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...
