Animals
- Springtime Delicacies
One of the many things that we look forward to in the spring,is duck eggs.Every spring we find duck eggs along the bank of the pond on an almost daily basis. Not this spring, however...no... this spring there have been no...and will be no duck eggs....
- Goodbye Methuselah
Yesterday morning when I stopped by the pond to feed the ducks,I did my usual head count.Twelve ducks were paddling around in their little circular pool of water...kept from freezing by an aerator. For seven or eight years, that head count has included...
- Tiny Miracles
Early this weekend during AM chores, I headed to the pond to put feed out for the ducks. Upon entering the duck hut, I saw Mrs. Duckles on her nest.She was hissing at me. I looked a bit closer.... she wasn't alone,no, there were several just hatched...
- Pond Happenings
I make several trips to our pond each day...first thing in the morning,to let the ducks out, last thing at night to close them back in,and occasional trips in between with the dogs. Each and every time I arrive at the pond,seven wild ducks fly away. They...
- New Ducks On Their Way!!
Our poor flock of Campbell ducks has slowly dwindled down to just one lone duck. We have named her Methusela because she has lived the longest. I worry that she is lonely. We feed her daily and she spends her days happily swimming on the pond...often...
Animals
Meanwhile, At the Duck Pond...
Part of my every day chores is a stop at the duck pond to feed the ducks and fish.
We have kept a stable population for several months now...
5 tame ducks and 4 wild mallards that now call our pond home.
At one point we were up to 36 ducks,
but the local fox population caused our numbers to dwindle significantly.
Sadly, all of our tame ducks are males, so we have no hopes for repopulating our flock
with its present members.
I will be ordering new ducklings next year, instead.
As for fish...
there is a school of several koi who are descendants of two koi that were
dropped off in our pond about 12 years or more ago.
Over the years we have enjoyed watching koi of all sizes in the pond.
However, presently there only seems to be a group of this large size living.
Perhaps there are other pond inhabitants that eat their eggs...
or perhaps, like the ducks, there are only males left.
Regardless, each morning I throw several scoops of fish food into the pond for the fish...
and each morning, a lot of that food gets snatched up by hungry ducks.
There is always a dish of duck feed on the bank of the pond,
but they seem to prefer the fish food.
This was a problem when we had ducklings,
because fish food is too high in protein for ducklings and can cause a deformity called "angel wing"
in youngsters.
The fish food doesn't seem to cause any harm in adults, however.
And for the life of me I cannot figure out a way to feed only the fish
and not the ducks as well.
If you have any suggestions...they would be greatly appreciated!
Up in the barn, I have noticed more than one "Lucille" visiting with our Kenny Rogers.
Although all of the "Lucilles" are identical (and there are several of them)...
the way that I know that two have been there is the presence of two eggs in the wheelbarrow
by noontime each day.
Kenny....you lucky fellow!
Lastly, I wanted to share yesterday's sunrise with you.
The horizon was ablaze with a fiery orange...
with the gradients of tangerine to lavender in the sky above.
What you cannot see in the picture is a line of heavy grey clouds in the west
that moved quickly over the farm bringing rain.
It ended up being a good day to work on Christmas presents (knitting).
- Springtime Delicacies
One of the many things that we look forward to in the spring,is duck eggs.Every spring we find duck eggs along the bank of the pond on an almost daily basis. Not this spring, however...no... this spring there have been no...and will be no duck eggs....
- Goodbye Methuselah
Yesterday morning when I stopped by the pond to feed the ducks,I did my usual head count.Twelve ducks were paddling around in their little circular pool of water...kept from freezing by an aerator. For seven or eight years, that head count has included...
- Tiny Miracles
Early this weekend during AM chores, I headed to the pond to put feed out for the ducks. Upon entering the duck hut, I saw Mrs. Duckles on her nest.She was hissing at me. I looked a bit closer.... she wasn't alone,no, there were several just hatched...
- Pond Happenings
I make several trips to our pond each day...first thing in the morning,to let the ducks out, last thing at night to close them back in,and occasional trips in between with the dogs. Each and every time I arrive at the pond,seven wild ducks fly away. They...
- New Ducks On Their Way!!
Our poor flock of Campbell ducks has slowly dwindled down to just one lone duck. We have named her Methusela because she has lived the longest. I worry that she is lonely. We feed her daily and she spends her days happily swimming on the pond...often...