The Duck Report - all the happenings to end 2022
Time for one last Duck Report before the year closes!
Duck Report 14 30th November 2022
This will be my final duck report for the year I think, so I am going to try and round up the year for you.
I believe this has been an exceptional year in our weather department. We had a lovely cool wet spring - just like spring is supposed to be - which morphed into a summer I enjoyed under the tree in the hammock. Now we are still enjoying a pleasantly warm autumn. All in all just the way a year should be. We had a massive snow (18 inches) a week and a half ago, but it is all gone now and the weather is still warm.
I have finally succumbed to the wild bird’s wishes and bought them a heated bird bath. (blythe note: don't let the put-upon tone fool you - she's just as excited about this as the birds are) All summer they were having such a good time in my ornamental bird bath that it seemed only fair to indulge them in a heated winter one. So far they mostly drink from it so maybe the weather is too cold to bathe. We have quite a collection of summer and winter visitors to the bird feeders and as a result we seem to go through a large bag of bird feed every two weeks. But at least it is all for birds as I have caught most of the chipmunks and squirrels. (blythe note: she rehomes them, fyi, they aren't kill traps)
The garden has now been put to bed but there are still a lot of weeds around which will have to be dealt with next year. The final touch to my new flower bed is the bathtub. This tub came out of the house on Albemarle when we redid the bathroom (blythe note: 30 years ago!). It has feet and had been used as a water trough for years. Some of the feet had been broken off, so some welding work had to be done before it could be re-assembled and painted. But it looks great now sitting in the flowerbed, next to the new cherry tree. I bought two cherry trees for pollination and the other one is through the hedge on the way down to the woods. This one is in full sun and doing well while the one in the garden is in partial sun and may not be as happy.
Harley, who is seventeen tomorrow, has suddenly gained a new lease on life. For the last five years he has shown no ability to sire puppies, being unable to achieve an erection. Towards the end of October Roxie came into season and we planned to ignore this and wait for a later season next year so the puppies would be born in nice weather. Well, that Harley had other ideas! He was trying to breed her with no success, so I felt safe walking them together. Boy, was I wrong. I suddenly realised I had no dogs with me, so I backtracked to find them, and there they were tied together and looking very pleased with themselves. Now a month later we have a pleasantly plump little dog and another with an extra bounce in his stride and a glint in his eye. (blythe note: this story made me scream with glee when Mum told me about it. Our dog, Bear, is a Harley puppy, and we are secretly coveting a puppy from this incoming illicit litter. I'm so excited, and will be telling Harley what a good old boy he is when I see him at Christmas) We should have the new arrivals in early January so I shall have to ask the kids to roll up the carpet at Christmas and put it in the studio before they go home. This way I can let the puppies out in the living room for exercise. The carpet is quite dirty so in the spring it can go out to be cleaned and re-installed later.
LOB is interested in a possible apartment in the barn. (blythe note: LOB can get in line >:( My brother had NO CLUE about this plan until Mum and I hatched it for me and MB, so we'll have to haggle this out over the holidays) As we have no animals that would make good use of the space and the building department is on board with the idea. To this end, I started some planning and found I had forgotten how to plan and draw. It has been 20 years since I sat down to plan anything and after a very rusty start it all started to come back. I have one idea which I think might work and am now moving on to other proposals. Once over the hump I am quite enjoying it and have tried to get Michael involved but he will have none of it. (blythe note: both Mum and Dad were interior designers before retirement)
I hope before Christmas I have a chance to go visit Twix (the Fell pony) in his new home in Kingston. I know he is being well looked after but I would still like to check on the little fellow. I was surprised when I went to measure him at the time I was selling him that he had grown to 15hh, well above the approved height for Fell ponies. I suspect that every Fell pony bred over here and well looked after will exceed the standard of 14hh. (blythe note: 14hh is the standard cut-off height between ponies and horses. I've only met one Fell pony that was under 14hh and she was considered exceptionally small. Fell ponies are like miniature Friesians, and are strong enough to do hard labor, carriage work, and even carry the weight of a full-grown man easily. They are NOT like other ponies. I suspect they traditionally grew small due to deficient nutrition and meager grazing in Northern England. All the ones I've seen in North America grow big and formidable)
I am still spinning dog hair and fleece from my sheep. The dog hair Erica gave me is Samoyed, which spins beautifully. I am not keeping up with my dye material as I have a freezer full of dye baths. I also have a cupboard full of dried fungus. (blythe note: Mum gets witchier by the season...) So far I have 20 dried and identified fungi, many of which are waiting for further collection. Most recipes call for 1-to-1 of dried fungus to weight of wool, so a lot of fungus is required. This fall has been exceptional for fungus and I probably have 4 or 5 varieties in enough quantities to produce a dye bath.
I have just re-kindled my interest in jigsaw puzzles. They tend to be compulsive after a while. They are a terrific time-waster and very satisfying when completed. On a rainy day there is something very soothing about fitting pieces together.
I have been on a hat knitting binge and have now completed 12 which are starting to sell at the Village Green store in Foxboro. At the moment, I am completing a vest for Michael. He has worn out many of the sweaters Mum knit for him, so now I have to pick up the slack. I am nowhere near as fast or as competent as Mum was but it gets made in the end. (blythe note: Grandma was a prolific knitter. It was astounding, really. Every Christmas she mailed us a parcel from Yorkshire containing baked goods and a sweater for each member of the family. I understood that she did the same for all of my Australian cousins as well. It's one of my favorite Christmas memories)
Duck Report 14 30th November 2022
This will be my final duck report for the year I think, so I am going to try and round up the year for you.
I believe this has been an exceptional year in our weather department. We had a lovely cool wet spring - just like spring is supposed to be - which morphed into a summer I enjoyed under the tree in the hammock. Now we are still enjoying a pleasantly warm autumn. All in all just the way a year should be. We had a massive snow (18 inches) a week and a half ago, but it is all gone now and the weather is still warm.
I have finally succumbed to the wild bird’s wishes and bought them a heated bird bath. (blythe note: don't let the put-upon tone fool you - she's just as excited about this as the birds are) All summer they were having such a good time in my ornamental bird bath that it seemed only fair to indulge them in a heated winter one. So far they mostly drink from it so maybe the weather is too cold to bathe. We have quite a collection of summer and winter visitors to the bird feeders and as a result we seem to go through a large bag of bird feed every two weeks. But at least it is all for birds as I have caught most of the chipmunks and squirrels. (blythe note: she rehomes them, fyi, they aren't kill traps)
The garden has now been put to bed but there are still a lot of weeds around which will have to be dealt with next year. The final touch to my new flower bed is the bathtub. This tub came out of the house on Albemarle when we redid the bathroom (blythe note: 30 years ago!). It has feet and had been used as a water trough for years. Some of the feet had been broken off, so some welding work had to be done before it could be re-assembled and painted. But it looks great now sitting in the flowerbed, next to the new cherry tree. I bought two cherry trees for pollination and the other one is through the hedge on the way down to the woods. This one is in full sun and doing well while the one in the garden is in partial sun and may not be as happy.
Harley, who is seventeen tomorrow, has suddenly gained a new lease on life. For the last five years he has shown no ability to sire puppies, being unable to achieve an erection. Towards the end of October Roxie came into season and we planned to ignore this and wait for a later season next year so the puppies would be born in nice weather. Well, that Harley had other ideas! He was trying to breed her with no success, so I felt safe walking them together. Boy, was I wrong. I suddenly realised I had no dogs with me, so I backtracked to find them, and there they were tied together and looking very pleased with themselves. Now a month later we have a pleasantly plump little dog and another with an extra bounce in his stride and a glint in his eye. (blythe note: this story made me scream with glee when Mum told me about it. Our dog, Bear, is a Harley puppy, and we are secretly coveting a puppy from this incoming illicit litter. I'm so excited, and will be telling Harley what a good old boy he is when I see him at Christmas) We should have the new arrivals in early January so I shall have to ask the kids to roll up the carpet at Christmas and put it in the studio before they go home. This way I can let the puppies out in the living room for exercise. The carpet is quite dirty so in the spring it can go out to be cleaned and re-installed later.
LOB is interested in a possible apartment in the barn. (blythe note: LOB can get in line >:( My brother had NO CLUE about this plan until Mum and I hatched it for me and MB, so we'll have to haggle this out over the holidays) As we have no animals that would make good use of the space and the building department is on board with the idea. To this end, I started some planning and found I had forgotten how to plan and draw. It has been 20 years since I sat down to plan anything and after a very rusty start it all started to come back. I have one idea which I think might work and am now moving on to other proposals. Once over the hump I am quite enjoying it and have tried to get Michael involved but he will have none of it. (blythe note: both Mum and Dad were interior designers before retirement)
I hope before Christmas I have a chance to go visit Twix (the Fell pony) in his new home in Kingston. I know he is being well looked after but I would still like to check on the little fellow. I was surprised when I went to measure him at the time I was selling him that he had grown to 15hh, well above the approved height for Fell ponies. I suspect that every Fell pony bred over here and well looked after will exceed the standard of 14hh. (blythe note: 14hh is the standard cut-off height between ponies and horses. I've only met one Fell pony that was under 14hh and she was considered exceptionally small. Fell ponies are like miniature Friesians, and are strong enough to do hard labor, carriage work, and even carry the weight of a full-grown man easily. They are NOT like other ponies. I suspect they traditionally grew small due to deficient nutrition and meager grazing in Northern England. All the ones I've seen in North America grow big and formidable)
I am still spinning dog hair and fleece from my sheep. The dog hair Erica gave me is Samoyed, which spins beautifully. I am not keeping up with my dye material as I have a freezer full of dye baths. I also have a cupboard full of dried fungus. (blythe note: Mum gets witchier by the season...) So far I have 20 dried and identified fungi, many of which are waiting for further collection. Most recipes call for 1-to-1 of dried fungus to weight of wool, so a lot of fungus is required. This fall has been exceptional for fungus and I probably have 4 or 5 varieties in enough quantities to produce a dye bath.
I have just re-kindled my interest in jigsaw puzzles. They tend to be compulsive after a while. They are a terrific time-waster and very satisfying when completed. On a rainy day there is something very soothing about fitting pieces together.
I have been on a hat knitting binge and have now completed 12 which are starting to sell at the Village Green store in Foxboro. At the moment, I am completing a vest for Michael. He has worn out many of the sweaters Mum knit for him, so now I have to pick up the slack. I am nowhere near as fast or as competent as Mum was but it gets made in the end. (blythe note: Grandma was a prolific knitter. It was astounding, really. Every Christmas she mailed us a parcel from Yorkshire containing baked goods and a sweater for each member of the family. I understood that she did the same for all of my Australian cousins as well. It's one of my favorite Christmas memories)