MORE BABIES

Gosh I just went to the grocery and all seemed well.

I had forgotten to get fixings for a quiche to go with the Home Made Leek Soup

and the roast for this evening!

When I got home Poppa Call Duck was acting concerned for his mate…

Needed to get George, the Wonder dog back inside first…

I came back out and saw Momma feverishly looking for her wee ones…

I could hear the peeping for her.

Upon closer inspection her babies were still in the raised bed, she had just gone

out to tell her mate about the kids. They really thought Mom talked WAY TOO

LONG, I am guessing. Once Mom got back into the bed and the nest, they scurried

over to get under wing [not underfoot, hee hee] she has several eggs un -hatched

and will take a few days to hatch any remaining eggs before she takes the family

out for their first walk.

This is why this raised flower bed is not cleaned out…

had to make room for Mom ;)

This time English Call ducks birthed Just TODAY

Whooooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooooo Click here for more Information about these really neat DUCKS! Soon I will get back to Egypt and my One Mile Camel Ride…but this is too precious not to share!

The Nest

Goldie has for sure perked up… This is her nest… 4 eggs and one Walnut… WHY a walnut you ask? There is one growing near the pen…

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AWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww it is so neat!

It all started innocently enough ~

For more Camera Critters visit Misty Dawn

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Sally [DOT] Spotted my HUBBY

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Yup Sassy Sally in her Slinky, tight fitting Faux poky DOT Swiss ‘OUTFIT”

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GRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

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OR was it the other way around…???????????????????????

No matter it happened in that hole in the earth…

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SUBMARINE areas… yes indeedy.

~~ Hubby called for me to take a look and his new find…

~~ There she was SALLY in all of her glory

~~ Let me introduce your to Sally [Dot] Mander

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;=)

In the area of Sarah’s Pond we have post holes already dug to accommodate

fencing to keep the ducks out of the Koi pond.

Low and behold in one of the holes was Sally

Eventually, after it was obvious she needed assistance getting out…she was ever so

gently released into the small stream that we refer to as the “Dreen”.

I was weed eating in that area and I kept a close eye on her as she slowly regained

her strength and gently swam away to safety.

Spotted Salamander Ambystoma maculatum

She was large and maybe SHE was responsible for the Glutinous Glob in the Koi pond .

Habitat

Spotted salamanders require

woodlands with ponds for breeding. Petranka (1998) states that mature deciduous forest is the main habitat

type for the spotted salamander, but Minton (1972) also makes note

of mixed hardwood habitats.

Vernal pools are very important for breeding.

Fish free ponds are best,

but Figiel and Semlitsch (1990) found that larvae may

change habitat usage to survive in ponds containing fish.

Then there are their HABITS! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check this site about Sally but there is more…you can see the Plants and Animals of Your Area!

Egg? Culprit? WHERE?

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Good News for Momma "G"...

Mom G nesting next to our deck…on the recently trimmed ornamental grasses… She does not seem to mind us using this entrance, which is a GOOD THING!

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We took a peek yesterday while she was off her nest, 5 EGGS ;)

Now for the BAD NEWS

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The English Call Ducks Nest

The first egg, right under my NOOK

Nest site of English Call Ducks

Now FOUR EGGS ;) Some one was a HOME WRECKER

This sort of thing happens, we never like to see it but it happens when you live out on the edge of the woods.

Heartbreaking Raccoon’s and/ or skunks!

Did not smell a skunk so my bet was the Mom Raccoon nesting in and old tree across the creek!

Mufasa, one of our cats…and I scouted a better nesting location before she[the Call Duck] laid her first egg ~~

Mufasa [ was a fictional lion who first appeared in Disney's popular 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. He was voiced by James Earl Jones. The name "Mufasa" means "King" in the Manazoto language.]

Potential nest site for the English Call Ducks… Better situated protection wise, also a former Goose nesting site of years past.

Yesterday I played in the DIRT

Yup, it was just warm enough, for about 2 hours, I was able to begin cutting the tops off our Ornamental Grasses.

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Trimming Ornamental Grasses It is necessary to trim ornamental grasses in late winter to remove old blades and seed heads before the next growing season. If you have ever struggled with trimming an ornamental grass with hand trimmers, here is a better way to trim ornamental grass with a chain saw or trimmer:

1. Separate your ornamental grass plant into several bunches.

2. Tie each bunch tightly with a strong piece of string.

3. Cut off the bunches below the string and as close to the ground as you can.

4. Use the string to pull the bunch of blades and seed heads to your disposal area.

5. Untie the string and repeat.

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How to do the Clean up

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Although that was not on the DO LIST… it was something that needed to be done…

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Do you all have DO LISTS?

It seems to help us focus…

Then there is the neat part about crossing THINGS off.

Quite a sense of accomplishment!

Ummmm sometimes, it is a self-imposed race to see who gets the most accomplished, which is not really fair, but the thought has entered my minds from time to time… ~~~~~~~~~

The other NEAT thing that happened this weekend was finding the first Duck Egg. Oh yes that is a biggie here.

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My Sweetie in his ventures on the DO LIST located the first goose nest with ONE egg, so far…that was not touched…

That particular nesting site has been a proven winner.

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Ummmmmmmm paradox would be a pair of DUCKS?

Visions of soufflés dance in my head, or waffles, pancakes heck even a CHOCOLATE Cake…everyone knows Soufflés are Heaven scent ;)

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Did I ever mention I like to cook? ;)

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Check this out http://www.cooking.com/recipes/static/recipe5441.htm

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Pear Soufflé yummmmmmmmmm mmmmieeeeeeeeeeeee

More ducklings

OR Pip PIP and all that rot? It was getting apparent that the Mom Call duck was ending the period of time for her eggs to begin opening. Which is how our eldest son and I got onto the subject of “Pips” and “Egg Tooth”. Pip. 1. The hole a newly formed chick makes in its shell when it is ready to hatch. 2. The act of making the hole. Egg tooth. A horny cap on a chick's upper beak that helps the chick pip through the shell. The chick will begin to chip away at the star pip until he's made a hole about the size of a dime. This is called the hole pip. We can see the chick's beak and part of his face through this hole, and we can see him breathing. He also sounds much louder when he peeps. Once the chick has opened up the hole pip, he'll then methodically chip away at the large end of the shell in a line around the egg, turning completely around as he goes. He's cutting the top of the egg off, the way you would if you were eating a soft-boiled egg. It looks like this would be the hardest job of hatching, removing the top of the whole egg, but most chicks finish this task in less than an hour, then kick their way out. I had remembered about the egg tooth from back in Junior High School [that’s what they called it then] and the Science Fairs I did. I still have all the medals, somewhere, that I received. As I told our son, the PIP I did not recall. Other than an expression that goes like this: Pip PIP and all that rot? It seems it is tied up in, well at least Charles Dickens and Great Expectations, which was mandatory reading back in the day. The Mom Call duck chose to make her first ever nest in our garage behind a large table that is leaning against the back wall. My Sweetie noticed she seemed to be dragging all sorts of nesting materials into the soon to be nursery. We gleefully added one orange bath towel, that I recall was a wedding gift to us almost 35 years ago. Although the Crate and Barrel bag was humorous… She must like to shop! Sunday afternoon my Sweetie announced the first birth and added Happy Mothers Day. We diligently checked on her. Late Sunday evening I thought I heard two distinctly different Peeps! Come Monday our son said he saw three. Now it is apparent we need to closely watch the Mom and begin to transfer the babies to a brooder as the Call Duck is so small and our cats way to curious. The plight was when and how? The Call duck is the smallest breed of domestic duck, weighing only 1-1/2lbs. They were literally developed as calling ducks, to call down the wild mallard to the great traps or decoys of the Fenlands of the UK and the marshes of Holland. By mid day and many stops from mowing, weed-eating, and other stuff our son said we had better move them now because one wee one was outside the nest and thoroughly confused. The brooders were ready for the pending inhabitants. He got Mom first; she was not too pleased and showed her displeasure adding a mass of droppings all over his shirt. We then gathered all 7 babies as well as Moms nest with 5 additional eggs. She and the babies faired well the night but I do believe today or tomorrow we shall release her to be with her mate. There was a tragedy yesterday as the second male got killed as he ventured too close to the highway. Which is odd because none of them, to our knowledge traveled so close to the road. In deference to the father missing his buddy and knowing full well where his female is we think this wise decision. It appears all the ducklings look like their father! Like miniature Mallards. Mom

One Week

Canada is getting closer just a week away. While getting things assembled for my sweetie’s yearly venture he came upon something of interest. He knows I am interested in the flora and fauna so he presented me with an abandoned bird nest. I gathered my National Audubon wildlife identification book and began my search. Red-breasted NUT HATCH Creamy white speckled eggs with reddish brown speckles. Notice that inside the nest are several of our goose feathers. Man that is so neat. Of course this nothing really new, but every time I see something like this I must marvel and the broader scope of life. AH HA AH HA I located it TADA! But there is more…