Random Randomness, Part 286

• We're packing for Florida. Yipee!!
• The ducks are gone. I miss them, except for their poop. They were really fun.
  
• I'm looking forward to getting chickens, probably next spring.
  
• I think my neighbors think I am nuts.
• I made a huge batch of Monster Cookies yesterday and spent the time reminiscing about camping trips and road trips where we ate mass quantities of my mom's Monster Cookies
• Tyler took his first steps yesterday.
• Just kidding!
• There has been a woodpecker going to town on our aluminum siding. He's a smart feller.
• I've been squeezing sewing time almost every night this last week. I work like a crazy woman while Jeff and I watch documentaries from the library. As soon as I sit down, I fall asleep.
  
• My garden is 2/3 planted. Phew! I started everything from seed and even though they grew just fine now I think I'll be worried til they get a little bigger outside. Did I mention that I had to clear my new garden ground (the top left picture) all by hand? (It was grass) What a pain. But fortunately after I did that a neighbor came by and told us to use his rototiller to till it up. The new bit brings the garden to a total of 11' by 50', and I also extended my flower/herb patch quite a bit. The bamboo thingy is going to be a fort for the kids. We are going to grow pole beans on it to make the walls and roof.

Another Busy Weekend

We had another busy weekend. Saturday was busy trying to cram some more time in with my sister and her husband before they moved to VA. Rach, Mom, James, Tyler and I went yard sale-ing in the morning. It was a good lesson for James on saving your money for something other than the dollar store so that you can get something that won't break in 3 minutes. He found himself some fabulous stuff: a brand-new still in the plastic wrap kids toolbox with tools, a pair of almost-new Cars rollerskates with protective gear and a backpack, and a sprinkler (would you expect any less from my kids?)...all for a whopping $3!! Later on Saturday, after the Uhaul was packed, we had a nice dinner with the whole fam. All this was fun, but it all means one thing...Rach and Phil are now in Virginia. (We won't talk about that right now or I'll feel like crying)

And in other random news, the ducks are....fabulous, but very, very poopy. I love them. I hate their poop. And there is a lot of it. Jeff wants to get rid of them, and I think we might have to. I don't really want to but they are a royal mess. I am sure as they get bigger so will their mess. We shall see. Eventually we want chickens, but when that time comes I will not get finagled into getting them before I have researched everything!! On a side note, can you believe how BIG the ducks are?? They grow so fast its amazing!

And one more random bit, an outfit I made for Katie (the pants were made from a pair of my old pants):

Crazy Weather

Here are a few pictures from last week. It got up to 90 + degrees. Now it is back in the 50's and 60's. The weather was so warm we were able to break out the swimming pool! I like this backyard weather.

(Note the beginnings of my garden in the background....the rhubarb is growing good and my spinach is up too!) Unfortunately the nice weather has brought out the groundhog too. Yes, the groundhog. I believe he is the fourth one. Hopefully he falls for the strawberry I put in the trap and I can relocate him far enough away that he won't come back. I have heard they can be mean, and I know they eat whatever they want in my garden if they find a way through the fence. And although they are vegetarians, I don't know if it would go after my ducks. I am seriously tempted to put concrete or something under the shed! What is it that is so inviting to them??

Escape Artists

Last night I was up with Tyler and heard the ducks quacking away. I wondered what they were doing, but was tired enough that I didn't really pay too much attention. After a minute or two, I could have sworn I heard a strange thunk noise, but I wasn't sure. Again, I heard the noise. After laying Tyler back down I went out to find Webby and Parker had escaped their box and were standing their innocently next to it looking at me. So, I had to rummage through the garage for a more suitable box at 4:45 am. Crazy ducks.

In other news, I failed one of the tests of parenthood yet again. The test where your kid says something that you really shouldn't laugh at, but you do. Rach and Phil were over and we were sitting in the living room. An (overweight) couple were walking past and James runs up to the window, and yells 'That guy's really fat!' 'James!' I said, and before I could say more he said 'He's so fat and big and.......SQUISHY!' It was the squishy part threw me over the edge. Of course it didn't help that Rach and Phil were laughing too. After stifling my laugh, I had to try and explain to a 4 year old that, yes, some people are heavy, but that you just don't point it out. I am glad that the window was closed, because I would have felt really bad if the poor guy had heard him.

A Few Orders of Business

• Tyler is crawling in earnest! I have to put everything up all over again. He really can get around. I set him down, turn around and he is gone!
  
• We planted strawberries this weekend. The kids are officially NOT ALLOWED in the garden anymore. They have a hard time understanding the concept of 'Don't step on the plants!'
  
• Speaking of not being allowed in the garden, Katie and James were foraging for dandelions for me when they apparently decided that it would be extra special to enthusiastically pick the two beautiful stems of Texas Bleeding Heart that just bloomed in the side yard. We will be enjoying them in a vase now, and I hope they come back. Katie ripped hers out of the ground complete with partial roots, so we'll see.
• The ducks are doing great! They have grown already and James enjoys finding grubs for them to eat. Katie likes to put leaves and sticks and anything they might like, or not, in their pen. I pray they survive her 'mothering' them. I think everyone thinks I am crazy for having them. Ha, ha, wait til I have chickens!
• Rachel is helping me paint and reorganize my upstairs family room/craft area/laundry room. I can't wait to see it finished! And speaking of that, I'm off to tape off the trim. Enjoy the sunshine!
  

Guess What???

Alternative Title: What Did I Get Myself Into?

So, long story, but if you remember last year, we had fun duck-sitting for a friend. I have long aspired to having a duck. I always thought it would be fun to have two, actually, and name them Webster and Bill. Then, in the last few years, I have really been thinking about having chickens. If you have never had a fresh farm egg, well, you should try one. And I don't mean fresh from the store. I mean fresh, like they still have a piece of straw stuck to them. We used to pick up this wonderful lady, Mildred Hubbard, on our way to church. She was about 80 years old and had lived quite a life. She was married at 16, moved out to a remote cattle ranch in the Gateway Canyon area, and had to learn fast how to cook for a bunch of cowhands and the five children she soon had. At 80 years old, she still kept chickens. At one point, she was getting pretty irritated that the magpies were stealing her eggs. Magpies are pretty annoying birds, being scavengers, but are illegal to shoot. But Mildred had had enough. She told us one day that if they kept it up she was going to put a silencer on her gun and shoot 'em dead. :) Anyway, she would give us as many eggs as we wanted. These eggs tasted way better then store eggs. The yolks were so dark they were more orange than yellow. They are really a lot different then store eggs. Because I have inherited some sort of recessive, wannabe farmer gene, I have been wanting to get my own chickens. I have been looking into suburban chicken-keeping for a while, but still feel unprepared for full-fledged chicken wrangling. So when, you wonder, am I ever going to get to the point? And why do I feel that I am any more qualified to raise ducks? The point is, I got two ducks because a) I have always wanted a pet duck and b) Peking ducks lay eggs (news flash!) and it will be a good trial run for me. There is a lady at church who buys ducks every year and releases them at a local park to get eaten by predators because they have no street smarts. Really, she wants to populate the white duck community at the park, though I am skeptical of the effectiveness of it all. Anyway, if nothing else, you can walk away today knowing that I am really good at rabbit trails. And before I run off on anther one, here's the deal:

• I have two ducks in my backyard, which I have done a fair amount of research about but still feel a little skeptical (any pointers would be very appreciated!!!)
• I do not know the gender of said ducks
• I worked out a deal with the duck lady so that if mine turn out to be of the male persuasion I can trade them in for some females (as we will hopefully be able to tell by the tail feather)
• I hope Katie doesn't love one of them to death

PS. James named the ducks Webby and Fence Parker, Parker for short