Been a while hasn't it? Rather than an endless ramble on what we have been up to I thought a couple of short-ish posts - well, short for me - with plenty of photos may help explain what has taken place at the homestead. Can you tell I am in the mood for hunkering down with Little house on the Prairie now the weather has changed! First up is this...
You may remember that we were waiting to see if our beautiful duck Pecan would manage to hatch her clutch of eggs. Unfortunately as the very first one began to cheep its way out of the shell a fox arrived on the scene. Now normally our ducks would take flight onto their pond and so we haven't had a fox attack since we built it years ago. This time, poor Pecan stayed on the nest to protect her babies & the fox killed her and one baby to get to them. I raced out on time to save the eight remaining eggs.
We brought them inside, some nestled in coat pockets where I could hear them cheeping & tapping as they tried to break free of their shells. Found the incubator (a miracle as we haven't used it for years) and I stayed up all night watching one after the other emerge, wet, wobbly and perfect. Both Lucy and Isabella, plus a few friends witnessed this magical hatching over the coming few days. And so, while we lost our dear girl Pecan, we now have seven gorgeous fully grown ducks - one didn't make it out of the egg.
This was all a while ago now so they are huge compared to the tiny things in these photos. We have had such fun with them, particularly when they used to follow me all around the garden as I had become Mamma duck! Seven little bundles of fluff racing all around like a load of bumble bees.
Names were chosen: Sunlight (Bella), Cotton (Lucy), Theodore (Sam), Conrad (Dave, of course!), Nutmeg (me), Cinnamon & Silver. They now live in the duck pen with their papa, Clarence and spend their days quacking and swimming and quacking and quacking and driving me nuts demanding to be fed! As is the way of things here it seems.
I will post some pictures of them now they are fully grown next time but for now, enjoy the bundles of fluff that filled so much of my day earlier this year.
Of course, we also had the most amazing weather and being good Cornish folk, we headed off for many beachy days out such as these. Seems a long time ago as I sit here typing in the chill of an early morning.
Now I know I am biased, but isn't she gorgeous?!!! Well, all our children are actually. Just saying.
Nothing like kayaking with a pal on a blissfully blue sea is there?
And even the duller days were taken up with walks and drinks by the water's edge.
Just perfect.
When did she get to be this grown up!!
Well, that's it for now, but next time I will introduce you to Pepper. Who is Pepper? This is she...
Bye for now x
