Thursday, May 14, 2009

Don't Listen to the Fox, the Barn is a safe place for you!

Two of the Rouen mama ducks are sitting on eggs in a corner of the barn. It is a very dark corner. One would never know there are ducks and eggs in that corner except for the hissing sound that comes if you venture a little too near. Sounds like a snake. The Rouen are very lovely, brown with a blue mark on their side. They are perfectly camoflauged. I think they have been on their nest for a couple of weeks. Maybe more.

The Pekins are sitting on a nest in the corner of the chicken house in the field. They just started sitting on their eggs.

So far they look much more responsible than Jemima Puddleduck. Jemima was invited by a wily fox to move her eggs into his den. These gals don't look like they would pay attention to any fox. Even the dogs stay away from that menacing hiss.

Safely tucked, nice and warm, baby little duckies are growing.

Can't wait to see them once they crack their way into the world!

PS Jemima Puddleduck is a story written by Beatrix Potter, one of my favorite authors/illustrators. If you haven't read it, I think you should. Then come on out and we will show you some more responsible mothers. But don't get too close!

11 comments:

Raph G. Neckmann said...

Enjoyed this!

(I love Beatrix Potter's art!)

gingerhillery@mac.com said...

Thanks Ralph!

CountryDew said...

I love Beatrix Potter, too! If you haven't seen the movie about her life with Renee Z., I urge you to rent it and watch it.

gingerhillery@mac.com said...

Will have to get that on the netflix queue. I watched it some time ago and would love to see it again.

Anonymous said...

Any story about a duck is good with me!

Di
The Blue Ridge Gal
(Looked for you this morning at Ikenberry's but alas... you were nowhere in sight.)

gingerhillery@mac.com said...

Hi Di! Sorry to have missed you! I was manning the table at Grandin. Hope you saw the representatives of the Hillery Family. Patrick is my main Ikenberry man these days while I get the new market action up and running. Aren't farmer's markets fun!

Laura: One Day At A Time said...

i love a good movie suggestion, now i'll have to add the beatrix potter one to our queue! :) unfortunately, only 2 chicks of the whole batch of chick and duck eggs hatched at school...very unusual, but she bought them on ebay for the first time instead of from a local farmer. :( hope your hens have a good lot of babies to protect!

gingerhillery@mac.com said...

Hey Laura! Sorry you guys eggs didn't hatch out successfully (except for the 2). We have always had awful luck incubating eggs ourselves. I hope these mamas have some cute duckies soon. Maybe we can send one to your classroom.

Laura: One Day At A Time said...

have your ducks hatched??? does "borrowing" a duck really make any kind of sense? because i know they would love to see one swimming around in a bowl of water this year..and i could return it in mint condition. ;)

gingerhillery@mac.com said...

Of course you could borrow a duckling! Will let you know when they are available. Main thing to consider is keeping the little thing warm and hydrated. Maybe I could take one in to your class and talk about raising ducks and chickens. PS Could Josh come out one evening and look at our tractor?

Laura: One Day At A Time said...

wow! what a good idea! i would have to talk to the teacher, but i know if there is a good time for it, she would love it! josh said "of course" to the tractor, i'll email you.