Today was full of firsts for me. It began as soon as I stepped outside this morning and noticed that the first of the pink lilies has opened.

It’s one of my favorite flowers in the garden and their opening is a sign that the first day lilies are about to open, too.

My next “first” was the bird feeder on the red maple. At first I didn’t know what it was, but then…

…I realized that in each opening there are tiny greens growing. I’ve never seen seed sprout in our bird feeders before!

Next was a nice surprise. The first sign that the potatoes in the first potato tower we’ve ever built are growing.

I expect more will pop out soon.

I didn’t expect this ivy we transplanted next to the chicken coop to survive at first; we’ve had it for a couple of years in a different location and it never really grew much but for the first time it’s not just surviving but it’s thriving!

It’s going to provide a ton of shade for our girls as it climbs up and over the coop.

Speaking of the coop, as I went to throw feed for the flock, I noticed we had an imposter hanging out in the chicken house.

Nice try, duckie.

I’m not sure how she ended up in there, but I had to run her out because those wyandottes are mean! They will hen peck her and make her sorry she invaded their space. It wouldn’t be the first time, either. We had to separate them out from the ducks before because they are so aggressive.

I’m almost glad we’ll be butchering them soon. For the first time I feel no guilt whatsoever at replacing our layer hens with a new, friendlier batch! 🙂