Mally Quack Quack - The Story of an Orphan Duck

What do you do with a duckling that has hatched but it's mama was eaten by a fox two days prior? Why you bring it into the fold.

That is what I did about 5 weeks ago, when the wild mallard that was sitting on her nest outside my office was killed by what we think is a fox, leaving her nest unprotected.  No one thought her eggs would hatch without help but it is against the law to move the eggs.  So they set there in one of our potted plants.

Luckily, they were close to their full gestation period, and two days after Mama Mallard was killed a duckling hatched. Turns out she would be the only one that hatched.  Being that is was Friday at 4:45 and no one wanted to leave her to fiend for herself, I was called upon.  Because I have "sucker" written across my forehead and I live on a farm. :)

MQQ only an hour old.



MQQ only a couple of days old.

The only room in my house that I can close off is the bathroom, so Mally Quack Quack is now residing in my bathtub.  I remember from previous ducklings how messy they get and the tub cleans up quickly. This is how Mally Quack Quack came to live in my bathroom.



MQQ 2 weeks old.

MQQ started out swimming in my sink and she has since progressed to a galvanized tub and a swimming pool. Because she is living in my tub, each day when I take a shower she gets to swim in the sink.  In the beginning she couldn't touch the bottom and was able to swim about, now her feet touch and she really can't go anywhere.  It is hard to believe that she has gotten so big so fast.

She will soon move outside to her own pen with access to a baby pool. It is almost complete so she will be able to spend her days enjoying the outside world.  But for now she is still living in my tub and splashing in my sink.


MQQ loves sitting on my shoulder at 3 1/2 weeks old.

I hope to release her back to the wild where she can join a flock.  For now I am enjoying her sweet company. I will keep posting as her story and adventure continues.

MQQ splashing in the sink at 4 wks old.

All This Rain Has Made the Flowers Grow

With all of the rain we have been getting in Lexington our grass has been growing wildly out of control.  Even though our grass becomes jungle-like within days of mowing, I'm still happy to see rain falling from the sky.  This is because of all of the other plants that are happy when the rain comes. 

 

Our flowers have had a banner year in the garden.  Everything is growing and blooming; roses, lilies, hollyhocks, begonias, larkspur, geraniums, inpatients, petunias, cone flowers, and the list goes on and on... My strawberries have even been giving me big, beautiful red fruit in adundance.

 

The riot of color with a lush green background has this wonderful calming effect on me, especially when a small breeze makes the tall stalks gently sway as if conducting the garden orchestra. 

 

So when my life seems to be constantly on "GO", I am able to "stop and smell the roses" I appreciate that my view is one like this and that the rain has brought me so many flowers.

 

I Never Thought I Would See This

I never thought that living in the city, even though it is on 20 acres, that I would have more wild critters running around then when I actually lived in the country on a big ole’ horse farm. But it is true. Since there is no major green space all of the wild critters come to my little 20 acre paradise. I have seen the traditional squirrels, and variety of birds. Now I am seeing raccoons, foxes, and the ever present groundhogs. I think we have a least ten that call my paradise home.

One of her favorite holes in the field.



It is these groundhogs that keep Willow busy. She has always got her head in one of their gigantic holes. Holes so big that I have contemplated using them as storm shelters during all of the tornado warnings we have been having here in Lexington. On our evening walks she will dart off because she has caught a glimpse of an elusive yet ever-present groundhog.

This past week while my Mom was visiting, we were planting flowers into the garden. Out of the corner of my eye I kept seeing Willow run around; at first I didn’t think anything of it but then I realized she was looking up and circling the same area. Looking up, I first thought the tree had a huge wart on it’s branch but it turned out to be a treed groundhog. That’s right, Willow treed her first groundhog. You might be shaking your head in disbelief, much like I was doing, because as the name indicates these are underground dwelling creatures but apparently they can climb. I even took pictures so that I could have proof.

She stayed on that groundhog until he or she came down. Once it was down she proceeded to chase it. She caught it but she was so stunned that the groundhog got a 3 yard advantage and beat her back to its hole.

This kept her busy for awhile.

Willow’s day was made and I was very proud of her. My sweet puppy has found her new ambition…Groundhog Hunter. (It’s the catching part we are working on.)



P.S. Two days later we discovered that that particular groundhog had dug up under my house, right under the heater and broke it. Now I’m really glad I have my own bona-fide Groundhog Hunter at home.

Winter has established itself...

What a crazy winter this has been. It seems like we have had snow on the ground as soon as the dishes were done from Thanksgiving. So, needless to say, it has been a beautiful white winter but incredibly chilly.

Starting Dec. 1st I have been taking care of cows and chickens on the weekends. i have been getting the feel for what living on a ranch or farm would be like. Believe or not I have been enjoying it and I am looking forward to owning my own property some day; (of course, check back with me in a year). This winter weather has been enjoyable, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I can't wait for Spring to get here. I have already got the itch to start planting my garden.

I get to start a new garden this year, since I moved (more on that later). I am hoping to add more varieties of plants and vegetables. Since my gourds did so well last year I would like to have one or two vines of pumpkins this year. There are more rabbits at my new place so I am going to have to start thinking about rabbit deterrents. Does anyone have a good idea? At one point I thought of leaving Kody and Willow out in the garden, but then I remembered how much they like the soft soil of the garden. Maybe I could create a moat around the garden and keep them there, kind of like dragons protecting the castle.

Kody and Willow are enjoying this weather; Kody especially with his big winter coat. The cats...well, no so much. They are enjoying the warmth and cuddliness of my couch. Speaking of the couch, I think it is time for me to go stake out my spot before the cats completely take it over.

Stay warm!