Growing up in the good old days left me with fond memories of spring and Easter. I've never ceased to delight in the yard awakening. We always wanted grass to be greening and something to be blooming on Easter ― all the better for an egg hunt. There were no colorful plastic eggs, no battery-powered chickens, ducks or bunnies, and no Spongebob or Hello Kitty trinkets in a basket on Easter morning in my childhood.

We hunted for real, hard-boiled eggs. Preparing them was quite the ritual. We would excitedly keep asking mom when we could dye eggs the week before Easter. Finally she would spread an oilcloth on the kitchen table, and the process would begin. I would set out tea cups for the hot vinegar water and dyes. Mom would hard boil the eggs. After patting them dry, we carefully eased them into dye with thin wire holders and waited until the color was just the shade we wanted. Then we let them dry on a cookie rack. These were the eggs the bunny hid on Sunday morning.

chicken or the egg. But through the years, I have gained a great appreciation for both the chicken and the egg.

Now that Backyard Birds stocks Egg-A-Day chicken food, scratch, and chick starter for urban chicken farmers, I'm all the more conscious of both chickens and eggs so let me share some interesting facts:

• A hen requires 24-36 hours to produce an egg
• An eggshell may have 17,000 pores (all the better for absorbing dye)
• Hens with white feathers and ear lobes lay eggs with white shells; hens with red or brown feathers and ear lobes lay eggs with brown shells
• Egg yolks are one of the best sources of Vitamin D and a natural source of lutein, which helps prevent age-related cataracts
• One egg = 1 ounce of lean meat, fish or poultry and about 75 calories per egg
• Spin an egg to determine if it is raw or hard boiled - if it wobbles, it's raw
• A fresh egg will sink in water, a stale one will float
• Double-yolk eggs are produced by younger hens because their egg cycle is not synchronized yet
• Hens usually lay eggs during daylight
• Natural egg color can be white, dark brown, green, blue, or cream colored with varying shades of the colors; the color is only on the outer shell while interior shell color is all the same
• Some hens sing ''the egg song" just before, during or after laying her egg

The chicken egg has been a wonderful donation to spring rites. Luckily the practice of selling baby chicks and ducks, sometimes dyed, has vanished. It is amazing that from when I was young and until now when I provide a hunt for my grandchildren, the excitement that comes with egg hunts has never faded. Searching for brightly colored eggs in the spring is a delightful part of an American childhood.