Lorihadams-- hi guys...been busy!

[lorihadams]

Well, where ever it came from it's dead now. I did a head count and kept getting 19 or 20 so I definitely have all my ducks here so it may have been a wild one from somewhere....the kids keep saying it "came from the chicken pen" so I tend to believe them if the story doesn't vary after they've told it to me several times. We did release some mallards here last year and we had one that kept flying back into the chicken pasture to be with the indian runners so maybe she came back this year...her name was Quack.

I hadn't thought of her but it is a possibility I guess.

 

[justusnak]

Lori, I so know where you are with " the cake lady" I have one of "those" people here as well, just no kids involved. ( as we are a generation older)
She is just weird...almost scary. Stick to your guns on this one...better safe than sorry. Its hard when there are kids involved, and they get along so well.
We are supposed to be in the 90's today here....coming your way I suppose. They are saying a chance of rain tomorrow..I sorta hope so!
I hope you get a chance to get the camp out set up. My kids always enjoyed camping in the yard..when we couldn't get away to go real camping.

 

[lorihadams]

I went this morning and got the smoker and fuel from the feed store and she informed me that I need a license in the state of VA to raise mallards in captivity since they are a native bird. CRAP.

She says the fine is $100 per bird if I get caught.

We hit the chicken swap and they had American Guinea Hogs, a heritage breed of pig, they are supposed to finish out in 6 months and be less destructive as larger breeds. The finish weight is supposed to be up to 350 lbs. He wanted $100 each for a piglet. I asked if he sold bred females and he said yes....we'll see if hubby can be convinced. Maybe next year. We have lots of oaks on our property and they are supposed to finish beautifully on acorns. I would love to have a breeding pair.

They also had lots of rabbits for sale and I almost came home with some guinea chicks but Chad would kill me.

My stupid EE keeps trying to fly out of the chicken pasture. I have had to rescue her from the dog 3 times already. I don't want to have to clip wings but I will if I have to.

The ducklings have gone through one gallon of water with electrolytes and I just gave them plain water this morning and turned the fan on low in the brooder but kept the lamp on.

We just got done working the bees (see my beekeeping post in Everything Else) and they seem to be doing well. The weaker hive is still weaker but plenty of activity and lots of brood....big larvae in there almost ready to become "bees" and lots of pollen. They are drawing out the adjoining frames finally and I think they just needed time to settle in. I didn't spot the queens but we used a smoker for the first time today....blech.

I got home from the swap and set up the tent and the kids are already wanting to play in it but it is still pretty hot out there, hotter than I thought it was gonna be today. I pulled some of the dead leaves of my bean plants and did some general garden cleanup and watered everyone. I also purchased some BOSS for everyone and gave everyone some as a treat. My Tally goat has horrible dandruff so I am hoping the BOSS might help with her dry skin. Everyone else is okay where that is concerned and they don't seem to have any creepy crawlies anywhere.

I made an iced goat-puccino from this morning's cold coffee and it was sooooo good. We are supposed to get a chance of showers off an on tomorrow and we have a family reunion after church tomorrow so it will be a busy morning. I still have lots of watermelon so I will chunk it up and take that as my "dish". Am I lazy or what?

Oh, and I forgot to post a pic, last week we had some unusual goings on. I found a big snapping turtle inside the garden fence and I got a really weird egg. Here's the pics!

And here's my first cheese....I didn't like it by itself...tasted like what I imagine goaty feet would taste like...

 

[Farmfresh]

I went this morning and got the smoker and fuel from the feed store and she informed me that I need a license in the state of VA to raise mallards in captivity since they are a native bird. CRAP.

She says the fine is $100 per bird if I get caught.

So now ... you are raising little Rouen ducks. Yeah, that is it ... Rouen ducks.

 

[Denim Deb]

Sounds good to me! How much difference is there between the mallard and the rouen? I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference.

 

[Farmfresh]

A Mallard typically weighs about 3 pounds to maybe 4 and a Rouen usually weighs about 6 to 8 pounds with top quality ones as large as 10 - 12 pounds.

 

[Wifezilla]

BANTAM Rouens. That's what ya got there. BANTAMS

 

[Farmfresh]

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Lori, did someone at the feed store tell you about the mallard thing? I'd call someone reliable (like the Department of Ag) and ask. That does not sound right at all! Mallards are SO common I can't imagine they'd make that a law. Sometimes people at feed stores have been known to be full of baloney!

 

[lorihadams]

That is hysterical!!! Yep, bantam Rouens.....that's what I got.

Well, we had a family reunion for hubby's family yesterday and I came home with a cousin for the night. He's 4, he threw up on me this morning and then promptly looked up at me and said "I puked" Well, thank you captain obvious.

I needed to mop the floor anyway.

The kids are taking a break from schoolwork this morning since the weather is nice and they have their cousin over and it is almost summer so I'm over it. I talked to an aunt that homeschooled all her children, 2 boys and a girl, and she gave me a pep talk and begged me not to put Tyler in public school in the fall. She said she would help me any way she could and her oldest daughter who graduated from homeschool last year said she would love to help out if I needed a break or just needed to talk. I love them.

We also had a great aunt that had moved to Ohio make the trip in for the reunion and she was so excited to see Chad that she came to our farm to look around the old homestead (this is family land, remember so she was raised here) and by the time she left she was in tears and so was Chad talking about when he was little and how they used to do things growing up. She was so happy to see us raising our children the way she was raised and she was very proud to have Chad "back where he belonged".

She lives with her DD, whom I had never met and loved btw, up in Ohio and they have chickens and donkeys and horses. She kept trying to convince us to get a mini donkey

Chad's dad actually came to the reunion!!! My husband ran across the church parking lot and jumped over 2 picnic tables to get to him. It was awesome. We had a really good time hanging out with everyone and all the boys are going to take a road trip in October for a week to go visit some family up in Ohio and then swing down to Tennessee to visit some more before coming back to VA. I'm not gonna let Chad skip out on the trip this year, it seems we have always had something come up and he couldn't go but this year I don't care he's going.

Today I am catching up on laundry, surprise surprise, and then gonna take the kids to the pool later this afternoon so they can play with their cousin. His mama never gets a break and their dryer went out so she has a weeks worth of laundry backed up and it will give her a chance to run some errands and get the house cleaned up while the kids are gone.

So, for now it looks like I am going to just take a break from homeschooling for the summer and really take a look at setting a more structured schedule for the kids for the fall and try to get a better outlook on things. Pray for me cause I really do want to make homeschooling work for our family.