The Part Where I Do An Update

Oh, it's been a while since I've posted, and a lot has happened, so here's a bit of an update:

Ginger has been sitting and sitting and sitting.  Since producing her first two eggs, she hasn't produced another one.  I can TELL that she's got one cooking, because her abdomen is so full, but she just doesn't seem ready yet.  Doesn't stop her from trying, though.  She's in the box all the time.

sitting

organizing

Enduring many males checking on her status

 Seems we live in a goose commune here.  As she is the only female and there are 3 males (not a good ratio, and not intentional, I assure you), ALL of the males are checking her progress regularly.  Ferdi (her intended mate) goes in and sees if she's done anything, Emmett (her unintended and unwanted mate) looks every once in a while, but he's a "hands off" kind of dad, and Arthur, pictured here, is more of an acquainance and looks in on a casual basis.  Yes, they've all taken a bit of an interest.  But, nothing yet.

Saturday was the first outside day for the girls.  They are starting to look like bowling pins now more than ever. 

They are completely adorable, but I have never thought I would have so much trouble with brooding a group of waterfowl.  We've had one fatality, and two others with walking issues.  Ophelia, the black runner, has a

 

stiff back and gait.  Fawn, the remaining Welsh Harlequin, has spraddled legs, despite the fact that she has been raised on a bed of wood chips and is given additional niacin and vitamins.  I can't figure it out.  Now I am putting them out as often as the weather will let me and hoping that the additional sunshine and fresh air might do them some good.  They are meant to be outdoors, after all.

They met the geese as well that day.  Or I should say, they uninentionally met the geese as the geese came charging over like there was an invading horde. 

I had forgotten how big the geese really are



What??

It did not go particularly well.

I call this portrait Lone Gander: Out on the Range, because Arthur is still the odd man out.  Poor boy.  It's a good thing he and I are so in love, or who knows what he would do to himself?

Woe!  Woe betide me!!

----sniff!----

Little boy's birthday went very well.  He was SO excited, and I really think he had a great time.  Of course, when it came time for presents, and he got Mr. Responsibunnity, let's just say he was more excited about his Legos.


Here he is, holding the bunny, but was just looking longingly at his legos

That was disappointing.  Slightly moreso yesterday when he read the note the "bunny" had written him on how to take care of him and exclaimed, "I have to feed him EVERY day?  TWICE??  I can't skip?"  Oh yeah. 

However, I have hope.  He named the bunny Robert immediately, and I saw him showing Robert his legos yesterday.  I know that he also read Robert a story last night, and that this morning, he was feeding Robert  as soon as he got out of bed and before I even had to tell him to.  So maybe this will work out after all.

A girl can hope, can't she? 

And more on the Robert front, Mema and Papa came over to build a beautiful hutch for him and his future bunny house-mate, whenever Lorelei saves up enough money for him/her.  It is almost done. 

The bunnies can sleep to the sound of the stream.  Not a bad deal.

After it was done, I fenced off an area around it so the bunnies will have some play room.  It will be a bunny paradise! (Providing they get fed every day--twice)

Then I went off to work a bit more on the waterfowl pond.   Not much, though, because after two weeks of hard labor, it's pretty much done.  Now I'm just evening out the high blobs of soil around it and straightening rough edges.  It's much nicer to dig when the dirt is not frozen, let me tell you! 

I'm also planning the landscaping, because look:

Of all things random, there are many well-established clumps of what I think are daffodills here.  This area of the yard was not utilized by the previous owner, as far as I can tell.  There was no landscaping of any kind, and certainly no pond (because I put it there).  In fact, there was garbage all in this area, so who knows what was going on?  But, here are plants!  Weird.  I'm not going to ignore them, I'm going to work around them.  It was like finding gold.  So, though I am planting a quite a bit of forage in the area for the residents, I will make it pretty, too.  Why not?  Pretty is nice.

And is that it?  Just about.  The seedlings have sprouted, which makes the little greenhouse they are in smell like dirt and plants, so I just bury my head in there whenever I need a pick me up.  This tray has gotten the farthest, so they are candidates to be transplanted very soon.

These are mostly broccoli and cauliflower and cabbage here.  Other trays have tomatoes and flowers, but they are not as far along.

And yes, in case you were wondering, I do other things than manual labor and playing with animals.  I completed my first pineapple doily the other day, and put it under a stoneware chicken in the kitchen (because every kitchen should have a stoneware chicken, don't you know?).

 I can't sit in front of the TV and do nothing, so I crochet to keep my hands busy.  I like the way it came out. All wobbly-like.  Gives the place character.  And matches my coffee cups.  Bonus!!  So, what's new with you??