Have you ever tasted a fresh egg? 

Not an egg 'fresh' from the store, but an egg fresh from the farm--just a few hours old?

If you've tasted a fresh egg and love eggs, especially fried ones with runny yolks, then you already know how special they can be. It's one of those first time experiences you will always remember, like your first kiss, but for a foodie perhaps even more titillating.

Our local grocery store carries over 20 different kinds of eggs varying in size, color, additives (Omega 3 anyone?), and means of production (cage-free, vegetarian, fertile, oh my). The prices vary too by as much as $4.00 a dozen. But I must admit - I can't tell the difference between my cage-free brown egg and the store brand white egg. I just sleep better at night dreaming of happy chickens roaming free on the range. (I'm not an idealist; I said dreaming.)

Recently, I visited my sister in a rural part of Western Pennsylvania or simply God's Country. My country-mouse sister gets her eggs from a small farm a mile from her home. This egg-loving city mouse couldn't wait to visit the farm.

I helped harvest my own eggs! What a far cry from lifting the carton lid at the grocery store and mindlessly checking for defects. We carried six dozen to the car after leaving $12.00 in a wooden box in the barn. Wow - the honor system still thrives in many parts of the world! More surprising still was that the eggs cost only $2.00 a dozen.

Back at my sister's house we fried a few eggs for lunch (in butter and only after they were thoroughly washed). The deep golden, nearly orange yolks were rich with a hint of sweetness, like no other eggs I had ever tasted. Looking back, maybe it was the eggs; maybe it was sharing the moment with someone I love, my sister, my friend, my fellow epicure. I may never know, but it was one of the greatest pleasures I have ever known.

Welcome to Wigney Farm:

Free chickens eyeing the gateway to happiness (We counted over 12 different species or sub-species.)

 Lunch is served.

 Settling in for a siesta

Some cleaning required.

"Probably one of the most private things in the world is an egg until it is broken."  ~ M.F.K. Fisher