The littlest tree. Plus: Xmas egg mystery!

Rosemary

Led lights are the only kind this guy can handle…

This little tree might look like it’s on its last legs, but actually has been with me for nearly twenty years!   I picked it up when it was a wee little sprout, just after I moved in with Sabine, and it’s been holding on and getting marginally larger ever since.   I had to change its pot a number of times.  It’s currently living in a plastic mixing bowl, because some time after I moved into my own place, I dropped it and broke its official ceramic pot.  Haven’t replaced the pot yet, but Little Tree seems not to mind.

The Christmas Duckie ornament has been in our family since we ourselves were wee little sprouts.

My sister is now a nomad, currently catsitting in Florida, whilst I am tucked into my cozy apartment, while outside it’s so freakin’ cold!   It’s the lower edge of that bomb cyclone that’s been dropping tons of snow over much of the United States, and crazy-cold temps over the rest of it.  The other night it went down to 7 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s  -13.88 Celsius to the rest of the world).   Cold enough to make you not want to leave the house.

 

In unrelated news, I’ve had an odd encounter with eggs…

The other day, I wanted an omelet.  Stopped by a neighborhood store that I don’t often use, picked up some all-natural eggs, which I don’t often buy, jumbo-sized, because Why Not?

Got home, cracked the first one and it was a double-yolk!

Well, isn’t that nice, I thought.  Double yolk means free extra egg!  Kind of.  Ah, the mysteries of Nature.

Then I cracked the second one, and — hey, wait a minute…

I became suspicious.  I cracked a third.  This is what I got:

Free extra eggs!

Heh.  What are the odds.   Posted the event to Facebook (as one does).  Thought no more of it.

Until Christmas eve, when, hey, I wanted another omelet.   Some big cheesy thing, lots of mushrooms and scallions because: Christmas Eve brunch!

And I got this:

Okay, hang on, here…

Okay, so, what if…

Then I realized that even if my suspicions were true, it would be very easy for someone to fake double-yolks in a photo. So I videoed it.      (Link only; I found that I couldn’t easily embed my own video directly in WordPress.)

Six consecutive eggs from one carton, all double-yolk.   Yeah, this is beyond natural probability.   And that means that someone did it.  On purpose.

So, today when I decided to make some egg salad for use in the upcoming week, which required hard-boiled eggs…

Only the last is not a double.

So here’s what I think happened:  Someone at the egg-packing facility knew (or strongly suspected) which eggs might be double-yolk.  And decided to put them all in one carton.  Specifically in order to surprise, amuse, and possibly mystify, and send into trains of logic and probability some future unknown random customer.

That’s exactly what I would have done in their place.  I am on the side of those who choose to surprise, amuse, possibly mystify, and eventually elucidate.   My people.

I hope your holidays bring you and yours unexpected gifts, laughter, and enlightenment.

And stay warm, if you can manage it.

 


3 Responses to “The littlest tree. Plus: Xmas egg mystery!”

  • Alison Olmsted Says:

    There’s an interesting science and math based article about the probability of getting multiple double yoked eggs, the answer isn’t what you’d expect, of course! https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16118149

  • Jeff Shannon Says:

    This is going to sound crazy, because it is, but it’s a true story. I once bought a carton of eggs from a store we don’t usually buy from. I remember they were eggs that were sourced somewhere other than your usual mass produced egg farm, but they were still very reputable and large brand, nothing so crunchy as farm stand eggs, but somewhere in between.

    I was making them up one morning and every single one was double yolk. All 12. I searched online about the phenomenon, curious because I had never seen it before, nor since really. Online I found a mix of plain articles about them but also a smidgen of wives tale stuff about double yolk eggs being an indication that you’re going to going to have a baby.

    I am not religious. I am not a believer in ghosts, thr spiritual realm, angels or messages from the unknown. Superstition js hogwash and nonsense. But literally one day layer my wife tells me she has been pregnant with our 3rd child for the past month.

    Maybe my mind should be a little more open to the unknown, lol.