November06
Thursday, 2nd November 2006
The "togetherness" of the two groups of ducks has continued during the days, but come dusk they go to their respective hut areas. They seem to rub along very nicely, I don't see much in the way of chasing.
We were on luncheon club duty yesterday, and as we were ready to go quite
early I went down to the duck pond to take a few photos before setting
off. Sweetie had been outside of the fenced area when I turned up, and
rather than going back to join the others by the duck pond through the
open gap she went all along the fence trying to push through that way
-
the arrow in the picture on the right points her out. Of course I tried
to direct her back to the opening, and when that failed lifted the fence
for her and even flattened a whole section for her. No dice! She fled
into the ditch, I followed and got entangled in vicious brambles. Sweetie
then cowed down in the thickest of bramble thickets where I had to poke
her out under loud protests from her, and off she went again into the
ditch and then along the fence in the opposite direction.
By then I'd been scratched to bleeding, snagged and dirtied my 'going-out-clothes', and my patience was running out for fear of making myself late - Sweetie had led me a merry dance for a good quarter of an hour. I didn't want to leave her in the ditch outside the fence, though, so, as gently as possible, tried to guide her back towards the pond and the opening in the fence. Scrambling along the back of the duck pond I suddenly noticed the other 16 ducks going along the orchard towards the frog pond, and who was joining them from the ditch? Sweetie! Yes, I was mad, and yes, we were late for duty. Little madam.
Cleaning out the huts in the afternoon I noticed that the food container by the duck pond was empty and the water bucket muddier than usual. Of course! The 9 from behind the garage had been making free while their own food remained practically untouched until they returned home with failing daylight. I aimed off for this today and put extra food by the duck pond and also gave them a bigger bucket of water. Eventually we might move the hut from behind the garage back down to the side of duck pond - we'll see how we go.
Sunday, 5th November 2006
I always let the duck pond crowd out first in the mornings because they get put in first at night - it's only fair. Well, these last few days the second crowd have been heading straight for the duck pond on "release" instead of the frog pond as had been their custom after the first splash in their home pond. So to adjust the food supply I've been putting double portions into the container for the duck pond and just put a very small amount behind the garage for when they return "home" about 4 in the afternoon. Both containers get emptied - the "togetherness" appears to have increased their appetites or else they've exhausted the food supplies in the wild in those areas! I have noticed though that the Campbells and other 4 now go along on excursions with the 9, both into the field and garden. Especially in the afternoons they can be seen 'topping up their stomachs before bed time' in the veg garden.
The first 3 days of frost this autums hit us just as predicted by the
weather forecasts. I think Wednesday night was the first (my memory is
going!). Apart from the white covering downhill and lots of droopy leaves
we weren't that badly affected. But the next morning it was bad. The water
hose had frozen and I had to fill all the buckets in the kitchen. The
dahlias were not only drooping but had turned black now and the masses
of shoo-fly plants and cosmos had definitely snuffed it. I had had hopes
for the Physalis - you know the pretty little things they decorate their
desserts with in posh restaurants, these:
It was the first year John had grown them for me and I'd been eaten handfuls
of them when passing
a patch as soon as the "lantern" husks had turned pale brown.
But they've had it now as well.
On Friday morning I went and filled the water buckets in the kitchen again and afterwards found the outside water supply had thawed out again - oh well. We spent Friday composting the shoo-fly and cosmos, John getting the dahlias out and into the greenhouses upside down, and then we did some winter digging, me little and John lots because he is so much better at it. The ducks don't mind the cold, in fact they can stand it much better than they can the heat, and they certainly enjoyed the winter digging as there were so many fat worms coming to the surface - amazing how quickly they learn.
I took a couple of photos from inside the duckpond hut early Saturday
morning [ no, I don't use it as a hide - I was cleaning it, honest! ]
and I rather like this one because you can actually see some features
on the Campbells:
Once the sunshine hits them they're just a blob of white. Perhaps some
of my friends/family who are good at photography can give me some hints
on taking clear pictures of white ducks??
There was no frost this morning, and all 17 were VERY busy in the orchard:
I've inserted the cut-out picture on the right because all four boys were standing up so nicely. from the left: Blob, Clarence, Donald and Captain.
Thursday, 9th November 2006
They swapped ponds this morning ......... briefly. Whether the first-released 8 were fed up with being invaded and thought they'd strike first or whether they were impatient to meet up with the others I don't know. Fact is they'd come up and passed me where I was filling up the second pair of water buckets by the garage - cautiously, mind, in case I chased them back - and gone straight into the frog pond. A couple of seconds later the "garage crowd" left their home pond and headed for the duck pond. When I deposited the water buckets they were having a very happy time in the water without interference from the home crowd there.
I rushed to take photos of the "swap", but both lots of ducks
came out of the water as I approached.
I was amazed how dark these photos are as I was late letting them out
this morning - must have been quarter past 7 or more. What's worryingly
obvious, though, in spite of the dark, is that there is another leak in
the frog pond on the left. We've noticed the water going down to this
level fairly quickly again every time we filled it up. Whether the ducks
have pecked holes or the mole did it I can't tell - but it looks ugly.
In the picture on the right it's nice to see what a neat edge John made
with his winter digging there.
The swap didn't last long. As I was walking back from taking these pictures they all joined up and went slug hunting in the field.
Wednesday, 15th November 2006
Nearly another week has gone since I last wrote, and nothing out of the ordinary has happened. All 17 spend all their days together and split up again at night. We did have a bit of excitement a couple of nights ago, though. On shutting the back gate John noticed 10 in the apple tree pond where there should only have been 9, and there was a bit of concerned quacking going on. It turned out that Chissit had gone into that enclosure and wasn't sure of her way out. I gave her a bit of a shoo from the other side of the pond and she soon was on her way to join her mates by the duck pond, quack, quack, quacking all the way.
This afternoon I watched all 17 parade past the conservatory, the 4 drakes looking very proud indeed with all those girls to look after, and go into the enclosure behind the garage - for food, I suppose. But they split nicely into their two groups when the light was fading, no hiccups this time.
I've been jolly busy for days designing Christmas cards and making a
start on the "nibble" houses. Here are two views of the first
3 just finished:
If
you look closely you may just see Gretel in a pink dress kneeling down
and giving some food to Hänsel in the shed - the witch is standing
in the door way out of sight. Christmas is a-coming!!
Friday, 17th November 2006
Apart from a short break with sunshine this morning today has been as
wet as forecast. The 17 ducks spent a lot of time sorting through the
fallen leaves [I've even seen a couple of them with a 'decoration' of
leaves around their necks and beaks] and slug/snail hunting in front of
the garage, they just love the wet. And I'm really happy because I've
been longing to see all 17 roam through the garden together.
Saturday, 25th November 2006 Hildegard's birthday
The food container arrangement has been back to normal, i.e. the same
amount for each lot, ever since the duck pond crowd discovered where the
apple tree pond crowd's food is kept:
Sorry about the quality of this photo I took yesterday - it was only about
half past 3 in the afternoon and I thought the foraging raiding party
would show up better.
A little bit earlier I saw them all on the front lawn where I disturbed
them by opening the bedroom window:
I liked this snap, too, taken through the kitchen window, where Rellchen
is the only one standing up:
At "bed time" the duck pond lot were out in the field - within their enclosure - having a lovely time making a muddy mess around a couple of the trees there. When John was driving them towards the hut he suddenly said "there's one missing!" Oh no! Anabelle wasn't there.
John went back to the pond behind the garage to see if she was with the others. She was, apparently quite settled in with the 9. I thought she might have adopted them because there were more ducks of her colouring there. Well, when it came to shutting this lot in she wasn't all that sure any more - 3 times the 9 went in and out of the hut, Anabelle always jumping off the ramp at the last moment. The fourth time John's appearance gave her the final push and she went into the hut in the middle of the line-up. It'll be interesting to see what she does in the morning!
Sunday, 26th November 2006
Anabelle was the last to come out of the hut this morning, obviously somewhat disconcerted, and made a spectacular flight from the top of the ramp to the other side of the apple tree pond. In the meantime Hedda and a couple of others had come up from the duck pond and gave Anabelle a noisy reception - I don't know if she was being told off.
When I'd gone back into the house I noticed there was more noise than usual around the duck pond, but that might not have been because of Anabelle's adventure ...................... the heron had made a return visit!
No mix-ups tonight, the eight and the nine all went into their appropriate huts.
While watching the ducks this afternoon I noticed how well the sun was
lighting up the trees around the duck pond:
In this picture the lovely golden yellow of the birch is showing on the very left above the garage, and I'm amazed to see this one full of leaf while the two-stemmed one near the house is bare.
When I took the photo some Campbells were visible on the water just below the russet golden oak next to the birch, but I can't see them now.