Identity crisis

Holy EIEIO... Yesterday afternoon, Baby, our rescue duck, arrived....only I'm pretty sure he's a goose.  I can't find anywhere in my research that says ducks hiss.... Baby has a definite personality and hisses regularly.  He spent the night in a cage in the duck pen.  This morning I let him out and he towers over the pen...He knows his name and seems to be acclimating OK... The ducks seem to be amenable to his arrival but there have been no friendly games of Duck, Duck, Goose yet!  I did however, have a ringside seat to some duck porn this morning.  (That newly acquired knowledge..for me, will be shared in another blog.....it is beyond interesting!) For now, we'll see how they fare together....it hopefully won't be too long before we get the duck pond in and the news enclosures secured.  Lucky ducks!



So, for anyone keeping count:  That makes 10 hens, 4 ducks, 3 roosters, 2 turkeys, 1 goose and 1 peacock... (FYI...we're getting a chick later to room with "P" so she/he won't be lonesome! )  I'm pretty sure that my Dad is up there shaking his head and wondering where he went wrong!!! ;-)

Monday Update

Whoa, we managed 3 entirely rain free days and on a week-end no less. That in itself, is blog-worthy. 


Friday my friend Laurie and I enjoyed our dear friend (of 58 years) Pam's retirement party.  It was a lovely afternoon at Cornell's Moakley House.  She has a beautiful family and it was fun to celebrate with her...


Saturday I made my annual trek to the Hallmark store for my first "batch" of holiday ornaments.  I hit Lowes for barn supplies and ended up at Pet Depot to buy bugs.  No shit, I can't even believe that I bought things that crawl and hop and are card-carrying members of the insect world...  I freakin' HATE bugs.  Being a peacock parent is a tough job and all parents must take one for the team.. BTW, the crickets are still in the bag and the meal worms are still living in the fridge...garage fridge. I will muster up the courage to feed them as a snack to our peacock baby soon...  Speaking of P, this morning as I was working at my desk I heard some very loud peeping....which increased in volume within minutes.  I got up to check it out and there by the doorway to my den was Mr/Mrs. P.  I guess those pin feathers do grow a quarter of an inch a day.  She actually flew out of her tote which is nearly 2 feet tall....and she's only 6 days old.  I could be in for a long summer. 



This was Hatfield reunion week-end and Jeff and Jamie teamed up again for the golf tournament... They teamed up again and WON again... 3 years in a row...A HAT TRICK!!!  Yesterday was the reunion and a great meal, as always, was served.  Many Hatfields cooking is a very good thing!!!

Stayin' Alive

Well, our baby is 3 days old and going strong. Still dealing with identity issues but sleeping, standing, walking, peeing, pooping, eating and drinking. Hated to continue with several names so for now "it's" just P....like in Diddy... When we find out, it will be lengthened to Penelope or Peter.  I offered some tiny bits of grass into P's food and tomorrow I may find and add some tiny crickets or mealworms to it's water so he/she can practice catching moving objects.... It's tough being a peagrandma!  I have to think like a bird and my experience is limited. Thank goodness for Google!

His mirrors keep him from being lonesome!

I'm a Pea-Grandma

I'm a grandma...again. Yesterday one of our peacock eggs hatched... (without me :-(  successfully!  Some of the boys from Quality Sheds were here to deliver a new ramp and they asked me how many chicks we had in the incubator.  I replied 4 and they were due to hatch soon...if we were lucky.  One said, "You have a chick in the incubator."  Sure enough, the egg closest to the side of the incubator had hatched sometime between 10 and 3.  It was nestled in one of the egg holes where we place the eggs in the turner.  I was slightly panicked as I had NO IDEA what to do.  Thank God Siri was there to help me find some answers.  They can be left in the incubator as long as 24 hrs. to dry off.... but it appeared that I could remove him and dry him myself.  I waited for "help" and we removed him and put him under the heat lamp to dry a bit more and allow us to add one more egg to the incubator. No signs of the other 3 beginning to pip.  They may not have made the trip...we'll see!
I have learned so much about the bird world.  When we turned her/him over, we saw the dime sized red bulge where he had absorbed the yolk into his body.  That will nourish him for about 3 days.  (That's why so many chicks are mailed to stores and farmers as young as one day old.  There is no concern about them being hungry....cool eh?) They also have a tiny hard bump on the end of their beak called an egg tooth.  This is how they break the shell and begin pipping (hatching.)  The tooth will dissolve within a few days.  Also, the egg is fairly easily cracked from the inside out but quite safe and benign from the outside.  Easy to get out, hard to get in!
We've had a few suggestions for names... If it's a girl we like Penelope.  If it's a boy, we like Perry or Pete!  For now, again we have a Bruce....nobody knows for sure.  It would be great for Bruce to have a sibling but time will tell. For now, Aunt Lacie is getting a little mirror so Bruce can work on who the hell he is!

The night went well and Bruce is trying to get his bearings and work with his humongous feet.... He'll soon have a lot of feathers to hold up! They can grow (the feathers) about 1/4 inch a DAY!



Welcome to EIEIO Bruce!  Who'da thunk!?

It's Official

It's official. I'm a farmer...I'm not even the farmer's wife....I'm actually THE farmer! I've stopped complaining about tracking mud and chicken shit into the house, I've decided to grow herbs to keep flies out of the nesting boxes and to keep my flock healthier, I plan special treats to keep them warm when they need it and cool when it's sweltering, I smile when they come running to me even though they'd come running to Jack the Ripper if he had treats and I search the skies regularly for any flying predators who think they're having one of my flock for lunch! 

My barn is a thing of beauty.  It will soon be adorned with some artful décor and will be a full service high-flyin' hotel for anything feathered.  Electricity is next on the agenda followed by the duck pond and their enclosure.  Right now they're relegated to a small play yard but soon will think they've moved to the Ritz.... (now I'm singing, "Shittin' on the Ritz".)  If anyone is interested in any type of shed for any purpose, Dale and his crew at Quality Sheds in Scipio are top notch.  As any of my contractors can attest to, I know what I want and I'm pretty sure I can make them understand just what that is.. (right Josh, Billy, Fred, Al and Dale?)  Needless to say, the barn is perfect!.. I flipped the color scheme from all the other structures and went with Hunter Green with clay trim....and I love it...Soon the inside will be ready for occupancy and we can work on the landscaping... after all, fowl like flowers and shrubs...............................for lunch!

Monday Update

Graduations, weddings and barns, oh my!  It's been a busy beginning to July and summer.  The rain  finally stopped (for a few minutes at least) and we enjoyed some grand celebrations over the week-end. 
I am so happy for my dear friend Resa and her partner in life.  Good health and happiness are the only things we can wish for our friends and family.  Saturday, Independence Day, was a celebration of love..nothing more and certainly nothing less. Their happiness made an entire room smile.  Who could ask for more!! Our best forever to Resa and Michelle♥
Graduations are a wonderful milestone.  Not such an easy feat in this day and age.  Congratulations to all and especially those who invited us to share their successes, Ryan, Molly, Cody and Scottie. The world is in good hands!
My barn arrives this afternoon!!! Who would ever have dreamed that that would excite me to the extent it does.  So what does a gal dream of for a 40th wedding anniversary gift.....to herself...yep, a new barn.  Don't get me wrong, it's just a little barn but there will be room for Steve Harvey, Dick and the girls as well as Original and Extra Crispy.  The ducks will be moving north (to the other yard) where they'll take up residence in the old coop...and soon have their own little pool to bathe, drink and poop in... Their hygiene is a little skewed!!  Hopefully, everyone will get along and maybe they'll even be joined by a couple peachicks soon...And I thought turkeys pooped a lot!
Pictures will follow soon......Another marvelous Monday :-)

Once in a Blue Moon

Once (or twice) in a Blue Moon:  What's that all about?  Well, according to Bob at the Farmer's Almanac, here's the scoop:


On Wednesday night (tonight), we see the year's lowest full moon. (If the weather cooperates, that is)
         
At its highest at 1 AM, it won't even get one-third of the way up the sky, from typical U.S. locations. It's much lower than that as seen in Canada or Europe. Low moons look more orange, thanks to the thick air near the horizon. Some have even suggested that its amber color is the origin of the term, "Honey Moon."

It's the first of TWO full Moons in the month of July, 2015.
But is this week's moon also a Blue Moon? 

The term Blue Moon, as it applies to astronomy, was actually the result of a misunderstanding in a 1940s magazine. But it slowly went viral until nowadays the second full moon in the same calendar month is widely called a blue moon. The full moon on July 31 ( Lee's 65th birthday) will qualify, according to this popular definition.

The expression suggests great rarity. In reality, since the Moon's period of phases is 29 1/2 days while months usually have 30 or 31 days, it's obvious that if a full Moon lands on the first day of any month except February it will repeat again at the end.

Turns out, blue moons happen every 30 months on average. Two and a half years. 

Not so very rare.

Once in a blue Moon? Stick around. It'll happen four weeks from now. Meantime, enjoy this one, whose color will likely be the exact opposite of blue.

So, if you only do things, "Once in a blue moon," looks like you're doing it tonight and maybe again July 31st.  I think it's perfect for Lee.  He begins Medicare today and turns 65 on the 31st.