Garden Eggs
HWEM has been having a lot of trouble with una gallina (a hen) from the garden next door. La Gallina hops over the stone wall that separates her garden from ours; feasts on his newly planted rocket and then knocks over the unfinished brick wall of the compost heap and disappears into the undergrowth on our top terrace.
Two weeks ago HWEM was toiling away in the overgrown terrace when he discovered a nest with thirteen eggs. It was a magical find but we assumed they had been there for ages so he buried them. I was hopeful that if La Gallina decided to lay again she might let us know.
We'd totally forgotten about it until this morning when HWEM discovered another perfect nest hollowed out under a pile of rubbish. Thirteen eggs! We knew they weren't there before, so they had to be fresh. They were! La Gallina has been paying for her rocket.
We never see the owner of the garden next door. Throughout the summer the vines and the fruit trees are loaded with fruit but we never see it picked. Someone must feed the hens because they are plump and happy.
I left one of the eggs in the nest and collected the rest. It seems all our Italian neighbours give us gifts.
La Gallina
Pert Poached Eggs
18 comments:
Fresh eggs...what a treat! Now you're making friends with a real local...a hen. Nice painting. Good shading on the eggs. Ciao!
What a delightful little story Robyn! Yes, it seems you are living a life in harmony with everybody around you...neighbors and animals...that sounds like heaven.
And a lovely painting of these gifts, radiating happiness. I also want una gallina!
Ronell
PS: I subscribed to this little heaven of yours...I think I did it 10 times and I'm still not sure what I've done different from just linking you? Maybe next time you post, my phone might ring?
Ronell
I love la galina! And the eggs -- oh, yum. I have a rather gaudy ceramic rooster on my front porch here in Tennessee, and when I received him, I thought, "Oh, he looks so Italian!" And he looks like the perfect mate for your friendly visitor!
OH GRACIOUS! This is SUPERB! And I LOVE your story!! What a grace-filled life, Robyn!
What a wonderfully colorful story, a gorgeous painting on some very interesting paper--it looks so textured--and a delicious photo of your poached eggs. I'm going to make some for breakfast. I've really enjoyed viewing all of your wonderful work on your blog--it's terrific!
How wonderful!
Lovely watercolour.
Top tip: You may want to pop out and mark that single egg with a pen so you know it's the old one when she lays others! ;)
That sound like a good deal to me - La Gallina knows how to keep the neighbors happy. Lovely post, Robyn - your painting of the eggs is wonderful, and they look excellent poached as well.
Brava! Che buona gallina e che pintura molto bella. Boy, do I have to brush up on my Italian! I just love your bowl of eggs...something I've been thinking of painting at some future time. I love the photos as well....But unlike ronell..io non vorrei una gallina!!!
What a lovely story; good to know that even the hens are good neighbours round your way!
Thank you everyone, you are a pleasure to write for. Sadly La Gallina hasn't deposited any more eggs in the nest. I think she's on to us ;)
Ann - Maybe I need to get her a rooster like yours.
Anita - Thanks, I took your advise and marked the egg.
Jana - TY, the painting is on Clairefontaine Rough 140lb watercolour paper. There are only 12 sheets int he 7 x 9.5 inch sketchbook. I hope I can find another.
Such a wonderful story and good egg painting!!! I like the grey shades in the painting; they turned out so good!-
I like the photos, too! They are illustrating the story perfectly!
A really nice blog entry!
Oh, Robyn, you are such fun to visit. Blogwise, of course. Many more of these stories about my favorite things (fountains, poached eggs, etc), though, and you will have me on your doorstep before you can say 'basta!'
Wonderful eggs sketch, too.
Robyn - I've been going to post on this one a couple of times and been called away each time.
So at last I can say how much I like your eggs - and the story of the hens and the photo of your poached eggs on toast! Very eggy and really wonderful! It's such a treat seeing little bits of your life.
So glad I found your site. I've been looking for artists living in Italy. I found you through "Bleeding Expresso," among others as well. Love your work and stories. I'll be back. Ciao!
Sounds like you have a very contrite chicken on your hands -lucky you! Your sketch of the eggs is beautiful, and it's so nice you included a picture of the giver and the gifts in their final form. Great story.
What a lovely response from everyone. Thank you so much - rather than responding here I'm getting around to enjoy all your blogs.
You are sooooo lucky to have farm fresh eggs from chickens who live chicken lives. Beautiful paintings here! Love to visit.
Lindsay - Thank you. Unfortunately my little red hen hasn't returned. I'm back to buying eggs at the supermarket.
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