They didn’t set a new personal best, but they got a perfect score for consistency.
Allow me to explain.
I like to keep track of how many eggs our three hens lay. Day by day, I enter their “data” on a spreadsheet, and keep a cumulative total for the month. Then, at month’s end, I check to see how that month’s offerings stack up against previous totals. (Yes, I can be a bit obsessive.)
“The girls” laid no eggs in January (that's not uncommon during the winter), 8 in February, 60 in March and 65 in April. Snow, Nellie and Hope seemed to be on track during most of May to at least match their April total — maybe even top it. But as May began to wind down, it became clear that we’d go right down to the wire without a clear outcome.
When the 31st dawned on Sunday, the total for the month stood at 64 eggs, one shy of April’s figure. So if two of the three hens laid eggs on Sunday, they’d close the month with 66 eggs, a new record for 2015. I tried not to pressure them, but the tension was palpable. (Notice the use of exaggeration to build suspense.)
Alas, it was not meant to be.
Only one hen came through on Sunday, boosting the monthly total from 64 eggs to 65. But on the plus side, that was precisely the same number of eggs as the April total, which is a pretty impressive feat. I’ve owned brand-new washing machines that were less reliable.
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