Ducks for you to see...









                                     

Ducks.
We has 'em.
And I figured I would give you
something to look at while
I work on the new blog
and store.

I took a wee bit of bread
out today and this is what happened.
                                  
                               

                                

 

And they are soft and fuzzy

and warm.

Except for their little feet.

They are sharp and pointy.

 

                               

And that was only maybe
half of the ducklings that
reside here.
Crazy, ain't it?

Oh! Do you see?
I am covered in fuzzy duck babies!
Fuzzy wuzzy wittle duck babies!
If you wondered what true joy is..
you're seeing it.

                                    

And this is my Crack baby.

She is the one I handraised.

And now she is the Mother.

She hatched out a clutch of eggs,

but the other hens just started giving

her all of their babies when they hatched.

She has more than 30 wee ones

that she is responsible for keeping track of.

It's amazing to see her with a sea

of ducklings all around her.

She does a fnatastic job!

 

Gratuitous Baby Pics!







                               













                                



Lord, Love A Duck..

And I do.
I really, really do.

Now, you know me.
You know that I am not given
to exclamations over cuteness.
I don't 'ooh' and 'awwwww' over critters.
I am not given to getting weepy eyes
when I see something precious cute.
But...
I do over the stupid ducks.
I getting teary-eyed.
Honestly teary-eyed
over ducklings.
They have wittle flappy feet!
(hands waving up and down)
And they wittle 'wacker wackers'!
(hands mimicking a wee teeny duck bill)
I just wuv 'em to pieces!
It's disgusting, isn't it?
But I cannot help it.
And it is not getting any better..
at all.
Each new hatch tears me apart like the very first hatch
and when I see them toddling around the yard
on their wittle flappy feet
I just fall apart.
I am completely lost.

Well... this is Crack.
The name..
We are partial to unusual names around here
and her mother's name is Peruvian Flake.
Peruvian Flake is a solid white duck.
So, of course, we named her after a fine grade of cocaine.
She hatched very early in the Spring
and had two weaklings.

This is Crack and Smack.
Crack (cocaine) is the light one
and Smack (black tar heroin)is the dark one.
See?
I told you we name oddly
and it is because I have an odd sense of humor.
All my fault.
Anyhoo.. I raised Crack and Smack.
Sadly Smack got consumed by a very large snake at some point.
It was a 'closed room' mystery.
Literally.
We closed them up at night
and there were two ducks.
In the morning there was one duck.
The only possibility is a snake
was drawn to the heat lamp
and came in through a crack near the ceiling.
Poor Smack.
So, Crack became a singleton.
And Crack is spoiled.
She was rejected by the flock,
but was slowly re-integrated.
Then she became exalted
because she could communicate with
the 'food bringers'.
We would speak to the flock
and they would turn, en masse,
to Crack for translation.
It was hysterically funny.
Now, she is just a bitch.
She contains a greatly overblown
sense of entitlement
and is downright mean to ducklings.
Oh well.

So.. we are up to about 50 ducks now.
It doesn't take long.
And these are all Muscovies.
They are a red meat duck and at least a dozen
will go to butcher every 3 months or so.
They will be sold to local restaurants.
We WILL NOT butcher these ourselves.
We did it once or twice.
Never again.
Somethings are best left to professionals.
Too much down.
Too much.
Much too much.
And the professionals have a waxer.
Yep.. they can do it.

We have ducks.

This is Canada.
He will be one of the 2 'new' drakes
that will rise to the top after butcher.
Canada because he looks like a Canada goose.

And this is Limpy.
He will be going to butcher.
He is a great duck and is chief babysitter.
Duck hens are just slack mothers.
They 'just let the kids run around with their ass hanging out,
barefoot like they do in her dreams'.
(Donovan song reference..)
Limpy watches all the kids.
That is why he looks so haggard
and beat down.
I can butcher him at a little under a year
and have him be good eating.
Much later than that and he is
not worth anything monetarily at all.
So.. we raise up new drakes and
butcher the older ones.
Now.. if someduck really blows me away with their
style, flare and personality,
they can remain.
But, not poor old Limpy.

We have ducks.
Lots and lots and lots
and lots of ducks.
Just look at all the duckling in the pics..
and at least 2 hens setting.
We have ducks.

Over The Long Fall and Winter

So....
there were changes here over the long Fall and Winter...
The goats had to go.
Poor Sweet Husband just couldn't take the
sounds they made.
With every Maaaa his 'daddy alarm' went off.
And with every claxon of that alarm came a jolt of adrenaline.
He began to fear he would stroke out or something
from repeated zaps.
So, off they went with a friend and now live
somewhere with lots of brambles to eat.
But it was great fun to raise bottle babies
and we may test him around other breeds to
see if it was just Saanens or all goats
that bother him. sigh....




And we lost Saddleback..
our Langshan flock sire.
Even now it kills me to think of it.
I kill fluffywuffy bunnies and
chickens often with no difficulties.
I even butcher things with names.
But losing Saddleback broke my heart.
I cried for 3 days.
Aw hell.. getting a knot in my throat
even now.
He was an exceptional rooster,
fine and noble and stunning and intelligent.
I have his son who carries the extraordinary
name of 'Junior'.
He is not his father, but I hope to breed him
and maybe I will get another that comes close.
sniff
My heart really did just break
like it would over a good dog.
sniff

And we have a new addition..
Someone dumped out this wee kitty
in an empty parking lot towards the end
of September.
I guessed the age to be around 3 weeks.
I still had to stimulate her bladder and bowels
by hand and wean her.
She smelled like house and not the 'wild'
when I found her.
And what was I supposed to do??
I couldn't just leave her there after I found her.
No way, man.
so....


She looked like a guy.
She walked like a guy.
She attacked everything in sight like a guy.
She slept sprawled out in
the most unfeminine fashion.
She was aggressive.
and it never occurred to me to look and make sure.
Everything about ths kitten screamed, 'BOY!!!'
until one day I happened to look at
her rear as she walked by.
I was shocked and horrified to see that she was
missing some bits in the back.
There was no junk in her trunk.
Yep.. I am a great farmer and ex-zookeeper.

Her name had been 'Fluke',
but that is not very girlie.
So we toyed with 'Athena'.
That didn't stick either.
So she is called either 'Kitty-Puss
or (in adult company)'Little Bitch Kitty'.
She is still aggressive and is the terror of the household.
And no other animal will kick her ass!!
If someone would just lay her out cold
she would stop deserving her name.
But since tiny kittenhood she has been allowed
to get away with atrocious behavior by the
other animals.
I have an old, old, old, old cat
that is notoriously foul tempered.
She will tear down any other animal if the mood strikes her.
I lived in terror the first week that LBK was here.
I was sure that Old Grandma would kill her on sight.
But she has allowed that little monster to
smack her, beat her,
chase her from food and
interrupt naps with no punishment.
And Bish, my huge blue intact tom
gets the worst treatment of all.
She rides him.
She chews on his ears.
She is relentless.
He howls and screams and cries
like he is being killed,
but will not lift one be-taloned paw against her.
If he would just beat her senseless one time..just once,
she might stop.
The poor old tom cannot even eat in peace.
Forget trying to come in and grab a quick
snooze by the woodstove on a snowy day.
She is on him like a tick.
And when she was little,
she looked like a tiny tick on his huge back.
The dogs slink away from her
and did when she was tiny.
She has never hissed or swiped a paw,
but they live in fear.
They allow her to steal their food
with nary a snap.

Children need discipline or they
become holy terrors.
We have a holy terror on our hands.
But she loves the barn and will be a fierce hunter
when she grows a bit more.

And I think those are the highlights around here..
Everything changes
adn nothing stays the same.

Goats..

So.. we have goats.
And I love my goats,
but unrestrained, free range goats
become a problem as they get older.
They think things like apple trees
and sunflowers are delicious.


I had to do a little creative
construction on the entrance to the garden


And we finally moved the electric fence
up to the upper foundation.
It needed cleaning.


And between the 20th of June
and today..they did this!


I really appreciate the eating power of goats.
They are a real bonus around here.
And today is the first day they are
staked out. I am not thrilled about staking them out
as it is not the safest thing for the goats,
but the area we need them to clean out
is a total jungle and there is no way
I could run fence through it.
For today they are close to the house
so that I can see if they will
kill themselves on lines. If it
goes well, them I will move them farther out.
They won't be left for long and
never when we aren't here.
We have about an acre of land we can't even set foot on.
Yippee goats!

Spring Deepens Toward Summer

The garden continues to grow.
And how about those poles!?
They are going to be my pride and joy.
7 tall tomato fences..
Yippee!!! Woo Hoo! Hazzah!
I kept hoping they would be up and finished
before I showed them off,
but blogger time was ticking
and waiting on a husband is.. well, it just is.
But, when they are all finished and the tomatoes
have been slowly lifted onto them,
they are going to be spectacular.
No more trying to control those crazy
heirloom vines, it will be easy as pie.
And they will have fencing hung on them
and I can just take the firewand to them
and burn off the old vines and plant
turnips and kale and whatnot for a
winter garden!
Sigh. It really is the simple things
that bring the most joy


Squash is squashing right along...



And lookee!
Peppers are peppering too!



My supply of summer greens..
Lamb's Quarter.
I love this stuff.
It is a great weed and is ALL
over our place.
Tasty, heat hearty
and I have don't have
to plant it.
We eat it often.. on sandwiches and burgers
and any other way I would use spinach.



My Jersalem Artichoke bed is looking great.
I still haven't tackled the patch
over in the neck high weeds
and hard clay... I do solemnly swear
that I will dig it all up this winter.
Really.. I will.



Mammoth sunflowers are cruising right along
and that blooming thing surrounding it..?
I think it is parsnip.
I am letting it go all the way to seed
and then I will dig it up and see..
Right now it is busy drawing pollinators
into the garden and looking
airy and yellow.





The goat babies are really growing up.
Aaawww.
But they are still sweet lovers though.
Goats are...
um...
interesting.
It is like having toddlers in the yard.
They get into everything
and cry for their mamma (that'd be me).
They eat and get tired and whiny
and have to be put down for a nap
before waking rested and ready
to get into everything again.
It is challenging to keep the fence moved though.
As soon as we get it set up and electrified,
it is time to move it again.
They are eating the scrub and
weeds too quickly.
As a result, they spend most of their
days roaming free about the place.
Goats on the back steps crying,
goats in the garage climbing over the crap,
goats on the front porch if I don't
answer the back door.
Goats, goats, goats..
We love them.
Goats eat my lamb's quarter and
sunflowers by sticking their
snouts through the fence.
Bad goats.
Goats give goat kisses and want
snuggles when they are tired.



The side door to the big ol barn.
One day I will have to tell you about the big ol barn.
10,000 sq ft of barn.
That is a lot of barn.
Yes.. I did say 10,000 sq ft.

My finger..
well, it is still attached to my hand.
It is healing and I have gotten bold
enough as of late to take the splint
off. I was terrified at the thought of ever bending it again..ever.
But a few days ago I gave it a try.
I unwrapped it and stared at it and tried to bend it.
Nothing happened.. at all.
The animal part of my brain freaked all the way out.
But I started bending it
and manipulating it manually
and it could bend and eventually it
started to bend on it's own.
I fear it will never be quite right again though.
It has become obvious that I cut down into muscle..
the extender ones on the top of my finger that are
supposed to stretch when the finger bends.
Well.. they don't. Not really. But it is getting better.
And while the actual visible slice
will leave but a thin line,
the deeper slice has definite scar tissue under it
and makes a hump in my finger.
And I am hoping that the nerves grow back
because as of now, my finger is numb.
But I washed my hands like a normal
person day before yesterday.
What a wonderful feeling that was.
There are not words for how it felt to
have water run over my left hand once again.
Though it was weird to see
the water but not to feel it.
I will live and hopefully one
day it will bend and
I will have my kung fu grip back...

Did you know you could hoe one handed?
Do you know it is hard to wash one hand?
You cannot do dishes with one hand.
That is very hard.
I see the sink.
I see the dishes.
I cannot do anything about them.
I got busted once or twice trying to do them.
I got in trouble.
I have recently been able to cook dinner.
I was not allowed to chop veggies.
I have a deep butchering phobia
at this particular time.
I know I have to do rabbits soon,
but I have fear.. deep, dark fear.

Blog and Sniff..

Don't you wish that it was Blog and Sniff..
Does anything smell better than magnolia?
Crisp and lemony, but heady and deep.

Ok.. so I posted this and saw it up on the page.
You truly can almost smell it.. I swear you can.
I love my magnolia tree,
except it is too close to the road to enjoy.
And it is too big to enjoy.
This one blossom and one other are the only
two that I can enjoy all year. How sad is that?
The rest are 10, 20, 30, 40 up in the air.
I can see them and when the sun hits the tree
in the morning I can get a little whiff,
but that is all.
I have to admire from afar and below.
So enjoy my once a year,
brief treat with me, won't you?




This is the first rose I ever bought.


It has just started it's bloom.
By next week it should be a cacophony of roses.
I dug and moved this rose 4 times.
I will not - I can not leave it behind.
It was my first....


And this morning's haul.
I wish you could smell and taste them.
The collander is no longer quite so full.
Between Simon and I it has been greatly diminished.
But, I grow them to be devoured.
Last year I limited the fresh eating and froze them.
It was nice to have them over winter, but this
year I am trying to be more lenient.

That ends the pleasantly aromatic section....



A hard working garden helper!
Go get 'em, Toadie!
Did you know that a well tended
and protected (read captive)toad can live
40 years!! Holy cow!
The joys of homeschooling. I learn something
new and amazing everyday.
But your average garden toad
can live up to 15 years.
That is a lot of bugs gone.





New little ones at the little homestead.
I love colony raising.
The buns get to groom and interact
and be as natural as possible.
See the hole under the old door?
That is the entrance to the burrow where
the little ones were born.
I saw them for the first time
just the other day.
I had no idea that they were even in there.
And no, I have no idea at a glance whose
they are. They know and that is all that matters.
Though I do desperately need to butcher
some of the adults. I will have to be very careful
as I choose who goes to freezer camp.


And these are the goats.
Damn near impossible to photograph.
They are always underfoot.
This pic was gotten by giving up,
leaving the pen and running, whirling around
and catching them as they headed for me.
But I am impressed with their
weedeating abilities so far.
They are really knocking it down.
I don't like where I have them
right now and will probably move them
deeper into the woods tomorrow morning
before it gets so blisteringly hot out!


We need rain and a break from the 90+ temperatures.
The funny/sad thing is that just days ago
I had to build a small fire in the woodstove.
It was very chilly out with a cold rain.
And here I am now sweltering and sweating.
It is truly miserable.
I will NOT turn on the AC. No, No, NO!
I refuse to do it before at least June.
I finally broke down and agreed to run it in the car.

Things move along. The garden needs water
and cooler temps
and I need to put in my cucumbers,
squashes and plant my beans.
I think the soil is warm enough now...
I think.
Yeah!!!! Spring!

New Additions!

Yep.. your eyes are not deceiving you.
We have goats!
Who would have thought it.

They are wethered Saanen bottle babies.
Seeing as how they were born on April Fool's Day
they have been named Joker and Jester.
They are natural brothers, though Jester is a bit smaller than Joker.



Too sweet! I mean really.
And already they have become the highlight
of the place. They are Simon's new best friends
and the three of them run all about the place.
Simon likes the dogs somewhat,
but the goats are just better companions.
They want to be right by him
while he is out in the woods
and jumping over the dry creek.

But they have actual jobs.
They are to clear the acre or so
of absolute jungle that we have.
Honeysuckle, rosa floribunda,
poison ivy and oak and privet hedge..
the wretched, wretched, wretched privet.

They are starting in already.
No slackers here.
I figure that our property value will greatly increase
when the jungle is passable.
You know, we lived here over a year before we realized
that there was an old pig barn
out in that jungle.
I told you it was bad;
bad enough to hide an entire building!



Simon took some pictures of the canopy
now that it is really filling out.
I love Spring.


And this is the huge old tree that hangs over
the old smokehouse building that is
now doing double duty as the goat barn.
We are only using the smallest room for the goats.
Eventually the old heap will
get torn down, but for now
it is being a useful building.


And the garden is coming along.
These are the post holes for the permanent
trellis/fences for tomatoes
and other climbing veggies.
Look at how ruby red that clay is!
You can see how much the amendments (chicken poop and old straw)
have darkened it already.
I would love to try to make pots
and the like from that clay one day.

A big shout out to Spinning Spider Creamery
in Madison County, NC for the bottle babies!
Great cheeses and a stunning herd.
These babies are about the best you can get!
We are thrilled!

Addendum:
Poor little fellas.
We turned on their electronet today.
Our electronet carries quite a powerful punch.
They each got zapped HARD
and then bolted into their stall where it is safe.
The world just bacame a painful and scary place.
They do spend most of their day out and about with me,
but have taken to sleeping on the back steps.
That is a bad habit, so they
will live as goats are intended now.
Poor goaties.

Down Home in June

The world is lush and green
from all of the rain. Enjoy it now..
in August the yard is usually brown and crispy.
Above you will see a tiny segment of
the Barn.
I love our barn... today.
Some days I hate our barn
10,000 square feet of barn is a lot of barn.
Yep.. I said it.. 10,000 square feet.
250 ft long by almost 50 ft wide.
Wow. I still can't believe it.


My Great Grandfather's bee balm is starting to get
it's bloom on. I wish the computer came with
a smell function so that you all could experience
the musky, heady and deep fragrance.
It is wonderful.


And critters!!!
The ducks are getting huge
and so are the turkeys.
They move together in a strange flock
along with a varied group of chicks.
Oh, speaking of which I have to run out and herd
them inside. They stay out too late now that the days
are so very hot and the evenings are pleasant.
They wait until the shed is too dark and they are scared to go in...
silly fowl. Be right back....
It is so annoying to have to hunt the little clumps of
birds that are snuggled down in various parts
of the yard and herd them all into the potting shed.
And it is not like they huddle next to stuff.
They just pick a spot in the lawn and lie down
all together. I hope I got them all....
Sometime in the next few days we are doing
the Big Summer Chicken Shift.
We will suspend our breeding program,
put all of the hens together and pull out the roos.
That way all the girls can be out all of the time.
We will also separate all of the wee ones into
'sell and keep' pens.
The turkeys will all go together and the ducks
will go somewhere....
I bought the Premier One poultry netting stuff..
what crap.
It bags and sags and won't even stop a duck.
Forget about it stopping a dog or anything else.
I am sorely disappointed and out a lot of money too.
I will try to find a way to make it functional
since I own it now. But, I do not reccomend the stuff.

Though I have got to say

I love having the ducks and turkeys roaming around.

They are not destructive like chickens

and they are pretty to look at and eat a ton of bugs!

Those turkeys just snap flies right out of the air and

strip bugs right off of blades of grass. It is awesome.

And no scratching or digging.

I jokingly speak of getting rid of all of my chickens

and just going for turkeys and ducks.

I do believe that we will sell down the chickens a bit and we will definitely increase our

turkey and duck population, but I can't totally get rid of all chickens.

However, I did get rid of a bunch last week.

I butchered a group and sold several groups. Cool.

Birds off the payroll (feedroll, really)

Aaah. Turkeys. What's not to love?

And the lambs are still in the barn.
But, we are getting closer to pasture day.
As it stands I hand cut pasture and bring it to them twice a day.
They are not as skittish and I can touch them.
They have FINALLY agreed to eat some grain
and act excited about it. I practice getting them to follow me
and the grain tub.
I am so terrified of herding them out of the big, long barn
and having them bolt right through/over the electric fence
and just be gone forever. That would suck. Hard.
So, I keep working them and waiting for the great day.
I like the lambs though and get satisfaction at how far they have come.
They almost like being touched now and will lean into the skritches.