Apple Cider Pressing Invitation; Muscovy Duck Buddies

Last weekend was a marathon of moving things that we can use to our homestead. It started on Friday. Sean removed the seats of the van in order to bring home a free load of maple logs to split from one of his job sites. He piled the logs onto the stack of wood already waiting to be split. Molly was a great help. Look how low that van is riding. Yikes!(1). With the momentarily empty van, we went to pick up the cider press we are borrowing from our friend Jenny of Pebblestone Farm. We delivered the press safely home (2). In the afternoon, we drove to grab a quick load of hay for the goats- six bales tetrised neatly behind the middle seat (3). We dropped the hay at home, delivered our girls to visit their Dad for dinner and loaded the van for the final time that day with logs of white pine and butternut to add to our happily growing supply of wood for fuel.

On Saturday, we spent just slightly less time in the van. After spending the morning preaching the word together, Sean and I spent a little time in the afternoon picking all the apples we could gather from a neighbor's tree before the rain started up. Working together, we collected about 100 pounds of apples- a good beginning, but with me wanting to preserve 10 gallons of apple cider in the freezer for the winter months ahead and Sean wanting to ferment 10 gallons into hard cider, we'll need more apples*. Saturday night, Sean and I and my Mom took our girls to see the play, Mary Poppins at the Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth. It was charming and wonderful and an absolute treat to reward us for the previous two-day's strenuous work load. The cast was dead on, the sets were perfect, and the story borrowed from the original book and the Disney movie, meshing together a delightful 3 hour tale.

After Sunday's meeting for worship, Sean and I drove to Windsor to meet us a duck; Lady Chapelle's potential mate. On the way there, we encountered a raccoon sitting along the side of the road. While we would not welcome a raccoon to take an interest in our homestead, we did not wish to see this one hit by a car along the busy roadway. It was a concern that he or she was out and active during mid-day, a possible sign of being sick, injured, or rabid. Still, we couldn't just drive by and leave it to chance that it would cross the roadway safely. As we approached in the van, it was clear that this one had been injured on its rear leg- maybe broken? As we watched it, we thought it was probably only sprained or strained. Perhaps it had already had a slight encounter with a car. Who knows? Barring taking it to a vet, which could have placed us in harm's way, the only thing we could do was to watch it closely and see it safe into the brush when it tired of our staring. That didn't take long. But, its eyes were clear, wary of us, and alert. It did not cry out in pain as it walked and it could walk. We couldn't be sure, of course, of any of our suppositions, but we were glad to see it scamper into the tall grass under its own power. We hoped whatever injury it had would heal on its own in time. At least, it was in no danger of getting hit by a car on the road for the moment and Sean did not get bitten by the potentially rabid critter. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Boris standing in front of Chapelle.

All of the drakes available for sale were handsome lads, but it did not take too long for me to know that Boris was our guy. Sleek black feathers with a shimmering sheen of green along his back, big and healthy, Boris was our favorite. He wasn't terribly impressed with the idea of travelling, despite our assurance that he was going to love his new digs. After all, coming from a duck enclosure with 6 other Muscovy drakes into an enclosure where he was the main man and a lady all his own to love had to win us some points. He was unconvinced on the drive home. Boris quickly changed his mind upon seeing Miss Chapelle. It was duck love at first sight and the two have been inseparable since. We released them into the main coop area yesterday after adding additional fencing panels to expand the duck yard further. The duck yard area will grow in size and eventually the "pond" will be dug out properly to everyone's satisfaction. But, it is sufficient for now.

Sean spent a couple hours turning a large rabbit hutch into a new duck house. We removed the legs, took out the chicken wire walls and welded metal floor and installed new OSB interior walls. The roof of the house is finished with tar paper over wood boards. Next spring, we will remove them and install rigid, clear plastic greenhouse panels for a roof. This will let in sunlight and warm the inside of the house when the weather turns cold. The exterior will sport red aluminum siding to complete the house. The house sits off the ground, on three good wood pallets we found beside the road on our way home Sunday afternoon. I love breathing new life into repurposed finds. The total cost for this project will be 2 sheets of OSB and the price for the aluminum.

This is going to be an equally busy week around the homestead. We are getting ready for winter by splitting and stacking wood, deep cleaning the barn stalls, creating a new door system for the goats and horse, and Ebony needs to be moved up into the barn sooner than later. We have been gifted with the prefect chicken coop repurposed from an old ice-shack. It will do nicely for a turkey house for us. I just have to figure out a way to get it from Swanville to here. If anyone has a large truck or trailer available to help us move this in the next couple weeks, I would be very grateful- and so would our turkey birds. :) We are also looking forward to apple pressing here on the homestead and you are invited to join us...

*We will sharing our apple bounty with our friends and neighbors, opening our homestead this coming Saturday, October 24th  from 2-5 pm for cider pressing. Bring your own apples and containers and use the press for FREE. Or, for those who prefer to use our apples and containers, a limited supply of raw apple cider will be available for purchase for $5 per gallon. Our studio will be open, too. Gentle Meadow Goat Farm is joining us for the day as our special guests; they'll have goat's milk lotions and other farm goodies with them. I hope you'll try a piece of my Third-Place Apple Pie. ♥ Remember friends, this is a WORKING homestead with animals who poop... without notice... a lot. It is just a reality of life here. If you plan to walk around the homestead and visit with the animals. we strongly recommend wearing rubber boots and maybe bringing a change of clothing for children- in case they get "muddy". We'd love to see you and hope you'll stop in for a visit. Full details are available on our FB page HERE.

Thanks for joining us today, friends. We're very glad you're here.
~Sean and Sonja ♥

2nd Snow of the Season

It was snowing this morning making nobody happy. The girls, disappointed that school was not cancelled, trudged themselves to the end of the drive-way to await the bus. The geese and ducks were uncharacteristically silent, snuggled together in the snow. The chickens lined up inside both their coop and what was meant to be a goose/duck house, casting baleful eyes on the feeding station. The cats were all inside; some were sleeping on the chairs in the piano room. Others were breaking house rules by resting on the folded laundry on top of the kitchen table, which made me slightly annoyed.

This snow is not supposed to last. The weatherman forecast a change over to rain and sleet for most of today. At some point, the snow we get will stop melting away. The ground will freeze solid. And, winter will well and truly have come to Maine. I do not know if this is the inch that begins it for this year or if we will have another brief respite, but it is just as well that we are ready for it, whenever winter decides to come for real.

I felt badly for the birds and warmed them some stale bread in the microwave. I don't generally give them bread because I have read mixed reviews on its safety and nutritional value, but it was a nippy morning and I thought it would be a treat to help warm up their bellies. And, I am out of oatmeal. (I put that on my shopping list.)  While I attended to the morning's feeding chores, I remembered snippets of dreams from last night. Many nights I go to bed thinking of a problem or some situation that needs fixing, solve it in my sleep and awaken with fresh ideas for how to remedy the situation.

 

I spent much of last night dreaming of creating more hair accessories from lovely feathers, contemplating making another batch of soap, and an idea to make some molded, hangable chicken treats from scratch and gelatin and awoke excited to make this so. I had to drive to Bangor this morning and stop at the grocery store for some soap making supplies before I could tackle any of the projects dancing in my mind.

And then, the day slipped away somehow. The roads were very slick and icy and I was forced to drive exceedingly slow. I did try out my gelatin treat idea, taking pictures as I designed it. 3 muffin tins holding 30 small round treat cakes are cooling and setting up on my counter as I write this. I will know for certain that they were successful tomorrow, when they are unmolded, if they stay together. I will post about the finished product tomorrow whether or not this works out, but I hope it works.

 

It really should.

 

Thanks for visiting today!

Sonja ♥

 

This blog post was shared at Farm Chick Chit Chat & Tilly's Nest Down Home Blog Hop #15 & Clever Chicks Blog Hop

 

A Duck Loss

We lost one of the Swedish Black hybrid ducks last night. I found her this morning outside the new duck house, wet and cold. There were no signs of disease or injury. Her crop did not feel bound. She had a good, healthy weight to her. The temperatures have been frigid, but the other fowl all seem fine- no signs of frostbite or the like. She was one of the ducks given to me by my sister last year, so there is no telling the age of her. I am hoping it was a case of old age. It is sad nonetheless.

An inspection of the rest of the flock shows everyone in good form. The chickens are nearly through molting, thankfully! And, we were gifted with another 2 eggs this morning, despite the shorter days and cold. Only one of these is usable because the other one succumbed to the cold overnight and cracked in its shell. That is my fault. Since they have not been laying through their molt, I had not been vigilant in checking the nest boxes through the day. If they are starting to lay occasionally, I shall have to return to checking for eggs throughout the day. The eggs look smallish, so I think they are perhaps some of our first pullet eggs of the season from the chicks we hatched here on the homestead. That is exciting to consider.

Sean is back from burial duty. The animals have been fed and watered. I guess it is time to shower to get ready for our morning meeting for worship. The temperatures are supposed to climb into the 40's today, so it will be a good day to give the coop and stalls a thorough clean-out this afternoon.

Thanks for visiting this morning, friends.
Sean and Sonja ♥

Our Day of Rest...

Ahhhh... Sunday....

The day of worship. ✔
The day of family. ✔
The day of football  WORKING around the farm. ✔

I have never been big on winter, but I am starting to look forward to days of rest. Oh, don't misunderstand, there will be plenty to do inside this house for the next few months, but it won't be the seemingly endless list of back-aching manual labor that we toil at the rest of the year. I don't much like the cold weather, but I am sooooo looking forward to some slow days ahead to recharge and get ready for Spring.

Today's schedule went something like this:

• Feed and water dogs, cats, bunny, chickens/ducks/geese, goats, pigs, and horse. The feeding was easy, but the watering entailed chipping ice out of the containers and buckets this morning for Sean.
• Shower and get ready for our meeting for Worship
• Attend our meeting for Worship and visit with friends
• Lunch
• Spend an hour as a family in our Volunteer Bible Study Ministry
• Shovel, Haul, and Level 5 loads (each approximately 12 cubic feet) of dirt and rocks to level the driveway
• Meg mucked Jasmine's stall
• Kristen cleaned bathroom
• Sonja mucked chicken coop
• Sean hauled hay
• Sean worked on Geese/Duck house
• Sonja put away lumber scrap (At this point, the sun was setting and I could barely stand.)
• Evening Animal check & more hay to pigs (for bedding), horse & goats (for eating)
• Sean washed dishes and swept floor
• Sonja folded laundry and prepared dinner
• Dinner
• Sonja baked cookies (pre-packaged, but I want credit anyway!)
• Family Bible Study with Meg & Kristen
• Sonja completed some work for her "real job"
• Everyone had some "down time" beginning at 7:30 pm...

And, I have the sore muscles to prove it! I am not complaining, but I think it is important to be honest. I really think that in time, there will be slightly less to do around here in terms of large construction projects. After all, once we complete the barn, we are not going to need to continue working on it each day- save some maintenance. Once the driveway is level, we will stop that project. Once the raised garden beds are built and filled, that is done for a while. But, trying to grow a farm means that there is always going to be something else that needs doing. Always.

On the up-side: I sleep like the dead every night.



I took some pictures of our busy day, (of course). And, so I leave you with them. Thanks for stopping in for a visit today, friends. We are sure glad you came!

Sonja ♥



The dirt pile before we started today. I had already loaded a wagon full
yesterday in preparation for today's work.

"By My Beard! I swear the thing is growing each night"
This is what we had left AFTER removing 5 wagon loads.

Meg's main job was to remove large rocks to my pile. I am planning to put
them to use as part of a nice rock wall.  

Kristen is part of the "Leveling Crew". She did a fine job working with Sean,
smoothing out the dirt I hauled with the lawn mover and Sean dumped.

 

Sean unloading my wagon.

The "Leveling Crew" hard to work. 

With more than 3/4ths of the driveway filled in, we call it quits for the day...
So we can continue working on the goose/duck house and muck the coop. 

Clean Coop... for all of one minute. Immediately, the hens
must check out and scratch in the pine shavings.

We put a few of the ducks in the new duck/geese house
and eventually, both geese- hoping they would like it and stay put.
I even stuck a bowl of feed and carrots in there, but I cannot
yet call it a success. ♥

Glimpses Around the Homestead

Today, Sean and I are finishing roughing out the duck and geese house. This will be attached to the chicken coop, but will have it's own entrance door. While Sean is cutting lumber for the floor, I stole off to upload this video spliced together from pictures and video taken last week. I don't have long to hide away, though. Sean cuts the 2x4's to size and then, it is my job to screw them in place. I think I will be missed before too much time elapses!

I will snap some pictures of it when it is complete and share them with you later this weekend.

It will be good for the ducks and geese to have their own house. Chickens roost high in the eaves of their coop. Ducks and geese do not. They huddle together in a corner or more usually sleep in the yard. With a house of their own, they won't need to watch for droppings from above when they hazzard to sleep inside chicken coop anymore.

Thanks for stopping in today.
Sonja ♥

Down Home

My computer has not been cooperating with me, so I apologize about the spans between posts. I seem to be back in business for the now, so to fill you in on our latest farm happenings...

Last Saturday, I requested a "Sonja day"- a day where what I say goes. We do the projects weighing on my mind, be they large or small and with an enthusiastic "Yes, Ma'am" from Sean, all my wishes are granted. *Sigh* I love "Sonja Day". The projects weighing on my mind filled a sheet of paper and I knew the chances of completing all of them would be slim, but to have any of them finished would be wonderful. "Sonja Day" turned into "Sonja Weekend". I am so thankful for my hard-working husband and so proud of how much Sean and I accomplished together.

Among other things, we spent Saturday morning in our ministry work. During the morning break, we stopped in at the Brooks Farmer's Market. In part, I wanted to do some shopping AND I wanted to scope out the set up with a view for possibly joining the market myself next year. So many wonderful treats were available; yarns, pepperoni, lamb, hamburg, veggies, plants, eggs... the variety of things available was impressive! And, I noticed a sign advertising that the whole market participated in the SNAP (click for more information) Program offered by the State of Maine. Additionally, because of a grant, anyone who paid using their SNAP card, received an additional 50% discount from the total price. Organic Home Grown Hamburg at $4.50/lb became $2.25/lb. Apples for sale for $1.50/lb became only .75¢/lb. One of the biggest complaints I hear about eating healthy, organic food is its cost. With programs like this one, that is no longer an argument. I was so impressed with the entire operation. I know that for my family, we will be visiting more farmer's markets through the growing season to support our local farming families. You can visit this Farmer's Market on FACE BOOK (click here).

After that wonderful adventure, it was time for our scheduled thorough clean out of the chicken coop. This entails removing all the old bedding and composted waste, washing the floors, and replacing the bedding. We are still searching for what works the best for us. After reading articles on using hay vs straw vs pine shavings vs river sand vs deep litter systems vs deep composting litter systems (the list is nearly endless with possibilities) and trying some of these methods with varying amounts of success, we have decided to change back to using untreated pine shavings on the floor of the coop and straw in the nest boxes. It has worked for our hens in the past without causing respiratory issues and it seems to be the easiest to clean regularly... for now.

That messy job complete, we turned our attention to other matters. I mowed the back lawn and blew all the clippings into piles while Sean worked on repairing and repurposing the unused goat kid fencing to expand the main chicken coop yard. Last winter, we had only 20 birds and their yard measured approximately 15ft x 25 ft. When the piggies moved to their new home, we opened the fencing to expand the yard to approximately 30 ft x 25 ft in space. At mid summer, we added an additional two 10 foot panels to enlarge the yard. This weekend, Sean and I added another two 15 foot panels, which nearly doubled their yard size again. Our feathered friends now enjoy a safe fenced yard area measuring roughly 45 ft x 30 ft. It is a huge yard and they are very happy to have it.

We spent a lot of time with our chickens, ducks, and geese over the weekend, but rest assured, I'll have a nice long post about our goats progress in the days to come. ♥

Controversial Topics: Feeding Cut Grass

This came up over the weekend. We mow our grass on a mulching setting, which produces very tiny clippings of grass. We hand rake the fresh grass clippings and deposit them in a pile in the main coop yard. The birds love to nibble on the freshly cut untreated and unfertilized, grasses, dandelions, and clovers and spread it all around, scratching in it. It also provides a more attractive ground cover than the inevitable compacted dirt. Sound great, right? Except, grass clippings can cause potentially lethal complications of impacting a chicken's crop if the cut grasses are fed in strands. When chickens free range, they nip off tiny bits from the top of the grass, which is easily digestible for them. Even blades of grass 4-5 inches long can cause problems. CLICK for more information. So, while we do feed clippings to our chickens, we cannot recommend that you do this. Each chicken keeper needs to weigh the benefits of offering fresh greens with the possible dangers.

Have you had any positive or negative experiences regarding feeding grass clippings to your flocks?

I hope you enjoyed today's visit here on the farm. Thanks for stopping by!
Sean and Sonja ♥

REMINDER: If you haven't become a member and commented on THIS POST (click here), you need to do so before October 1st to be entered into the free drawing for Mrs. Cherie's lovely hand made donated quilt.

May 22 Update on ducklings

I will update this post later in the day with video and pictures.

Both ducklings are fine and thriving. They are alert, active, preening, sleeping, peeping, and doing all the normal things baby ducks do. Comfort zone, Oh! How I welcome thee back! There was even signs of two droppings on the towel near the water dish! I know, kind of strange to get excited about that, but it is a great sign that these little ones will thrive so long as we continue with the right conditions!

My other job beckons me this morning, but I will be back later tonight with more updates on all things farm related. For now, have a good day for yourselves!

Sonja ♥

More pictures and video, as promised.

He's not looking! I could be held now?

The one in the back is the one that hatched solo. The striped one in the front was assisted by us.

And the new feather weight wrestling champion is...

Vigorous signs of life!

The Ducks Are Chirping Inside Their Eggs!

After a long day of work around the farm today, we came in to enjoy dinner of chicken on the grill and some rice our daughter, Meaghan prepared. It was delicious and I thought it a fitting end to our day, but the evening had more excitement in store for us. The ducks began chirping inside their eggs. The process of them exiting their eggs and entering our world has begun. So exciting! This can take a day or two before the ducklings completely emerge or as little as a few hours! I can't help but check them every few minutes to see if they have begun pipping through the eggs hard shell with their egg teeth yet. Thus far, they are rocking, but that is all.

I raised the humidity to 70 percent by adding more warm water to the basin below them. This will help the shell membranes to remain soft enough for the little guys to free themselves. It is difficult to just watch and wait, but that is all I can do for now.

Our delight at the thought that we might have our ducklings before morning overshadows all the work accomplished today. But since, I need something to do to occupy my hands and mind, I will tell you about our day, anyway. Or, at least of our achievements:

1. Sean was able to finish the roof for the chicken coop and it looks wonderful! Just perfect! I am so proud and happy that this was able to get done today. I know our girls appreciate it, too. Bring on the rain now, the chickens are ready!

2. Sean and Aidan emptied boxes of superfluous items taking up valuable room in the wood shed and consigned them to the bonfire we had crackling and ready. Meaghan, Kristen, and I, with help from our friends, Aidan and Cherie, loaded and stacked five wagons full of wood in the newly acquired space in the wood shed.

3. I wrote up the information and forms for our Egg Share CSA. I couldn't help but candle the duck eggs to show Cherie and Aidan the progress of the ducks. We heard them tapping inside the eggs. Then, Cherie and I heard the ducks chirp inside the eggs!

4. Sean built a new milking stand. It looks wonderful. We couldn't help take it for a "test drive." I sanitized all the milking equipment, made a cleaning solution to sanitize Ellie's teats. Sean lead Ellie to the stand and she jumped up all on her own! She knew what was what. At least one of us did! I washed her udder with a warm cloth, dried it with a clean cloth, then dipped each teat into the solution and let it dry, while Sean washed and sanitized his hands. Careful, not to touch anything but Ellie, Sean set to work milking. Before we collected milk for our own usage, Sean squirted 5 streams of milk into a waste bowl for the cats to clear the teat of any bacteria or clots in the milk. Then, he started collecting the milk for us in a stainless steel bowl. While Sean was busy milking, I stood with Ellie at her head, talking to her, petting her and watching her enjoy an additional treat of grain today. We did not collect much tonight, but with practice, we'll do better in the days to come! I strained the milk through a clean cloth into a sanitized mason jar and washed the milking equipment. The jar was immediately placed into the refrigerator. We'll add to it in the days to come. I can't wait to begin making cheese!

We did not get to work on the new pig pen today, but there will be time for that tomorrow. I consider this day a success.

Good night, friends!

Sonja ♥

Hurry Up... And Wait!

Hurry Up and Wait seems to be the name of the game for us today. The rain (finally!) cleared out to give us beautiful sunny skies. Even with the wind picking up, which disallowed us the possibility of the small bonfire I was hoping for, it promised to be a good day for working. We had an orderly list for this Saturday's work, with (maybe) some odds and ends to finish up on Sunday afternoon. It looked like this: 1) feed and water the animals. 2) feed ourselves. 3) pick up some peppers and new soil for the raised garden beds. 4) get the riding mower started. 5) Sonja mow and Sean roof the chicken coop 6) burn the things in the burn pile while these activities are taking place. 7) build some "A" frames for our peas 8) get the peppers, peas, onions, & carrots planted. Somewhere around item number 4, things fell apart. It is now 3:00 pm and so far, we have done a lot, but accomplished nearly nothing!

While Sean switched out tires to the "new" old riding lawn mower in the hopes that I could mow, at least, the back yard today, I cleared out the dead foliage from one of the large planters by the deck steps and replanted some pretty flowers in it. That accomplished, I walked the back yard for any items that needed moving before I could attempt to mow; among these were several 12 foot 2x6 lengths of wood, a few 12x12 landscaping tile pieces, and some metal clips which belong to the chain link fencing. These I put away in their respective homes. Once the tires were finished, we next needed to start the mower, which... did... not... work. Sean tried his battery charger and also to jump start the battery, but no success. It looks like we may need a new battery.

While Sean was valiantly trying his best to get the mower started to the taunting sound of one of our neighbors out mowing his lawn, I checked the incubator temperature and moisture content. I researched the logistics of moving the duckling eggs inside to finish our their hatching. I also brought the containers of patio tomatoes to our deck, along with six 6-packs of sweet and hot peppers and watered all of the tomatoes we are growing. We have ten 6-packs of these, all needing to be replanted, already! Visions of delicious homemade salsa, marinara sauce, and boursin stuffed grape tomatoes make me excited for  the day when the fruits of our labors are realized and the cooking and preserving begin! But, that will be a story for another day.

One of the things on our mind for this weekend, was to try to solve the problem of the duckling egg nest living inside the pig enclosure. We've been debating the "pros" and "cons" of waiting for the eggs to hatch to take the baby ducklings inside with us until they fledge versus leaving them in the nest to be cared for by their Momma. We are concerned about the possibility of the ducklings hatching and getting promptly eaten by Patches, Ebony, a field rat, or some other predator. Another problem of letting the eggs remain as they are, is that the baby ducklings will be small enough to roam outside the chain fencing, but Momma duck, isn't. Naturally raised ducklings will also, by nature, be less friendly to human contact and more difficult to catch, ducks being a rather skittish sort. We also discovered at least one egg that may have a dead duckling inside, already. (It strongly resembles one of the pictures posted online of an egg that began developing, and then, died. This particular egg is also slightly cracked on the surface.) In the "Pro" column of leaving the eggs with Momma Duck, we won't run the risk of the incubator malfunctioning and all the eggs not hatching properly. It would be just terrible for the baby ducklings to die inside their eggs, unable to hatch and that sad outcome IS a real possibility. Many people online seemed to agree that keeping ducks with the pigs would be disastrous to the ducklings. So, we are going to move them to the incubator, watch them, and HOPE we did the right thing!

As I write this, Sean has gone to Bucksport to bring the bags of soil we need to top off the raised beds in the front of the house. I declined to go along. I am watching the empty incubator's temperature and humidity level... and writing this. When Sean returns, we MUST pause on the lawn mower and START the roof for the chickens. Right now, it looks like planting will be saved for Sunday, after all.

It is now 6 pm. The lawn mower has a new battery living in it and has had it's belts checked, engine compartment opened, spark plug sanded, gas and oil levels checked, and various other things done to it. It wants to turn over, but the diagnosis is that the spark plug is bad and needs replacing. This late, the local store is closed, though. So, maybe tomorrow after the meeting and before our volunteer work begins. Sean is putting the machine back together and picking up his scattered tools from the ground around it.

Kristen and Meaghan just returned home from their Dad's house. Meaghan and I went to retrieve the duck eggs from Momma Duck to inspect the eggs and place any that seemed viable into the incubator. I guesss whether we are doing the right thing or not, is moot at this point. We discovered that since this morning, when we counted the eggs while Momma Duck was eating, something stole 5 eggs from the nest; 2 chicken eggs and 3 duck eggs! The only viable suspects to this horrible deed are the pigs or a rat. We left the lone chicken egg and the cracked duck egg in the nest. Momma seemed to appreciate it and settled back into sitting on them. We'll still watch the duck egg for any sign of hatching, but it seems unlikely.

I did get 2 of the 7 front raised garden beds weeded and fresh compost added and mixed into the beds in anticipation for some peppers to be planted therein. And, Sean is now ready for my help with his roofing of the chicken coop. Kristen and Meaghan ate at their father's house, but, at some point, lunch or dinner must be gotten for Sean and I, I think.

I hope you have all taken advantage of the day and its sunshine!
Sonja ♥

The Wayward Mallards Decide Freedom is Horrible

It was uneventful when, a few days ago one of our two mutinous Mallard females returned home from her adventures in the stream near our house, after Sean's foiled attempts to capture them. (You can read about that adventure HERE.) One just reappeared with the rest of the flock. (You can reread that post HERE.)

Today's, return was slightly more dramatic and carried the additional benefit of, once more, soaking Sean -head to toe- this time in torrential down pours! (Poor, poor Sean) Sean was up and about this morning before I had dragged myself out of my warm bed. I heard him upstairs, but was disinclined to join him in this morning's chores since (1) I did not have to work today, (2) my plans for spending the morning in volunteer work had been rescheduled for tomorrow, and (3) it was RAINING outside, already. Better, I thought, to lounge in my warm, dry bed like a lazy lima bean this morning. At least, until I felt guilty enough to drag myself out of bed to face the day. Or, Sean required my assistance, which I thought to be unlikely.

I had just congratulated myself on this new plan of laziness when the bedroom door swung open to a hastily dressing and very animated Sean Michael. I caught the words; "Male... Mallards...Female...Chasing... Outside...Think...Wild... as he pulled on a shirt over his head, and then a clear, "Are you coming?" as he dashed back upstairs. What else was to be done? Of course, I was coming. I didn't quite understand what was happening, but it seemed too good to miss seeing for myself!

By the time I reached the upstairs, Sean was outside the fencing for the chickens and ducks, carefully stalking the two male Mallards who were chasing a decidedly uninterested female Mallard. The female was waddling away from her admirers as quickly as she could, while emitting various tones of warning quacks at them. Since a wild female, would have flown away, if she was not feeling inclined to receiving male attention, I thought it quite likely that she was the other of our missing flock. Sean's thoughts, clearly had ran along the same lines and reached the same conclusion. The other conclusion I reached was that only one of us needed to be drenched in this operation and since Sean was already in this state...

I knocked on the large picture window to get Sean's attention and signed to him my suggestion that he pause in his pursuit and feed the chickens and ducks in the enclosure some of their grain. Seeing where I was going with this, Sean entered the fencing and scooped out some grain into the bird feeders inside the coop. Then, he ran towards the Mallards who were on the other side of the coop. The males were startled and flew off. The female waddled away from Sean in the direction of the open fence gate. In seconds, she spied the other birds eating their breakfast. She slipped inside the gate and was reunited with her flock. Sean paused to perform a quick duck census and then, raised his arms in acknowledgement of his SUCCESS! Ready with my camera, I snapped a picture of the proud capturer of capricious critters and laughed with Sean in this happy moment. Then, I sent the happy hunter of to his work and I settled into my day's cleaning the inside of our home.

So, at the moment, all our livestock is accounted for and living where we want them to be. Even with the rain forecast for today, life is looking pretty good from here.

Have a great day, everyone!
Sonja ♥

There be Ducks A-Growin'!

On Saturday, Meaghan returned home from her Dad's house to find out the good news; Sean and I "candled" a couple of duck eggs from the nest while Momma Duck was out getting some breakfast and we found... signs of ducklings growing!

If you look closely, you can make out tiny red veins starting to branch off of the yolk portion in the egg in this picture to the right. In the photo below, to the naked eye, the veining is significantly smaller, but it is there and you can definately see the size of the yolk is larger within the shell.

We took these pictures with the overhead light off in the bathroom. Sean held the egg carefully and I shined a flashlight on them from behind. This is an excellent sign and we all were excited about the possibilities. There are 14 eggs being set upon in the nest. We are hoping that 8-10 of these hatch baby Mallards in a couple more weeks.

Today, Sean and I checked them again. I didn't have my camera near to take pictures, but there has been definately more definition in the growth of the baby ducklings. I will try to contain myself from checking again until Friday and post more pictures of their progress then for you all.


I hope you all have a great day!
Sonja ♥

Broody Duck and Angelus

Our ducks have decided that the current piggie pen is also part of their domain. They have devised an opening in the door which separates pens and they slide through it at their whim. No amount of persuasion has stopped this practice from continuing. And, my only consolation is that the piggies in question are being relocated soon, down over the hill, to a new home and the current piggie enclosure will become part of an expanded bird area. It is a consolation, but it did not prevent neither Sean nor I from becoming annoyed every time we checked the piggies to see a duck or a chicken wandering about in there.

Usually, we shoo them back to their own side of the pen. Sean entered the piggie pen to do just that yesterday on his afternoon "egg collection tour", when he discovered this... a nest of mallard eggs and one chicken egg against the wall, in the hay, on the far side of the pig shelter. When Sean discovered the nest, it was being vehemently guarded by a hissing Momma duck and her mate, both refusing to give up their eggs. At first, Sean thought that there were only a couple eggs in the nest, but on closer inspection, he counted 12 eggs.

We discussed removing the eggs from the nest. We had planned on getting an incubator and trying to hatch some duck eggs ourselves this year. So, we decided to wait and see what would happen, if we left them to their Mother's care, instead. Our intention is to remove the day old ducklings and raise them inside. This will help to tame them. It will also prevent the piggies from attempting to eat the hatchlings, if they are still in residence when the hatching occurs.

It may come to nothing. This is all new territory for us, so we aren't really confident about what will happen. But, we are hopeful that we might have our first clutch of ducklings to sell in a few weeks. It takes roughly 28 days before they will begin to hatch. I have marked my calendar to "candle" the eggs on April 30th, about 2 weeks into the cycle. We should be able to see a duckling forming. Then, the eggs should start to hatch around May 11th.

We'll keep you posted.

Sonja ♥