Chicks at the Imaginarium in Anchorage

What is it about babies that is so appealing? I'm not much of an animal person, they make me a little nervous, but even I'll admit that anything in baby form is adorable. Crocodiles, armadillos, rats, they're all cute when they're tiny.

Lillian's been bugging me for a while to take her downtown to the Imaginarium so she could see the annual chick exhibit where children can hold the newly hatched chickens, learn about the wonders of nature and then bug their parents about letting them have a chicken for a pet.

Not being Supermom, I put off the trip until one morning I realized that the exhibit might be gone because--I have it on good authority--chicks eventually grow up and become chickens. I was afraid we'd missed the chicks.

But luck was with me and the minute we were through the doors Lillian pointed to the display you see pictured above and said, "MOM! LOOK! There's a mommy laying her eggs right now!" I hated to burst her bubble by telling her that no, that mommy loon was long gone and that those eggs weren't ever going to hatch--that it was a case of Loon Under Glass--and figured the truth wasn't that big of a deal anyway so I just lamely smiled and shrugged my shoulders in a non-committal way.

The chick she got to hold must have been well-broken in because he was content to sit in her hand as long as she'd hold him. Maybe it was her warm hands or maybe he was one exceptionally well-behaved chick but whatever the reason Lily was thrilled. "This is the only soft one, Mom, I think!"

She was ready to love him and pet him and call him her friend and call his name George.

But if you're not into plain old domestic fowl and poultry--if you need a little more spice in your springtime you should check out Triple D Hatchery in Palmer. It's a local farm that sells chickens, ducks and turkeys but every spring they offer promotional colored chicks. Yup, pink, green, blue, purple all the beautiful pastel spring colors--blueberry chicks Lillian calls them. I guess she figures they must be like Jello with colors to match the flavors.

When the eggs are incubating the owners inject dye that colors the chicks' early feathers. It's rather psychedelic to see a blue chick but supposedly the dye isn't harmful and the colored feathers fall out as the chicks grow.

But as for our chicken experience, Lillian was thrilled with her plain-old everyday chick that sat serenely in her cupped hands, enjoying her warmth. Spring time means babies and there's nothing sweeter than my baby holding a baby chick.

But thank goodness the chicks were all that was being passed around. When Lillian saw the bug exhibit she was fascinated by the enormous insects and wanted to hold the bug. I think that would have been more than my stomach could have endured. Did I say all babies were cute? I take that back. Thank goodness for that piece of plexiglass separating me from my foot-long flying friend. Is that for real?

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