Egg-quilibrium

The First Day of Spring occurred right on schedule, Sunday March 20th, along with the strange and mystifying influences of the Vernal Equinox. At my house, Hawk's Hill, and here at The Painted Possum, this event is ALWAYS celebrated with the joyous act of balancing eggs in the kitchen. The glee with which I address this task is always the same, no matter how many times it is repeated. Shouts of "WOW!" and "There she is!" and "LOOK, another one!" reverberate throughout the house ... and my kids look at me weird. Their usual response is "Yep."

Then I start yelling for someone to bring me the camera.

This was the first little egg to go up. The information I received said the exact time of the equinox would be 7:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, and usually the eggs are easier to balance the closer it gets to the appointed time. But these were balancing with no effort at all at about 11:00 AM.

According to Wikipedia, equilibrium is the condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced. So, apparently, the competing influences of the shape of the egg, the weight of the egg's contents, and the force of gravity, along with some unknown factor, are balanced on this specific day of the year. There are abundant theories about the balancing act of hen's eggs on the first day of Spring, and it is a rare and unequaled delight!

Do we know how to have fun in Alabama?

I Have a Good Day, Now and Then

It looks like we are still talking about chickens.

As Aunt Pitty Pat would say, "Chickens on the internet! How did they ever get in?"

Plans are underway for the 5th annual Alabama Chicken and Egg Festival to be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 18-19, 2009, at the Lions Club Fairgrounds in Moulton, Alabama.
Of course, it would have to be in Moulton, where all the chickens are moltin’! Do you think that town was chosen just for the name?

According to the Alabama Department of Agriculture, agriculture is the number one industry in Alabama. It employs over 476,000 people, which is roughly 21% of the state’s work force. Furthermore, producing over 1 billion birds a year, Alabama is the #3 producer of chickens in the nation.The Lawrence County Arts Council, Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Alabama Cooperative Extension Services, Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce and the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel have joined forces to promote the Chicken and Egg Festival, hoping to educate the public on the economic impact and health values of poultry and eggs.

Here’s the Chicken and Egg Festival website.

http://www.alabamachickenandeggfestival.com/

Among other fun and unique activities, there will be a chicken clucking contest, an egg toss, a chicken-wing eating contest, Bluegrass music, Southern folklife artists, and more than 100 live Exotic Bantam Chickens.

And PAUL THORN!

Headlining the 2009 Chicken Stage is the Paul Thorn Band. One of the most accomplished and enjoyable musicians ever, Paul does blues, country, gospel, rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n’ roll. His distinctive voice and poetic lyrics have carried him from Tupelo, Mississippi to stardom!

Here's Paul Thorn performing his song "I Have a Good Day Now and Then," which has been recorded by Paul McCartney. No joke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk3WLyVQ9rM

You couldn't ask for much more than that.
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Check out the festivities!

Mother Nature's Balancing Act

While on the subject of eggs ... Today is the First Day of Spring! I hope everyone popped out of bed bright and early this morning and balanced an egg or two! Although I usually balance a whole bunch of eggs on the first day of Spring, this morning I had but one single egg in the fridge. So I placed it on the window sill over the kitchen sink, and there she sits, beautiful, proud and well-balanced.

It's my understanding that the tradition of balancing eggs on the morning of the Vernal Equinox began centuries ago. Farmers gathering eggs noticed on a particular day in Spring that the eggs in each hen's nest would be balanced on end. What joy! There are few things in life as joyful as a balanced egg! That's how, in days of old, the common folk knew that Spring had arrived.

This year, the Vernal Equinox occurred at 6:44 AM, and the closer to the exact time of the equinox, the easier it is to balance eggs. Later in the day, it becomes a much more tedious exercise, and if you have balanced eggs in place, they will eventually plop over onto their sides when the magic time has passed.

And ... yum, yum ... do scrambled, fried, or poached eggs taste better on the first day of Spring? My opinion is, yes they do! A perfectly astronomically balanced egg is bound to have an extraordinarily yummy taste. However, this is only a guess. I'm always too busy balancing eggs to cook any on the First Day of Spring.

A Chicken After My Own Heart

On this beautiful St. Patrick's Day, the sun is shining and Spring is just around the corner, so it seems. I think about all the lovely sunny days ahead, and suddenly and without warning, I think about a chicken. That's right. Not just some random chicken, but a particular chicken with a singularly Irish personality; smart, handsome, and terribly testy.

My sister and I raised him from an orphaned egg.
The name we gave him was Chicken Little, and while he was yet very small, you couldn't have asked for a more agreeable little fellow. He was promptly baptised, showered with love, affection and attention, and treated like a member of the family. Chicken Little lived in a small cage on the living room coffee table, went with us on picnics, where he chased bugs and small snakes along the creekbank, and was just a marvelous companion. Even as an adolescent bird, he remained sweet and amenable to all playtime activities, like having doll clothes forced upon him and tiny bandanas tied around his pin-feathery head.

Chicken Little indeed! We should have named him George Meany. Upon reaching maturity, his personality took a foul turn! Man, that was one mean chicken! Of course, he had to be banned from the inside of our home, due to his lurking around corners and attacking like a chicken possessed. But putting him outside seemed to make matters worse. He hid just around the back of the house, and whenever one of us bare-legged humans ventured down the backporch steps, Chicken Little flew at us like a demon chicken, uttering the most terrifying pawks you can imagine, pecking and flogging without mercy.

Now, what would make a formerly benign chicken turn into a Jekyl & Hyde monster? Nobody knows.

So, my daddy traded him for two bunnies, a brown one and a gray one, dubbed Pierre and Twinkle Nose. They were promptly baptised, and NEVER attacked us.

I'll never forget Chicken Little. Both his personalities made lasting impressions, as did his "Top o' the mornin' to you!" greeting and his dagger-like beak.