It has been so long....

So much has happened in the last month +.  There is no way to catch up other than a list! (because you know we love a list around here almost as much as Starr Hill Girl.)

1. A week after the snapping turtle got one of the brown ducks, a fox got Aretha.  Aretha was one of the original flock and was the only reliable layer left.  Our other old girl, Josaphine, lays eggs but they have very thin shells and are often broken.  And they go bad quickly since they don't seem to have much coating on them (a waxy stuff that is deposited on the eggs as they are laid so that they don't dehydrate).  It was a bummer.  We think she got snatched on evening at dusk.  We didn't even realize she was gone until the next day.  We never found any sign of her, no feathers, no carnage, no nothin'.  That is why we think it was a fox.

2. I paid $5 for a small container of homegrown tomatoes at the market.  It made me want to go home and fertilize my tomatoes.  But I am not sorry I did it.  I am just sorry everyone else likes tomatoes as much as I do.

3. I got a call from a friend at work that they were incubating some duck eggs and did we want some more ducks.  I consulted with the SB.  Why YES, thanks, we would like some more ducks!!

4.  We took receipt of three adorable baby ducks.  Two runner/khaki crosses and one pure runner.  They would adorably follow me around the garden and play in the water while I was hosing down the plants.

5. I dug my potatoes.  One of my favorite jobs.  I looked into planting fall potatoes.  I doubt it will work but giving it a shot.

6. We lost the little runner to what appears to be a snake attack.  It was crushingly sad as these little critters are so personable.  And I had to tell the folks that gave them to us.  It is really hard when this happens as you really feel as if you have just failed miserably.  Failed the ducks, failed the family, failed at farming.  It always makes me wonder if this is just the way it goes or if we are particularly bad at this.  I think the SB is getting PTSD.

7.  We still have two very cute ducklings.  They are just catching on to the fact that we are not ducks and they are not people.  But they are still quite personable and too small to leave alone with the big ducks.  So when they are out, they hang out with me in the garden or swim in the creek.  They are excellent company.

8. The February flock is starting to lay.  Today I got 5 tiny "pullet" eggs.  Hal a freakin luja.

9. And finally, at the request of my friend Meghan, to whom I owe the privilege of owning goats (she made it legal in the city), I have started a new blog.  We'll be discussing goat ownership in the city.  I am sure there will be cross links as clearly, I am not finding a ton of time to write on THIS blog, much less another.

Cheers!