Joe’s birthday surprise
When Joe’s birthday came along this year, I knew we’d never match the birthday he had when Spain won the World Cup, but I still wanted to do something a little different to mark the occasion.
“What do you want to do for your birthday this year?” I asked Joe.
“Hmm… I think just a day at the beach. Perhaps go somewhere for a meal afterwards?”
“You don’t want to do anything different?”
“Nope. No surprises please, I don’t want any fuss. Right, I’m off to collect the eggs and I hope they’ve laid some decent ones for a change.”
We have only four chickens now and although elderly, they provide us with more than enough eggs. But there is a problem. One of our hens has suddenly begun to lay eggs with no yolk. When one cracks an egg into a basin ready to whip into a creamy, yellow scrambled egg, it’s a bit of a shock. A breakfast egg with no yolk is no joke. We’ve kept chickens since we moved to El Hoyo, and we’ve never encountered this problem before. Friends on Facebook told me that these eggs are known as ‘fart eggs’, and the Internet informed me that it occasionally occurs with aged chickens.
“Why don’t you make meringues or an egg-white omelet?” people suggested.
But we just can’t bring ourselves to use these yolkless eggs. They look so unpleasant. We recognise the dodgy ones by their slightly rougher shells, so when Joe collects the eggs, he puts them into a carrier bag, ready to throw away.
We spent Joe’s birthday on the beach and had a lovely meal at a beachside restaurant. It was still light as we drove back up the mountain to our village.
“I’ve had a lovely birthday,” he said.
“And it’s about to get even better!”
“Is it? Why?” Joe stole a suspicious glance at me, before concentrating again on the winding road ahead.
“Wait and see. When we get to the next bend in the road, the one nearly at the top of the mountain, stop the car.”
“Do you want to look at the view?”
“Yes, but something else as well. A surprise.”
“You know I don’t like surprises.”
“You’ll enjoy this one.”
There’s a handy lay-by at the side of the road with enough room to park the car and enjoy the glorious view. In front stretched the Mediterranean sea, blue and dotted with tiny boats. Below us the cliff dropped, great rocky crags jutting out at crazy angles.
“So why have we stopped? What’s the surprise?”
I opened the back of the car and lifted out a heavy carrier bag.
“Eggs,” I said. “Let’s throw the eggs at the rocks below.”
Swimming, sunbathing, a nice meal, and finally hurling eggs, one by one, over a cliff and watching them smash on the rocks beneath.
Joe agreed it was the perfect end to his birthday.
Do join me on Facebook to find out how we’re coping, day to day.
happy travelling philosopher
September 1, 2013 @ 5:34 am
I have often thought of you both after reading about your life in Spain and keeping chickens. A few years ago in Echuca on the River Murray in Australia I decided to keep ducks. I checked out books in the library and learned how to clip ducks wings to stop them flying away.
I constructed a large wired in pen in my back garden, and purchased a blow-up baby pool and set it into the ground, then I checked out advertisements in rural newspapers for ” Ducks For Sale. ” Soon after I visited the local real station and picked up one week old baby ducks, four in total. I picked the breed Khaki Campbell as I had read they are the best egg layers.
First of all I kept them in the bathroom bath until they were old enough to survive outside and fed them wheat in minute quantities, at feeding time they went mad and and practically jumped into my hands.
The big day approached and took them outside to their special enclosure. Boy, did they enjoy that, ducks must be able to smell water as I placed them inside well away from the baby bathtub, immediately they raced for the water and spent the rest of the day jumping in and out of tub. I think they had a wonderful time from then on.
In the past I have kept chickens, but I prefer ducks as they are so adorable and peaceful, unlike chickens they never fight and great fun to watch.
Best of all they lay eggs every day of the year. Yes, 365 days per year without fail, no moulting and dormant period.
I had so many eggs that I placed a sign on the front gate. ” Duck eggs for sale. ” Surprisingly, I was inundated with requests to buy. Duck eggs are great for rich cakes and when you get used to the flavour I have enjoyed them as boiled eggs and fried with bacon.
I have never understood why duck eggs are not more popular.
If I lived on a farm I would keep geese as they are better than guard dogs. In France you see geese all over the country.
Victoria Twead
September 1, 2013 @ 12:10 pm
Wow, you’ve really made me want to keep ducks now! Unfortunately we travel too much so it would be silly to get more animals. Shame! 🙁