16 eggs and my heart

Mavis’ secret love nest has been found.

I should explain that a while back, we had been experiencing Mavis’ disappearances, growing to 24 hours at a time, just before we installed the girls in their new coop – a larger space where they could be kept for the bulk of the day. We had posited a nest somewhere – full of eggs, because chickens do go “broody” when they have 12 or so; they’ll sit for 21 days straight, barely leaving the nest once a day for food and water. Since Mavis’ absences fit that pattern, we’d searched the neighbor’s yard and our own, but never found anything.

This week, the neighbor found it.

Picture SIXTEEN perfect brown eggs in four tight rows, in an indentation under the massive thicket of weeds that grow between the house next door to us and the one further down. That sneaky girl! She also had her own private dust bath dug out right next to it (think: chicken spa).

(Note: photo only shows 12 eggs because I’d already removed four before I got my hands on with the camera.)

I tried the water-cup test and all of them floated (fresh eggs sink). They must come from that time period, pre-new-coop, where she was indeed heading off daily to sit on her “clutch” of eggs.

What else is news? I’m working crazy hard these days. Jonah is in care four-days-a-week; some are half days, some three-quarters, one almost-full-day. He seems to be totally rocking the new preschool. He talks about the teachers and the other kids there like they are his friends – which of course, they are. It’s just new for me to hear preschool associates being referred to that way.

This morning, we were discussing Diesel 10. Diesel 10 is an engine with a flexible arm and toothed bucket scoop on top named “Chomper” – if you get their drift; and little boys often do. As soon as Jonah saw a video with chomper in it, he began chomping at things. It’s like he’s this perfect foil, a doppelganger for all the aggression almost-3-year-olds are so itchy to express. I hear from other moms that Diesel 10 often gets put in time-out.

So Jonah was asking if I liked Diesel 10 and I said that I did not.

Scott pointed out that most mommies do not like Diesel 10.

Jonah considered this. And then he said, “I think that Sarah likes Diesel 10.”

Sarah is one of his teachers. She is young, hip, a little edgy, cool. She wears giant Jackie-O sunglasses.

I decide it’s time to reverse my position.

“You know what Jonah? I changed my mind. I like Diesel 10, too.”

“…and mommy’s heart grew three sizes that day,” narrated Scott.