With all my talk of chickens, you might not realise that we have another flock of fowl here at the Knitty Gritty Homestead.
We have ducks. They're a motley crew: 4 Pekins, 1 Indian Runner, and 1 Rouen. They're kinda... well...dumb. They run hysterically away from us even though we never try to approach or touch them. They race for the door and wedge themselves into it in their hurry to get away from the marauding humans. In the photo above, I've captured this moment, where they are involved in a "No, me first!" kind of battle. It's epic, and it happens often. They're actually STUCK in the doorway.
Then there's the mad dash for the pond, quacking all the way.
Ah. Now they can relax, spending their entire day splashing, mating, sleeping, tipping their bottoms up in the air, and splashing some more. It gives them great pleasure. We do get two eggs a day from the two ducks, which are kind of a novelty item. People get excited when you show up with duck eggs as a hostess gift. Or as a door prize item. I'm not kidding.
As easily spooked as they are, I'm quite fond of these characters, if only for the Ridiculous Factor. And I have to admit, they do give the place a nice pastoral feel, paddling peacefully around on the pond, as if they hadn't a care in the world.
*Can you tell I had a bit of fun over at picnik.com? Somehow these duck photos called for a 60s feel...
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing your entertaining ducks.
ReplyDeleteooooh! I want ducks but Grumpy said we need to make our pond bigger first which means gutting out some trees and such because it's part of the marsh. We have a couple of wild wood ducks and mallards living there and I don't want to disturb their environment so...I guess wild ducks will be who I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteAs always, love all that you share about your farm.
Oh gorgeous~! I love picnik when I have time to play with it... my daughter finds time :). We have some ducks too and they are the same, timid way but so fun and amazingly soft! We have a Khaki Campbell, 2 Rouen and a black and white duck (can never remember how to spell the breed) that starts with an a...something like ancona.... Love your shots!
ReplyDeleteWell that explains why Jemima Puddleduck is so daft! :)
ReplyDeleteRetro ducks! Oh how I laughed the whole way through your post. And now I don't want ducks anymore.
ReplyDeleteDuck egg door prizes. You can tell where YOU live!
Thanks for the mention :-)
Much love...
What a delightful blog . . . and what a wonderful life you lead. Your writing and photos make me smile. Keep up the good work, and happy knitting! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.
ReplyDeleteOh I love these.... the farm we recently found to visit & buy eggs & produce also has ducks. Mascovies (sp?) and we've tried duck eggs. They are good, I thought they would taste different, but they seemed to ba about the same. And baby ducks, those are the cutest ever!
ReplyDelete