Summary

The author received a carton of multicolored Easter eggs from a neighbor after admiring the neighbor's chickens during a walk and expressing interest in fresh eggs.

Abstract

The author describes a recent experience where a morning walk in the neighborhood led to an encounter with a flock of chickens, including particularly beautiful Buff Brahmas. After expressing admiration for the chickens and inquiring about egg-laying, the neighbor generously offered a carton of home-grown eggs of various colors, which the author accepted and displayed in an Easter basket. The author appreciates the richer flavor and nutritional value of home-grown eggs and looks forward to receiving more eggs in the future, having not yet sampled the gift.

Opinions

The author enjoys the freedom and invigoration of walking in the neighborhood and observing nature, such as the chickens.
The author finds the sight of chickens crossing the road and pecking at the dirt to be soothing.
The author has a preference for home-grown eggs due to their superior flavor and nutritional content, specifically the dark orange yolks.
The author is impressed by the Buff Brahma chickens and appreciates the neighbor's knowledge about the different chicken breeds.
The author is delighted and touched by the neighbor's generosity in giving away the colored Easter eggs without charge and plans to learn the neighbor's name during the next visit for eggs.

Kindness in an Egg Carton

My neighbor gave me a carton of Easter [TK].

It is my habit of late, to walk the neighborhood. Now that Spring-type weather is here I can get back out on the street. I get out there as early in the day as I can make it.

I enjoy these walks. I like the feeling of freedom it allows, and of the power of feeling my body move with such agility and strength. And I like the feeling of getting back home, refreshed and renewed, ready to get on with the other tasks of the day.

On a recent walk, I had encountered a small flock of chickens crossing the road (I didn’t ask them why) back and forth from one neighbor’s yard to another. Emitting a soft bok bok bok with each step, their heads jutted forward and the body followed after it. They stopped intermittently to peck at the dirt. I found it soothing to watch them. They didn’t seem to be worried about much.

There was one chicken specimen in the flock that I thought was particularly beautiful. Their bodies were covered with dense fluffy beige feathers, but head, neck and tail feathers were a rich dark brown.

The neighbor was out in the yard so I asked him if those were his chickens and what breed of chicken the beige ones were.

Oh, Those are Buff Brahmas, he said.

He went on the tell me the breed names of all the other chickens in the flock, the dark brown ones, the red ones and the rooster who was keeping the members of his harem rounded up. I can’t remember any of the names he told me.

Are they laying right now? I asked. I am fond of home-grown eggs and am constantly on alert for a new source. They have a lot more flavor and the dark yolks are rich in iron and lots of vitamins.

He asked if I would like some eggs. Sure, I said.

Go finish your walk and stop back by. I’ll have a carton ready for you, he told me. That is precisely what I did.

He opened the carton to proudly show me an array of colored eggs.

Here are your Easter eggs, he said. There in the carton was a pale blue, several green ones of different shades, a couple of dark brown and several pinkish-beige ones. He went on to explain which chicken breed had laid which color egg. The Buff Brahmas were responsible for the pinkish-beige ones. Lovely.

Good girls, I thought.

You take these, no charge. When you run out of these stop by and I’ll give you some more.

I haven’t cracked one open yet but I expect to find dark orange yolks, what with all the pecking insects out of the dirt they have been doing.

I have arranged them in an Easter basket I dug out of the back of a closet. A fitting display for now, before the egg murder begins.

Colored Eggs photograph by Diane Overcash

How delightful to get a gift of colored Easter eggs from a generous neighbor whose name I do not know. But I will find out the next time I stop for eggs.