Small Worthless Knowledge at -20

It has been so COLD for many days now that sometimes you just have to find something to giggle about or you might just go over the edge... This morning when I went into the hen house and hoped all would still be standing I was greeted with 13 very bitchy girls.  I understand their mood heck I am about ready to go "The Shining with the Axe in the Maze" sorry for the movie reference but for those who remember Jack at the end frozen in the maze with the axe in his had and that look on his face - that just might be me...  Anyway back to the girls.  They hate being locked up but with the bitter subzero temps, howling non stop winds and me not wishing to chase down a hen in the storm I have been keeping them in their coop.  Like little kids they can only get along for short periods of time and then it is the "She is sitting too close, she ate the sunflower seed I wanted and the always MOM, Make her stop looking at me"..Yep, animals get on each others nerves too.

So I was having to hear all the bitching at me, I had some pecking the snow off my boots and pants, while others were just running around like "Chickens with their heads cut off"..  sorry about that visual but they get all worked up and run around in circles - really I guess we all go a little mad sometimes....

I gave them their food along with their treat Popcorn - yep they are my girls because popcorn can make any really bad day a good one.  I filled two bowls with snow (they would rather eat snow then drink the warm water I brought in) and then checked for eggs.  Do I dare hope since Thursday I was so lucky to get 5 eggs from them.  As I bent over and run my glove through the shavings in their nesting boxes, they have taken to covering them in hopes of keeping the Magpies from seeing them I found a lone egg.  Excited and giddy I picked up the egg and just then noticed is was a freshly laid egg and still warm.  Just then my mush brain kicked in and said "OH SHIT".....

I stood for a couple of seconds and just started to laugh - Yep, the girls thought  Mom is going to be running around like a mad women with her head chopped off.... You guessed it - the egg was still wet, the air and glove was so bitter cold and there is the rub... Have not done this one in Oh About 9 or 10 years.  Egg frozen to the glove.  Now I am finishing the hen chores with my left hand and keeping my right hand in my coat pocket trying to protect the egg.  Trust me no easy task since there is much to do to just get out of the hen house.  Once that was done I walked back to the house and had to hear every step of the way everyone bitching at me because they were wanting their feed and water and they did not understand why I was going back to the house.  I yelled "I HAVE AN EGG STUCK TO MY GLOVE DO YOU MIND?"

As I returned to the house I had to go slow and gentle to get my hand out of the glove.  I learned long ago you just don't pull off the egg because the shell breaks.  You also don't run water on it or I would not have warm gloves for the whole day or maybe longer and I would stick to everything outside as well with a moist glove. I employed an old trick I created many many years ago when this happened before - I  just take the hairdryer on low and start to warm the egg up slowly.  By the way if you do it too fast they will explode - how do I know - Yep I have done that too.

So once it started to thaw I peeled the glove slowly off.. Yippee saved the egg.  You might think that is a ton of work for one egg - I would rather do that then waste the hard work that my girl went through to give me this jewel and it saves me one more day from eating a commercial egg. 

So there you have it a long story about the boring life of Grace at - 20 degrees....  Aren't you glad you spent all that time reading this??