June08
Tuesday, 3rd
Another month and we're almost half way through the year, it's frightening the speed the months and years are flying by.
We're still playing "catch-up" in the garden - being realistic I know that's a game we shall never win. Having spent all day in the garden yesterday weeding and planting I am trying a bit of catch-up with these duck diaries as the forecast rains arrived overnight and continued all day.
We had a worrying 'phone call on Friday [John's birthday, here's a little
piccie]: 
Jeanette from 2 houses down warned us that the foxes had struck again, this time fetching Huwie's pet rabbit out of the hutch. Remembering that it's usually 2 days after a successful strike that they come looking again I was on alert when I heard a racket down at the duck pond just after Sunday lunch.
I had only taken a couple of steps outside when I saw a vixen disappearing into the scrub about 10 metres from the stile. Seeing that waterhens plus babies [still only 3] remained on the pond I was sure the vixen had been at the back of the duck pond.
I spent the next two hours clearing the grasses and other growth along
the E-fence so that it wouldn't short so much when we switched it on -
- and then we forgot to switch it on when we went to Church and Badminton respectively, but all was fine on my return. We had considered to shut both duck parties within the electrified enclosure but worried about further injuries. So we shut the 7 into their home ground in spite of their noisy protesting [too early for bed!].
During our busy gardening day yesterday John cut down the very low ash
branch for me which had been overhanging the pond for years. I used part
of it to yank out the two fence pegs the waterhens had air-lifted between
my plant baskets, and at present it is -hopefully - keeping the outer
mesh from collapsing inward again:
The 5 ducky residents kept their distance - like the others they are
hugely worried when big sticks make an appearance ...
So as not to ignore the other 7 I took pictures of them as well:
I took some pictures of the wet garden while I was out in a rain break:
It didn't look too colourful, but the roses on the pergola made up for
it:
Monday, 9th June 2008
If I hurry up I can get this done before another week is over without an entry. We've been very lucky with the weather - I can't remember the last rain we had, proper hot summer yesterday and today.
Groups of mallard drakes continue to make appearances, I'm always alerted to them by the racket Pinky makes when they come and raid their food. Early this morning I saw 6 sailing in and onto the duck pond where the waterhens and 3 babies [or was it 4 - hard to tell from that distance] were having a lovely bath time. This picture shows just 2 of the mallards, can you see them?
While doing some weeding in the duck enclosure this afternoon I thought it so peaceful that I was actually considering letting the two duck groups together again while I was there to supervise. Captain started to moult some days ago and I thought he looked somewhat subdued.
WRONG!
A little mallard duck landed on the pond, probably just trying to get away from the attentions of all those spare males down at the brook, when Captain went ballistic:
He went on and on pursuing this poor little thing - to the accompaniment of shrieks from Pinky and Hedda - until she finally got away from him and flew away.
We haven't seen any more of the foxes, but Andy and Tony were in our top
field late last night and saw 5 in the field next door! 4 youngsters and
a vixen, they thought. We can never relax, but as long as they just go
about at night as foxes ought to I don't mind.
Wednesday, 18th June 2008 Remembering Mia on her birthday and sending congratulations to our friend Alan Hitchcock on his!
5 foxes were seen by Andy and Julie as well on Sunday night, and Andy took a brilliant photo of a young dog fox curled up in the grass. They said they were in the field next to ours, but we keep on being watchful.
So yesterday, when John and I went for our day out on our 11th anniversary,
we shut the free-roaming 7 into the old chicken enclosure where their
hut is. They never like being shut up and are keen as mustard to come
out again on our return, but at least it offers them some protection while
we're out. I heard the ducks making alarm calls after they'd been out
for just 10 minutes or so and rushed to the window:
Primmie - standing up and facing in the middle here - was the noisiest,
and all 5 ducks were 'pointing' towards the ditch. But as both drakes
were busy with their personal toilette I put the alarm down to the usual:
neighbour's cats.
We were very lucky with the weather yesterday because it turned quite
nasty today, wet and very windy. Our walks along the canal near Shackerstone
were just lovely!
To finish for today I caught Harlequin this morning in yet another marvellous
feat:
I first saw this performance yesterday morning, not at the previous place
where we'd seen her drinking but on the narrow ledge to the left. She
first did the dipping of the paw and licking it, but then leant right
forward and lapped as if from a dish.
I was too late with the camera yesterday, but I got her today!
Sunday, 29th June 2008
Last entry for June, I expect. Sad news last Wednesday: brother Hugo in Spain died, just 10 days after his birthday.
All the ducks are well although several are going through the summer moult.
Two days ago they had spaghetti for "extras" , and having thought
that rice was their favourite treat I was surprised to see how keenly
they all got stuck in.
Here at the big pond,
and here at the small.
Can you see on this last picture above how well the reeds are doing in this pond, and the hosta at the back against the fence? Our little paddle feet must be finding plenty of other stuff to pluck [like cold frame lettuce and beetroot leaves!]
It's a different story at the duck pond where the moorhens have seen off my bullrushes again, and instead of being put off by the netting I put over the reeds they've pulled as many leaves as they can over their second clutch of eggs in the nest.
In this photo on the right I had tried to capture the 3 first-brood "teenagers" and mummy and daddy before they vanished behind the logs - no such luck, they're too quick. But I did get mummy, or daddy, peering out through the fence, impatient for me to be gone.
And yes, there was a jolly good reason why it was so anxious: the second hatch has begun! At first I thought there was just one little black ball of fluff in the nest with the eggs, but it looks like at least two chicks in this photo:
