Eggstrodinary Friends

In any given year the average person consumes 248 eggs, according to the United Egg Producers. However, according to PETA, if we took out all the vegans in the U.S. (5 percent), vegans (3 percent) and those that identify as "nearly vegetarian" (33 percent), only FIFTY NINE percent of the population actual consume the incredible, edible egg. I myself fall within the nearly vegetarian category, but I think I make-up for my lack of egg consumption with gusto at precisely one time per year: Easter.

I don't care how the tradition started. You can believe it was from Mary, the mother of Jesus who brought eggs to his crucifixion where his blood dropped on them, staining the shells. You can side with the Christian adoption of pagan spring rituals announcing rebirth from a long winter or even the royal or the lovely, whimsical egg decadant decree of England's King Edward the 1st. Take your pick (I'd go with the middle if I were you, but take your pick) and lets move past that debate and onto the more weighty matters: what is best dying method to create an artistic, brilliantly colored egg?

Each year, I boil a couple dozen eggs, invite a few friends over, make the best of my chemistry mixing skills and let them have-at their artistic talent. I consider eggs the spring equivalent of snowflakes, no two are alike, and love seeing what my friends create. Soft greens, brilliant yellows, the precise timing of blue-bath to yellow-bath or blue-bath to red-bath that makes each one an intriguing surprise.

Unlike snowflakes I pride myself on giving these artistic creations more longevity than the fickle, falling snow. Hollowed out and rinsed, the Skea & Co. egg collection continues to grow! Here are a few of the 2013 batch:

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