"Flowers are happy things." - P. G. Wodehouse
Friday, April 10, 2015
Daffy
Our poor Muscovy ducks have wanted babies since they reached maturity. First, there was no male, but still they tried to sit on a nest. We then got a male and they tried again, but he was too young to have been much use. Then winter came. Now it's Spring, there's an adult male, and all is looking up.
Two of the three females have been setting on a bunch of eggs. The first didn't feather her nest and would get off it a fair bit, but she nonetheless hatched out 6 ducklings while we were visiting Abe's mom. Unfortunately, she kind of freaked out and didn't look after them very well. One was dead when we got home and three died that night. We took the remaining two, who were cold and weak, inside, but it was too late for one of them. So now we are left with just one.
Daffy is rapidly becoming the most spoiled duck in the history of Muscovies (and that's saying something). She is adored by the whole family and cuddled constantly. She is hand fed mashed, soft-boiled eggs and mealworms. She had a bath with the boys, and LOVED it. She was pretty vocal when we had to remove her so the boys could use soap. She has a hot water bottle during the day, and a thermostat-regulated box for night-time. All in all, she is living it up and is developing a very affectionate and fun personality.
We have another duck expecting ducklings in a few more days. She has hardly ever gotten off the nest and has it beautifully feathered. She is also much calmer than her friend. We are therefore hoping that she will be a good mother and will teach the others how to do it. If that's the case, we will add Daffy to her ducklings once they are big enough.
The post Daffy appeared first on VelaCreations.
Daffy
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Easter
We just got home after spending a wonderful week with Abe's mom and brother. The weather was crazy, going from 90 degrees and calm to 50 degrees and super windy, but despite that we managed to fit in a whole bunch of activities. About the only thing we didn't have time for was a picnic at the park, but we did that on the drive home, so that kind of counts.
Carlsbad Caverns
Abe and Vickie took the boys down into Carlsbad Caverns. They used the elevator to go down and come back up again, but spent a couple of hours walking around the amazing caves. Both boys loved it and were completely in awe of the spectacular scenery.
Baby Owls and Eggs
Perhaps the highlight of the whole trip for Abe and Leo were the baby owls. We found two nests of Great Horned Owls. One was at the top of a windmill, and Abe, Leo and Augie all climbed up to look inside. There were two eggs in there.
The second nest was near the top of a pine tree, between 30 and 40 feet off the ground. After the excitement of finding eggs in the first nest, Abe decided to climb the tree. He found three baby owls, one of which was dead and had been pushed out of the nest onto a nearby branch. Abe was giddy with happiness at having the two little guys stare at him curiously. The climb was a little tricky, with two full horn owls circling him the whole time, so we had to say no to Leo's pleas to climb the tree.
Unfortunately, Abe didn't take his camera with him, and didn't want to enrage the two parents any further by going up again.
Living Desert
The trip to Living Desert, which is filled with native species of plants and animals, was Nicky's favorite outing. He especially loved the bear, and kept wanting to go back to see her again, even though she had gone into her cave for a nap. The last time we went there, I was about 8 months pregnant with Nicky, and I have to say that the walk was a lot easier this time.
Egg Hunt
The Easter Egg hunt on Sunday morning was great. Both kids raced around the house and garden, filling their bags. The eggs contained candy, toys, confetti and just plain old eggs. Near the end, Leo looked at me and said, "Wow! I never knew that Easter was so much fun!".
Fishing
The two sets of boys (big ones and little ones) managed to squeeze in a little fishing trip when the wind had died down. They caught several big carps, which they put into various water tanks around Vickie's place. And, of course, there was the "one that got away", snapping Augie's line.
Chillin'
The rest of the time was spent chilling: riding bikes, feeding animals, dozing in the hammock, watching TV, playing games. You know, vacation-type stuff. Altogether we had a great time, and the kids were very sad to say good-bye.
More Photos
The post Easter appeared first on VelaCreations.
Easter
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