age and Silver Lace Wyandottes not until seven or eight months.

How about that. We have a precocious chicken in the bunch. We just don't know which one it is.