Look at All the Gorgeous Eggs My Chickens Are Laying!

Returning from Germany a few days ago (I promise to blog about that very soon and show you some great pictures), I came home to find that my hens have been very productive!

I've been raising chickens for so many years and had really gotten use to having fresh eggs every day. But, with the move to Bedford and not having a coop to house any chickens, I was really missing those lovely eggs. Last spring, the new chicken coops were completed, and the adorable chicks were delivered from Murray McMurray Hatchery in Iowa. All summer and autumn, those chicks were feasting on a rich, organic diet, and finally, just before Christmas, the hens began to lay eggs! They were rather small at first, but as the hens grew each day, so did the eggs.

What's really exciting is that each day, we're collecting an average of 100 eggs! Of course, I can't possibly use them all, so I'm happy to take big bowls of these delicious, farm-fresh eggs to the television studio and to my offices and share them with my staff. These pictures are of a bowl of eggs that I brought in the other day. (I also wanted to put in a few pictures of the chickens and hens as an added bonus!) Perhaps this will inspire you to cook some eggs for breakfast, lunch, or dinner today.

Comments

[Kathy]

Martha,
Your hens have been productive! The eggs---and the hens---are gorgeous. Thanks for the inspiration of having eggs for breakfast.
I'll be interested to see your pictures of Germany and to hear about your trip. You have brought back memories of my trips there and of the wonderful people I have met.
Kathy

[deezie]

Wow that is alot of eggs they are sure pretty and your hens are beautiful
deezie

[PAULINE MUCCIACCIO]

Hi Martha,
I had always wanted to raise chickens, studied everyhting that was need in the care of raising chickens. Picked out the chicks I intended to order from the Murray McMurray catalog. Because of zoning regulations I was unable to have chickens. I had the most delicious egg salad last night for dinner! Eggs great to have when your're looking for a fact & easy supper! When I was pregnant with my daughter I use to make myself an egg salad sandwich every morning to take to work..to this day my daughter doesn't care to have egg salad sandwichs. Hmm
wonder why?
Glad you had a wonderful trip..looking forward to your pictures & blog on your visit to Germany.
Pauline Mucciaccio

[Amy]

Beautiful! I'm having eggs for breakfast.

Amy

[Trish]

Wow, 100 eggs a day! Those are busy little chickens, pretty too, and I see you got a number of them to pose on the fence for you. If I had eggs as fresh as yours, I probably would eat more of them and egg salad is sounding pretty good right about now. I think it is great that you share with your staff. Trish

[Rhea]

I have friends in Western Massachusetts who raise chickens and have lots of fresh eggs. They took me to the chicken show out there one year. I never knew there were so many varieties.

[robin ball]

My favorite memories as a child were gathering the eggs each day. I always thanked each hen for their gift. However the gauntlet that I had to run with our rooster, "Roho" was the stuff nightmares were made of! Even today photos of hens relax me. Thank you Martha as always for sharing with your fans.

[JudyAnn Lorenz]

My husband will be jealous of these egg pictures. He's not going to be able to wait long before getting some chickens.

Martha, ever since I learned about your collecting faux bois, I have become interested in that. Can you give us some updating about your collection and experiences?

[Jean]

Good morning, Martha....

I just watched you take an egg out of it's shell, and wondered if you have ever tried a "trick" I discovered years ago quite by accident. While the egg is still warm, but not cold, roll it cracking the shell all over. Usually, the shell will peel off in one piece using this method. I've not had any luck if the egg is too hot, or too cold. And this could be a method used by everyone, but I've shown it to a lot of people......give it a try. I love your show, and your chickens fascinate me.......all those eggs.

[Sequana]

None of the chickens that lay eggs in the beautiful colors? I never knew how you could bear to break one of those.

[Carol]

Martha, you inspired me to own chickens about 7 years ago. Since then, I've had many varieties. I adore the little Cochins. We had a barn fire several years ago and I lost my hens. I had five roosters escape the fire and they are here and are free range to this day. I want more chickens but really need to rebuild my coop first. Nothing beats fresh eggs! Thanks for inspiring me once again.

[Make and Takes]

Great looking chickens. I love colored eggs. These bring me back to when I was a child and we owned chickens. My dad would tease and say that he was going to cook one up for soup. But I got really attached and named them all so that he would let us keep them all for their eggs. Fun memories.

[Dane]

Martha,

You have some beautiful chickens, you've inspired me to build my own coop. As I'm typing this, I have a pad by my side starting a layout; could you possibly share your plans for your chicken coop or some helpful ideas?

Thanks

[jerusalem]

Oh I love fresh eggs! How great to have so many readily available!

[Makayla]

Those are gorgeous and the lighting is beautiful as well.

[Kathy]

Martha,
Congratulations on your recent award! If anyone in media deserves recognition, you do.
Thanks for showing the pictures of your travels in Germany. It is close to my heart, and I have also visited the places you described. Thanks for the memories!
Kathy

[Jan Erickson]

Hi Martha, Wow, is my mouth watering! Oh, how I would love to have room on my property to raise chickens. In my next life, I would love to come back as the owner and caretaker of a beautiful self sustained farm. In the mean time, I buy organic eggs from Costco and they are great. While at Costco on Monday, I finally found all three of your new soups. Can't decide which one to try first but will try one tonight. Thanks again for sharing. Jan

[Kathryn]

Martha,
I have lived in North Carolina for 30 years, but grew up in a rural 'rich soil' farming community in Iowa. I was a 'city' girl from a town that boasted a population of 500. Both my maternal and fraternal grandparents lived on a farm. I was so lucky to grow up in a close family and I spent many summer days with my grandparents on their farms. Both grandparents raised oorn and soy beans, but they also had hogs, cattle, horses and chickens. I have some wonderful memories of those farm days. I really enjoy your blog. Thank you so much.

[Angie]

Hi Martha,
I live on the smallest island of the 3 islands in the Bay of Fundy, Deer Island, N.B. I have also raised hens, their eggs are the best, fresh eggs that is. We only have 11 hens, but that is plenty of eggs for us...

[Kathy]

Martha,
Since I recently posted my comments, I received a call from Germany about the presentation of your award---the Aenne Burda Award---in Munich. A friend of mine was there and talked about the impact you had on the audience. Once again, congratulations!
Kathy

[JJ]

Thanks for sharing your eggs. I have always loved eggs even when they were out of vogue. Love your new challenge and even though I live to be fit every day I enjoy all the new stuff you web page has to offer. Thanks, JJ

[Karen]

Martha you have inspired many of us to start our own flocks. I think that many people would be interested in seeing a segment on your show that would include a tour of your coop.Those of us with flocks would love to see plans of your coop so that we could benefit from your experience in layout, design and organization. ie. where to store the extra feed,the best way to keep the coop clean etc..

[Laura]

My daughter brought 3 leghorn chicks home from first grade. She is now in second grade and we enjoy the eggs from the 2 hens. The rooster is really fun to watch, too. We are waiting for our Cochin hens to grow mature enough to begin laying.
What a fun experience it has been for our whole family.

[The Equine Inn]

Dear Martha, Soooo very glad you were able to have the hens again. Hello, what happened to the Auracanas? You inspired me to have hens and still do. Ended up with a few roosters too, oh well. Have used Mc.Murray also. The ar. arent as healthy and long living,but i still have them, can not resist those beautiful shells and most nutricious eggs. love ya.

[Paula M.]

Martha,
As always I am fascinated by your chickens and their beautiful chicken coop! I remember seeing your Westport coop up close and thinking what a great home for them! So awesome! Please tell us sometime how to build a coop..with all the right amendities.
I love the photo of the hens just roosting in the sun!
I too adore Aracana's. My friend used to raise them and these eggs were so beautiful (not to mention the hens and rooster!) in their pastel rainbow of colors! I love having eggs for breakfast or even a light dinner sometimes!
Please post more photos of your beautiful brood! It's got me thinking "someday" when I retire, I'll tend to my very own chickens.
Paula :)

[Deborah]

Looks like my eggs and hens! I love chickens. The Polish hens are lovely, Martha, and the Leghorns are the MOST prolific white egg layers in Chickendom! There is nothing like the taste of organic farm fresh, not factory farmed, eggs...

[bpfster]

Ah! To live on a farm and have fresh eggs everyday, but for the rest of us we will support those local farmers who sell the fresh eggs and produce at the farmer's market.

[Kathy]

Martha,
Thanks for adding the information about the different kinds of hens you have---the regular-size cuckoo marin or chocolate egg layers from France, the mottled cochin bantams, and the porcelain bantams in their antique cages. It reminded me of helping my Dad and his cousin gather eggs and clean the coop. Thanks again.
Kathy

[PamperingBeki]

I'm ashamed to admit that I've never had a farm fresh egg before! haha!!

But those sure are beautiful pictures.

[Janet Elaine Smith]

Martha,
I watch your program almost every morning in Grand Forks ND. I also have followed several of your blogs. I am glad to see you delve into the world of eggs.
Many years ago my husband and I were missionaries in Venezuela. One day I asked the girl who worked for me to get me a dozen eggs. She did, but when she brought them back she asked what they were good for. The only thing she knew about them was that they broke real easy and the Italian women all bought them.
That was the beginning of my women's cooking (and all things practical) classes for the national women. The first lesson was on what to do with eggs, and we had over 30 women who showed up!
Did you know that Robert E. Lee had a chicken he took with him the whole time the Civil War was going on? Many a soldier tried to cook the chicken, but he managed to rescue it, saying "Boiling the hen will give us one fine meal, but keeping her alive will feed us every day."
I have recently been invited to participate in a fun online blogging "game" called MeMe. I would like to have you play along with us. I added a link to your blog here at my blog http://janetelainesmith.blogspot.com. Please drop by to see the details, and if you suddenly get a lot of new visitors, yes, I'll take at least some of the responsibility for it.
Janet Elaine Smith

[Andrew Ritchie]

Chickens absolutely terrify me. I think they are so scary!

But I LOVE their eggs. And these photos are so nice.

I still use Alexis's famous egg salad recipe nearly every time I make an egg sandwich!

-Andrew

[Jill Gross-LaFaye]

Oh! The chicks are beautiful!
This reminds me of when I was little, my great-grandmother had a small chicken farm..fresh eggs, there is no comparison. There is a local farm up the road from me that I buy fresh eggs when available..otherwise I purchase the brown organic eggs from the grocery.

[Shop Little Gifts]

Wow, those eggs look so beautiful in all their natural colors. I guess this is what free range organic chicken looks like - they seem very happy. It's always great to see diversity and how natural things are supposed to look. Just saw the cucumber egg white salad wrap segment on the show. Looks, delish. Will try soon.

[Kim Wylie]

Growing up on my father's 6.5 acres of land just outside of Columbia, SC, we had a small hen house with a variety of chickens. Every year, my younger sister and I would go with my parents to a local farm supply store that seasonally sold baby chicks, and we would each get to pick one chick. I will never forget the year I chose my Araucana.

As my chick grew, her feathers showed just how very different she was from my sister's chick. Then she laid her first egg. It was something right out of a Dr. Seuss book: my chicken had laid a green egg!! My mother, not knowing about this breed, called the man at the farm supply shop excited and worried about this strange occurrence. He laughed and explained about Araucanas and I was overjoyed at my find!

...not to be outdone, my sister picked a chick the next year that turned out to be a beautiful white rooster. :)

[miche]

Martha,

Thanks for sharing your eggcellent story! Ever since I saw your pastel color eggs, especially the blue ones in one of your magazines I've been inspired to raise chickens. I would love for your to share your plans on building a chicken coop!!

[cindy]

Fantastic!!! Beautiful eggs and Chickens too! Can you tell me exactly how many calories are in a large egg...fat content too?

[Denise]

Hi Martha

Im so enjoying your blog.The eggs and chickens look wonderful.

[Susan94]

Martha, I am so happy your chickens are healthy and laying such beautiful eggs. I wished I lived close to your farm or studios that I can have some eggs. If I ever get tickets for your show I would bring an empty carton to fill up with your eggs. :) Keep my name in mind. :) I only use organic eggs and I know yours are organic. :)

[Janis]

Love your chickens and all those eggs. Can I have some?
I'm a big fan of yours.
Jan

[Debra ross]

I enjoyed this so much. i live in the city where I can't have chickens. I grew up visiting my grandmothere who kept chickens in rural MD, this brought back memories. Here in Pittsburgh we have many farmers markets where people sell their eggs I want to move where there aren't ordinances against keeping chickens!
Deb

[mary beth mast]

My husband and I have just started to raise chickens. They are not old enough to lay yet but are looking very healthy. I have question though, how healthy are eggs really? i eat two eggs most every morning for protein but alot people keep telling me thats not good. i am so confused, can you help?

[Carol Fisher]

All of the pictures are so beautiful. Really makes you want to be right there.

[GatorKim]

Hi Martha!

What gorgeous eggs--and chickens! One day, you should consider taking some eggs to your local food bank or homeless shelter. I am sure they would be a special treat that's much appreciated by all!

[Kim]

I was touched that you talked about your French Bull Dogs spayed. I am interested how you perceive the pet overpopulation situation we have in our country.

Thank you,

Kim

[Linda]

Hi Martha,

Love your eggs and chickens. I am envious. There is nothing like a fresh egg. You cannot find them around. Thanks for sharing with us. Will be dreaming of fresh eggs tonite.

Linda

[Patricia White]

Your chickens are beautiful! I so love the blue and peach eggs, don't you? We had some of McMurrey's chickens when first moving here in Alabama, 2004. Since I hadn't been around them much, I didn't realize how wonderful and smart they are. I named one of them Dumpling, he was fat and followed me around for snacks. My 33 year old daugher-in-law, (they were her chickens) passed away from cancer last year, and with it the chickens...I really do miss them!!! Sure enjoy your very informative show each evening on Fine Living, have a GREAT day!

[Corrie]

Wow, what gorgeous hens! How kind of you to share photos of your beautiful animals and the wondeful 'treats' they produce!

[GAYLE]

OUR DAUGHTER LIVES IN HAINES, ALASKA WHICH IS IN THE S.E. PORTION ALONGSIDE LYNN CANAL....SHE IS INTERESTED IN RAISING CHICKENS FOR THE EGGS...ANY SUGGESTIONS OR ADVICE FOR HER? PLEASE EMAIL ME AT MY EMAIL ADDRESS...MANY THANKS...ALSO..I WANT TO STATE HOW MUCH I ENJOY YOUR SHOW..I TAPE IT EVERYDAY TO ENJOY AGAIN...THANK YOU, GAYLE IN WYOMING

[cecile]

your hens are very beautiful. i see some of them are wearing uggs!
just kidding. you've inspired me to start raising hens.
thank you!

[Rachel]

Martha,
Fantastic pictures! I am amazed at the variety there is. We have moved to a 40 ac. farm and you have inspired me to have chickens. What is the best way to house them, storage of feed and how much of a chicken yard to have for them to roam and scratch. Do you have any design plans or a video tour of your chicken coop for ideas or ispiration? Thank you for everything you do. Your love of learning is very inspirational and I look for new ways to improve and learn something new every day. Thank you again.

[John]

Hello Martha,
I just want to say "Hi", and tell you how much I love your show. It starts (here in Omaha) right when I get out of my last class and I watch it every day. I first started watching because I couldn't find anything else on T.V., but your show has quickly become one of my favorites. You're so helpful and knowledgeable about every topic you discuss on your show. I especially love the segments on home improvement and design.
Thank you!

[Ceola Jean]

Martha- this brings back memories. WE used - order the baby chickens, ("I remember rhode Island Reds"). they usually came in the coldest part of winter and we would have to keep the crates in the house to keep them warm and get up during the night to check on the light that kept them ward. thanks for sharing.

[Susan]

Martha I know you do things perfectly and your chickens are great looking. What is the organic diet and how do you house them. Mine are good girls and lay daily, but I want them to be the healthiest and this is my first try.

[Kristina]

Martha, I am planning on converting an adorable playhouse I had made years ago for my daughter into a chicken coop. It will be fancy as it has window flower boxes, cafe doors, white siding and blue shingles. Do you have any photos of your chicken houses present and past. I see there are many people that have an interest in seeing your chicken coops.
Kristina

[cindy]

Your chickens are beautiful and such good layers. I wish I could have chickens where I live cause I would have some. I am a country girl living in the city.

[Marcy Lynn]

Martha, Your chickens bring back wonderful memories of my Grammie and Pop-Pop. Thank you for a great story. We are starting to become more organic and 'green'. Your blogs are a great inspiration. Thx!

[Havelane]

We have have chickens now for about 7 years on our farm. After having standards for 4 years, I have changed over to bantams and prefer them now. We have mottled cochins, a few aracauna, some silkies, and old English game hens. The two cochin hens hatched a brood on Thanksgiving Day and another on Jan. 4. This is the earliest we have EVER had babies--must be the weird weather we are having. Couldn't do without my hens! I also have lived in Germany two different times, once as a child and then later worked civil service for 2 years. I would LOVE to go back as a tourist! WONDERFUL people and food! Can't wait to see your photos.

Nancy alias Havenlane

[Ingrid Moyle]

Hi Martha,

I live in Melbourne, Australia and am a huge fan of yours. I was fortunate enough to see the wonderful eggs you talk about in this blog on your show today. What glorious colors they are! I watch your show everyday and am fortunate enough that should I miss an episode it is repeated the next morning - a big relief when I miss out because of my gym classes! Your tips on making 2008 a healthier year for all of us are truly inspirational, as are all the other wonderful things you inspire me to do. So look forward to seeing you on tomorrows program! Thank you.

[Sarah Munn]

Martha, I am never happier than when I am sitting in front of my TV watching one of your segments about your animals. Do you suppose you will ever do any more specials from one of your beautiful homes? I love seeing your vegetable gardens. You are a friend in my home. I look forward to visiting with you for many more years.

[Cyndy McKenrick]

Martha,

I love when you share pictures of your chickens it brings back wonderful memories.

As a child I would visit Mrs. Brasher in Palmer, Texas and sit for hours on top of the small hen house waiting for the lunch siren to go off at the old Brick yard. I was told numerous times to stay out of the Chicken yard, Mrs. Brasher would try and scare me with talk about snakes and mean Roosters so I would stay out of the chicken coop.

Today my neighbor has what you might call free ranch chickens, since they roam in everyone's yard. Just yesterday I saw a Mother Hen with her small brood of about 10 baby chicks scratching along the fence row. They were such a joy to watch. It's like our small town has not made it to the 20th century and I guess that's okay, since I enjoy hearing the roosters crow every morning (they begin crowing around 3:30am) and the chickens roaming all around town.

What about a whole issue around chickens - just a thought.

[Mohd Norizham]

wow...perhaps your chickens just found a better place to live thus produced more eggs...the eggs seemed so fresh to me...arghh...I wish I could have these fresh eggs everyday...lucky you Martha :p

[JudyAnn Lorenz]

I'm back commenting. My husband has been memorizing McMurray catalogs for years. Your endeavors have inspired us to go ahead with our chicken dream. He wants some big friendly chickens, and I want some chickens who lay the blue, green, rose colored eggs. We buy our eggs now from other chicken people. The colored ones are not different except in terms of shells. I sometimes think that the Araucanas have harder shells.

Again, I'm looking forward to some Faux bois information. Take care and enjoy your chickens.

[Doris Hammond]

Martha, I enjoyed seeing the variety chicken breeds you have! The eggs are beautiful. I love chickens. I have a large house where I and my helpers care for 10,000 plus chickens. We collect, clean, and grade an average of 8,000 eggs a day when they are in peak. We get some very large double yolks which don't sell. A couple of days ago we got one weighing 123 grams(our chickens are large). Best way to peel an egg is to crack with back of spoon and roll the boiled egg in both hands to loosen the shell and then run a spoon around under the shell. I enjoy your show everyday--we have a T.V. in the breakroom--and I also enjoy your website and blog. Doris Hammond in Minor Hill, TN.

[Pam Jordan]

Hi Martha:
I wonder where I can get information, pictures, and blue prints for your chicken coops. Do you have a book on chickens, their care, housing/coops, etc.? If so where can I buy it? While the snow falls, I am in the planning stages to renovate/build the coop on my property to house chickens this Spring. Please help - any info you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Pam in Columbia, MO

[Carol Gruetter]

Dear Martha:
My mother has chickens in Norco, CA and I help her clean the chicken house on a regular basis. It always seems to be very messy. Do you have any secrets for keeping their water, food trays and ground clean and tidy? Also, can you explain why you used various grades of gravel for the chickens to walk on while they are outside? Would it be possible for you to share the chicken house floor plans, pens and materials used? My mom's chicken house is in such disrepair. Thank you. Carol

[Maureen McJannet]

You have such a great blog what with all the great pictures and most interesting and varied topics.

Keep up the great work.

[Billy The Blogging Poet]

Wow, I was just googling for info on chickens (I got my first 3 hens this week) and I find this.

Thanks, you give me hope my hens will start laying soon. One is a aeriacana and I'm excited to finally see green eggs.

[K D Smith]

Martha, I would love to see pictures of your chicken coop. I live in rural Leesburg, MS. I have 11 chickens and we plan to make a chicken house. My chickens are loose in the day and in a inclosed area at night. I have chased, rather walked and screamed a hawk off my Rhode Island red rooster, he is doing fine and the hawk flew off. We forgot to lock the gate one night and a fox got three chickens. I love watching the chickens out the french doors, I have had many surgeries and more to come and the chickens bring me such happiness. My 4 year old grandson collects the eggs and makes my day when he brings the eggs in and to see the joy in his eyes as he counts how many eggs he got for the day.

[happy zombie]

Just found your blog. Now I can razz my family who gave me a hard time for blogging about my little yellow hen Omelet's first egg... that Martha did it too.

[Belinda]

Hi Martha...I have been watching you for years and you've always inspired me in so many ways, from cooking, baking, homekeeping, gardening, etc. I just started keeping chickens last fall. My husband surprised me with a beautiful hen house that he put up in a weekend while I was away on business. I currently have one rooster and five hens; 3 brahma bantams and 2 americana....so I get both blue/green eggs and brown. I get anywhere from two to four eggs a day and it is such a wonderful treasure to have fresh eggs every day. I hope to grow my flock to at least a dozen by the summer. I even plan to show my rooster, Artie, as he is quite the handsome fellow...keeps all the hens in line, but he is friendly and loves to be cuddled! Thanks for the wonderful show, magazines and now your blog. I love when you share photos of your trips and homelife....it connects us to you in a very personal way. Thanks for all you do to inspire us daily. I hope to make it to New York one day to see your show....I would be on cloud 9 to see you in person.

[rosemarie b austin]

Hi Martha,
I was born and raised in germany and we grow up in eschwege.I miss not having fresh butter,milk and eggs ..sooooo I'm wondering could I buy fom you or do you know someone I could order fresh unpreserved /organic food??/
Can't wait to see your pictures -I have not been home since 1981 and get very homesick ,everyone has passed on except my oldest brother he is 80 and myself 58.
I fan since the first time i saw your thanksgiving you stuffed with sage and were still with your husband .
ROSI

[karen kuhn]

hey martha,your chicken collection is the most remarkable mixture of breeds that i have ever seen in one gathering. when i was a child we had three different breeds, i truly love chickens, and your eggs already look like easter eggs. thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures,they truly bring back memories.

[NINA]

Hi Martha,
I really enjoyed getting to see your chickens. A few years ago you inspired me to start raising chickens. I've always loved chickens and as a child we had a small farm. So I really missed having animals. I was watching your show one day and you showed the most beautiful "chicks" I'd ever seen, your Aracana hens and it was love at first sight, the colored eggs are such a nice bonus. I started out with a georgous Dominiquer rooster (I named him Gray) and his five adorable "girls", which a friend of mine gave me. Then my two daughters and I went to the local farm supply store in serch of an Aracana. I found her and in honor of my favorite "lady" named her Martha, and she's my baby. We also came home that day with a Buff Orphington and a Rhode Island Red (all three chicks).
This Easter my six year old was elated to find two more Aracana chicks that the Easter Bunny had left in her basket. Our only problem is what to name them. I wanted to name one in honor of you precious Mother, and we thought it might be fun to let you name the other one. If it's not too much to ask could I please get your Mother's middle name and also get you to do me and Katie a huge favor and give our other baby a name. We would appreciate it so much.
Thank You and We Love You Martha,
Nina and Katie from Georgia

[julibelle]

Dear Martha,
That very first article on your chickens, with the awesome A-frame coop, got me onto keeping them as well. What a treat they were. I kept a flock of 40+ hens and was able to sell the eggs to local cheese store - it was the most exciting $$ I've ever earned!! I'm not able to keep them just now, but look forward to having them again. Thank you for the inspiration, especially your emphasis on the heritage breeds - I still have the Sandhill Farm article to show other folks.
all my best
julibelle

[Bill Larson]

Could you post or send me a picture of your chicken house, I would like to make one like it I have 5 acres and it would fit right in with my landscaping, thanks Bill.