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....
- Happy News
Sound the bells, light the sparklers, throw the confetti!!We have something worth celebrating. There is much commotion at the duck pond.Mrs. Waddlington has finally hatched out her eggs. Yesterday as the flock waited patiently on the banks of the pond,Mrs....
- 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...
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A whole year has passed since we bought our last batch of ducklings.We added a mixture (17) of Cayugas, Swedish, and Pekins to the pond;home, then, to the solitary Methuselah (Khaki Campbell drake.) Every day since the new ducks came,we go to the pond,...
Animals
Of Ducks and Garlic
I have avoided talking about our baby duck situation...
because we lost our entire batch of 17 ducklings.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Waddlington was not a good mother.
She was frequently off galavanting around the farm,
leaving her babies to fend for themselves.
And now, of course,
she is again sitting on another clutch of eggs.
When these hatch, I hope to be able to keep them in the duck hut
and raise them myself.
I will allow them access to the pond once they are full grown.
In the interim, however, a neighboring farmer dropped off 10 more ducks
this past Saturday.
A mother...
and a good one, I might add....
and her 9 almost fully grown children....
I am hoping that this watchful mother will be more successful in keeping her brood
safe from predators than Mrs. Waddlington was.
She is already infinitely more protective than Mrs. Waddlington ever was....
chasing the other ducks away whenever they swim too close to her youngsters.
I went down to the pond yesterday afternoon to check on the new ducks
and found...
nothing. There were no ducks in sight.
I looked down the lane... no ducks.
Hearing a rustling in the woods, I sat there for a few minutes.
These four gentlemen appeared....
looking for a free lunch.
Just moments later I heard more rustling
and out of the woods came 19 ducks...
waddling into the pond.
Meanwhile...the four randy roos decided to check out the gator.
I swear they would have driven off with it, if they could have!
And while we are on the subject of hatching eggs...
"Miss Annie... what is that you have in your mouth?"
"Is that an egg?"
"Give Mommy that egg, Annie."
"Drop it."
There was no way Annie was giving up this particular treasure.
It was a tiny chicken egg that Tyler and I found
in the henhouse on Saturday...
too tiny to sell, but just perfect for a mid afternoon snack for Annie!
How did Annie get that egg?
Tyler accidentally dropped it...lucky for Annie!
It's garlic harvest time!
We harvested oodles of soft neck and hard neck garlic this past weekend.
The hard neck variety will spend a little extra time drying in the cool, dark of the barn.
The soft neck garlic is dry already and will go into storage for use
over the months to come.
I will also save a couple of the largest bulbs to divide and plant in September.
This year... garlic. Next year... son of garlic!
- 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....
- Happy News
Sound the bells, light the sparklers, throw the confetti!!We have something worth celebrating. There is much commotion at the duck pond.Mrs. Waddlington has finally hatched out her eggs. Yesterday as the flock waited patiently on the banks of the pond,Mrs....
- 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...
-
A whole year has passed since we bought our last batch of ducklings.We added a mixture (17) of Cayugas, Swedish, and Pekins to the pond;home, then, to the solitary Methuselah (Khaki Campbell drake.) Every day since the new ducks came,we go to the pond,...