Ordinary Splendor, Defined

May
1

I keep my cousin’s brooder in my office now. It takes up a great deal of space. I don’t mind. I watch my infant chickens with a sense of awe and gratitude. I will take care of them and protect them–and they will give back to me one hundred-fold.





Just a few days ago, I could rest my head against the top of the incubator and hear their distant-sounding pecks inside their shells.





It’s difficult to imagine how such a miracle occurs inside that shell, or how they ever fit in there.





I asked them what it was like in there, how they came to be, and what God was like.

And they thought about it for awhile.

Then they got all tuckered…..





….and collapsed to nap face-first in the straw….





….without telling me.





Comments

  1. connie says:

    Awwww!!I love the last photo..That is sweet.Connie

  2. robin says:

    those are questions for all new babies;
    awed, amazing, delightful…just loved
    the pictures and sharing of new life.

  3. Jodie says:

    AWWWWWWWWWWW… so sweet. Thanks for more chicks.

  4. Kim A. says:

    These pics are so adorable I don’t even have words. 🙂

    -Kim

  5. Cheryl says:

    Sigh…I think I am in love with those babies. :heart:
    God bless ’em every one!

  6. Mental P Mama says:

    These babies are so darn cute I can hardly stand it. I’m not kidding. This whole experience is life-affirming! :heart: :chicken: :heart: :chicken: :heart:

  7. CarolW says:

    They are so gorgeous!

  8. Tresha says:

    What a GREAT POST…excellent pictures….so adorable. I promise us readers are not getting tired of seeing or hearing about your new babies!!! Keep them coming!

    Tresh in Oklahoma

  9. Kim says:

    Awwww! I can’t wait till I get to grow chickens. :chicken: Your babies are sooo cute! By the way, I’ve recently discovered your blog and wanted to let you know I just love it here! The recipes got me here and your stories make me want to stay. I’ve often wondered myself what it looked like in an outhouse, thanks for satisfying that curiosity for me. :rotfl:

  10. Ann from Montana says:

    I love that baby animal thing of “up and at ’em” until suddenly “nap happens”!

    They are beautiful!

  11. Becky says:

    Takes me back to Grandma’s farm. The chicks, the incubator, the eggs and the rooster that attacked me. Cherished memories! Thank you! :thumbsup:

  12. sunshine says:

    Awww they are so cute
    love the pictures

  13. Lora says:

    The babies are beautiful.
    How is Sugar? Is her little nose healing up?

  14. Granny Sue says:

    Wonderful pictures! Hey Suzanne, you should try turkeys sometime. They’re a lot like chicks but calmer.

    God through the eyes of a day-old chick. Now that’s a concept.

  15. Annie says:

    I’ve learned that chickens never give up their secrets.

  16. Kristen says:

    God is truly amazing how he plans things….life in itself is a testament at how great He truly is! :heart:

  17. Kathy R says:

    Oh shoot, now you have me crying over my breakfast…what an image, and what a powerful thought. Let me know if they speak to you when they wake up…I’d like the answer, too.

  18. Treasia says:

    They just keep getting cuter and cuter.

  19. Shirley says:

    I know you are having a great time with the baby chicks. I love to hear them making their little baby chick noise. They will think you are thier mama and follow you around all the time. :shimmy:

  20. Jyl says:

    They are so cute it makes me want one. And wow, you have a little rainbow of chicky colors.

  21. Jill S. says:

    If they were in my office, I’d get no writing done, that’s for sure. The are ADORABLE.

  22. Claudia W says:

    What a fantastic way to start my day! Thank you somuch for all that cuteness and fuzziness. Those pictures are going to carrying me through this day with a smile on my face.

  23. Cyndi Lewis says:

    Is there anything cuter then baby chicks? I don’t think so!

  24. Courtney KS says:

    Heartwarming! Thank you!!!

  25. Jeannie says:

    oh my goodness, they are sooo cute- I want a dozen of my own. How to convince hubby? My neighbors would kill me if I got a rooster. My dogs wouldn’t play nice. hmm… I am definitely intrigued- just have to work out a plan.

  26. Fern says:

    How do you keep them away from your cats? They must love them too! :purr: The chicks are adorable…reminds me of when my mom would order them from a local company in the 50’s. They would show up in a crate or something like that, already hatched, but too soon would they be big chick’s. We had one angry rooster once, I think he hated the world and all that was in it. He would run off to my uncle’s farm and fight with his rooster until they were both bloody. I think he had an anger control problem :talktothehand: I believe he needed to be on some meds from the chicken doctor. Crazy rooster!
    Have a good day, Fern

  27. Suzanne McMinn says:

    Re Sugar, I’ll be posting a new picture of Sugar tomorrow in the Daily Farm Photo! She’s doing great.

    Fern, I keep the door shut so the cats can’t get into the office where the chicks are!

  28. IowaCowgirl says:

    They are wonderful little guys! Thank you for sharing their poultry moments. Any creature that poos and pees and pops eggs out of the same orifice has always amazed me. Of course, some say I need to get off the farm more….

  29. Lisa in California says:

    OMG!! Could they be any cuter?!?!?!!! What a blessing.

  30. Becky says:

    OMG SO CUTE!!!!

    Will never eat chicken again, now. :chicken:

  31. Amy Addison says:

    They are adorable, Suzanne! I love the communal nap. Did they really all fall asleep at the same time? What great circadian rhythms.

  32. Cathy says:

    They are so cute!!! You will have to update us with pictures as they grow. I can’t wait to see what they look like when they are all grown up!

  33. Dru says:

    aaaawwww. I’ve always wondered how they sleep. Thanks for taking us along on your adventures with the crew.

  34. ML says:

    Oh my goodness, cute overload! How funny that they all nap together at the same time.

  35. Daisy Girl says:

    I love those pictures! How sweet! Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy reading your blog and catching a glimpse of your life in the country!

  36. Tori Lennox says:

    The chicks are so darn cute!!!!!

  37. Brandy says:

    Oh my! They look so precious!

  38. catslady says:

    I love the pictures and all their pretty different colors! :chicken:

  39. Gloria Jean says:

    Suzanne, you are a daily inspiration! As a little “thank you”, I am sending along this bit from Mary Stewart’s THE IVY TREE (1961) which I am re-reading:
    “The kitchen was a big, pleasant room, with a high ceiling, a new cream-coloured Aga stove, and long windows made gay with potted geraniums and chintz curtains that stirred in the June breeze. The floor was of red tiles, covered with those bright rugs of hooked rag that make Northern kitchens so attractive. In front of the Aga was an old-fashioned fender of polished stel, and inside it, from a basket covered with flannel, came the soft cheepings of newly hatched chickens. The black and white cat asleep in the rocking chair took no notice of the sounds, or of the tempting heavings and buttings of small heads and bodies against the covering flannel.”
    You make so many of the pictures in my head come true. Again, thanks!

  40. Estella says:

    Those pics are so cute!

  41. Kacey says:

    Are you going to do another batch? I want more hatching pics! These pics are so cute!

  42. Kim says:

    What a sweet, sweet post! I love baby chicks, although nearly all of ours have come in the mail, so we haven’t experienced the hatching process close up. A few of our babies have fallen off the chicken trucks, and two were hatched out be a broody hen that wouldn’t let me get close enough to hear them pecking inside the eggs!

  43. Sandy says:

    You have the most inspirational blog! I LOVE IT!! I had a 110 year old farmhouse when my son was younger and we moved from there 4 years ago when I remarried – I miss my barns and some things but the house itself had a wierd “curse” to it – was built by a Civil War hero (John Bloss) and after 12 years of crazy stuff there I was done…packed and moved…but watching these baby chicks this week brought back some good memories we had there – my son would ride our little chicks around in his toy tractors for HOURS and build them little barnyards and put them in his toy barn every single spring until he was about 8 years old – we had the best fun with them – I miss life on the farm…just not that farm…lol….someday we will find another one and it will be our true home – if you are interested I will give you some info on some of the crazy happenings at that house which would give you some ideas for your writings – I never believed in paranormal anything until I lived there and I found your blog to begin with while researching “paranormal romance” books- take care and keep up the good blogging and treasure every moment of your life on the farm with your kids….you are very special and so are they – follow your dreams – if you always have one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow you will end up squatting on today! Take care! Blessings!

  44. BekBek says:

    Oh, the wonder and awe of new life! If only they COULD talk. I think the same things when I look in the faces of newborn children fresh from the home of God and wish they could tell me all they know. I guess we must be content to love and appreciate their innocence and newness inot our world.

  45. SuzieQ says:

    Don’t you just want to sit and watch them all day…I would never get anything else done..They’re beautiful..

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