Those tiny Muscovy ducklings are always getting into mischief. They’re small enough to go right through the fence into the neighboring run, and Mom (Phoebe) can’t follow.
They’ve figured out how to exploit the weaknesses of the fence. They hop right over the plastic netting on the bottom to play in the mud. While Phoebe doesn’t look all that upset, we saw juvenile red-tailed hawks circling yesterday, so those babies need to stay in their fully-netted run.
We reinforced the netting at the bottom of the fence to keep those wily babies in (zip ties come in handy for many projects). Seems like they always find some vulnerability to exploit, forcing us to quickly repair it. They probably laugh about it, too.
In a couple of weeks, they’ll be too big to squeeze through the fence, but until then, we’ll have to keep an eye on these guys. If there’s way, they’ll get out…
When you live in the “country”, rodents are a part of life. If they have the misfortune of making their way indoors, they hit a dead end…literally. Our “trio of terror” (three young black cats, brothers) make short work of intruders. House centipedes don’t stand a chance.
It’s that time of year: tomatoes, in all their succulent glory, are here. While we enjoy eating those plump, juicy, vine ripened orbs, we also look for firm, green tomatoes. Why? To make our “fraked” green tomatoes, of course.
When heat indices near or surpass triple digits – like it has this week – it becomes dangerous for many animals (including farm animals) and stressful for farmers committed to ensuring the health and welfare of their livestock.
Phoebe’s 8 eggs began hatching on Sunday. Our first clue was an empty eggshell sitting in the main section of the small coop we use for brooding: it had the “freshly hatched from” look, with the dried membrane and reddish tint inside. We tried to peek into the nest box section, but she was having none of that and puffed up so we couldn’t see beneath her.