Hatched

Remember the Duck nest

on the edge of my yard?

(past post)

It's now full of eggshells.

Have a wonderful weekend.

~

Sure the Ducks will enjoy theirs....while making good use of the rain (lakes) puddles which are continuing to form in my yard.

Breaking the Rules

I finally found out why ducks have been waddling down my driveway.

Out in the trees at the edge of our road, there 

was a hideaway found.

I've made it a rule never to put all my eggs in one basket.

Guess there are exceptions to every rule.

nice try guys.

Remember when you were a kid and you thought if you hid your face, 

no one could see you?

Well after I saw these...

my theory on that 'flew out the window'.

We aren't fooled.

No use in hiding.

We can see you~

Loud and clear!

Yep. We do.

{ Spring Sign #2}

(Corben photos)

And they`re off.....

I am not a huge fan of the Goose.

I have nothing against them directly....but to be honest- they scare me.

When I venture around the lake in town I`m always careful to stay out of their way- especially when they have goslings. The hissing that ensues as I pass by strikes terror in me every time. 

I think I feel similar to passing a hissing goose- as I would a bear:

 Do I make eye contact....

Do I run...

Do I back up slowly....

From a distance they are beautiful and I never tire of watching them...especially when they have those babies with them and they all swim by in a Family row:)

This time of year sends hundreds of them over our house- south of course.

The sound is incredible.....and on a day when they all decide to fly out 

I always hope I`m around to look and listen. 

It`s beautiful, and puts a ``sad for seasons gone by``feeling in me.

******

Some facts about the Goose:

****

An adult goose eats up to 4lbs. of grass a day.

***

Life span can reach 24 years.

***

Geese generally return to their same nesting and birth place every year.

***

Migratory geese flight range 2 – 3 thousand miles

***

Geese mate for life and will stay together during all seasons.

***

(And my favorite fact about geese....)

According to theoretical calculations, birds flying in the "V" formation can fly about 10 percent farther than a lone bird can, while expending the same amount of energy. 

The birds function more efficiently in a group working together.

****

We could learn from these 

honking (hissing) creatures.

My Visitors

This was the view from my window the other morning-

a mother and her twins feasting on the ruins of my garden after the heavy frost.

At least someone is making use of the garden this fall. 

When I try to work in it, my feet sink into thick, heavy mud....and everything that was above ground seems too mushy to harvest.

BUT....Mr.Weatherman seems to be promising heat for the next few days.

Maybe it will dry up long enough for me to dig up what there is to store for winter.

Meanwhile...these hungry deer are feasting.

They`re beautiful.

I never tire of watching them.

Even when they treat themselves to my mountain ash and apple trees...

(although - at $80/tree it is an expensive viewing!)

I hope they can blend in well over the next couple of months.

(Which leads me to the following letter I`ve been meaning to write.....)

Dear Mr. Hunter:

I just thought I would write and let you know,

that I will be the one wearing the bright red hat while running down the miles of my gravel road.

Molly will be the one in the bright red sweater...riding her horse through the pasture.

My boys hang out in the yard and like to play football and throw sticks to our lazy dog.

Please watch out for us and don`t shoot while we are out.

It`s unnerving.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dawn

P.S.

I would say good luck and wish you Happy Hunting this season, but I don`t think I can.

I do so like my garden visitors and don`t mind them hanging around here another year.

(Even if they do eat my expensive trees.)

It wouldn`t hurt my feelings at all if your scope was out of line just a tad....

When you look up....

There is something to be said for 

Looking Up.

(Would love to know what this guy is thinking...:)

{(Pictures taken by Corben (my 11 year old son)....who is going "picture-taking crazy" since he bought his new camera last week.

The things he has found already- make me wish I was a tad more patient during my day and would look up a little more often:)}

~~~~

The Prince and his Tad

Meet Tad....

my son raised him from a little slimy black dot of an egg.

He rescued the mass of black from a dugout down the hill, kept him in a 5 gallon pail, and has watched him grow over the past month.

"Lovingly" killing mosquitoes, he's fed it-

Has supplied it with more dirty dugout water-

Watched it grow from the dot of an egg,

to a black swimming tadpole,

to a tad with small sprouts for legs,

and now this Thing with a long tail which now hops quickly through the grass when let out of his bucket.

Me.....being the skeptical mother i am....got dragged out every other day for a visual update on "my Tad".

Truthfully....I don't enjoy science.

I don't like experiments...especially messy or creature related.

Reading about metamorphosis or any life cycle is enough out of a textbook,

and then I'm done.

But day after day, as those globs began to change.....

Well.

I'm kicking myself now for not documenting the entire thing as a good mother should.

The least I could have done was to take pictures every so often...JUST IN CASE

 it really did turn into something.

But I didn't.

Regardless...it DiD change.

And now he almost has his fully grown Tad.

Next time, when the miracle of creation comes knocking on my door to "come look"...

I won't go quite as grudgingly.

Who knows what a blob may turn into.....