December09
Monday, 7th
Annie and the girls plus two of Charlotte's friends came to stop overnight on Saturday after their visit to the Clothes Show at the NEC - they were exhausted ....... and spent out!
Yesterday, after lunch, I sent Charlotte and her friends off to the duck pond with some pasta, in order to take some photos of the ducks; and Charlie managed to take some nice ones:
Friday, 11th December 2009 Happy Birthday, Annie!
We had ice on the water buckets and a frozen water pipe for the second time [discounting the small amount of ice in October] this month - but only once in November did I have to smash the fairly soft ice on the ponds.
I'm still having to double the ducks' grain rations, our silly soft lot of ducks and drakes don't chase any food robbers away, they just suffer them. It's mainly pheasants, especially since they started shooting on the farm next door, but plenty of other birds like to partake. I can see them all in the wings while I'm filling the water buckets, waiting patiently for me to disappear. I fooled them this morning, though, as I had to fill buckets at the garage and go down with them twice. I scared clouds of pheasants into the air each time!
Our girls are still fighting to determine the pecking order, the three boys are showing off to each other how tall they can rise in the water, and Hedda "services" Candida every morning because Captain is just not interested.
Sunday, 20th December 2009
Did I write on Friday a week ago that Captain was "just not interested"? Shouldn't have said it, the very next day he gave in to Hedda's pestering - and it really was the 'girls' who pestered him, not the other way round as we see in Spring. The weather turned cold very soon after and must have cooled his ardour, I've not seen any hanky panky since then.
The ice age started last Thursday with properly frozen ponds and having to carry water buckets down to the pond. It really has been cold, the little pond, the bird bath and the water buckets that are not being used freeze over again during the day. This morning I went to the trouble of smashing the rather thick ice all around the big pond so as to give the duckies more room to swim in - I could see that they were rather irritable with each other in that small area of water near the hut. My encouragement didn't have the desired effect, look where they stayed:
That small hole of open water was somewhat larger this afternoon when I went into the field to try and find some red berries for Christmas decorations [without success - the birds have scoffed all the red berries very early this year], and then we had the same drama as we've had the last four days at bed time, the ducks trying to skate around the frozen little pond to get to the hut. I counted to make sure just seven were present and correct because only yesterday Hedda had taken a short cut across the pond and then couldn't get back out again over the slippery ice: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, EIGHT! Anabelle was there as well, sort of blending into the dusk, and as in previous years she went with the 7 up the ramp ............... and then jumped off. I shut them in and then accompanied Anabelle to the big pond where she had a quick bath and a splash and then all 4 went into the hut and all was well. They know exactly who belongs in which hut and won't settle until the count is complete.
Thursday, 31st December 2009
Last entry of the old year, after this, with much vigour we hope, into the very new 2010!
Our Christmas was terrific this year, thanks in very great part to Annie and the girls, and only Colin was missing from our family dinner on Boxing Day.
The ducks are all well, they continue to spend all their days on the big pond, their food keeps getting nicked by allcomers and the ducks are still having hefty fights - with Anabelle being particularly vicious to Rellchen and Decibels doing honour to her name.
The last few days it's been thawing and raining but the indications and the forecasts tell us there's another freeze coming, hey ho.
A particularly wonderful 2010 to all who read this, may you be as happy, content and prosperous as you wish!
