Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch
  • Home
  • "Almost" Daily Diary
  • Maureen's 60th Birthday Trip to England
  • Gertie and Quest: A True Story - The Book
  • Foresaken Love
  • The Gentle Giants
  • Photo Gallery
  • WWOOFER Program
  • John & Jean Hudson Wedding Nov 2013
  • Lambs
  • Poo Time
  • Memories of a New Cattle Rancher

Dinners on the pond!

5/28/2011

0 Comments

 
Cheep cheep Chheepp….Quack Quack…….what’s that ? Quacks don’t belong in the farmyard. So what is going on ? Yesterday we bought some Cornish Cross chickens (traditionally meat birds) and a few more egg laying chicks. Our intention is to work with our woofer interns and allow them to watch and chart the progress and growth of both sets of chicks. We duly collected the box of happy healthy cheeping chicks from cheerful Jeff at Cenex (probably very happy to see the back of his noisy squatters). The chicks were comfortably re homed in our warm dry brooder box and we thought we were done with babies for the day. NOT SO !!! Up to my knees in horse poop in Charms stall and a faint Quack Quack was heard. A quick check round the side of the barn and there was the source of the quacks…a new set of ducklings led by a very proud momma Mallard was leading her offspring single file and best webbed foot forward right through the farmyard. Oh no !! There they were, three farm cats, Tiger, Shy and Lucky all watching the progress of lunch and it had actually delivered itself ! I swear those cats were grinning from ear to ear. Somehow the feathered family made its way to the little pond and our feline friends suspended mouse watch for the day in anticipation of  tasty duckling. All spaced out around the bank, the three cats watched their dinners zip around the pond…swim almost into reach…just not quite…next time. I couldn’t watch, Mother Nature was so cruel and life so short. I had no control over their future…..or so I thought !!! About 9pm a call from the barn. Our boarder calling to say that Tiger had tried 2 ducklings as hors de oeuvres and was checking out his entrée but they had saved the brood. Momma mallard had waddled away taking one duckling with her….they had rescued the others from almost certainly becoming Tigers next meal….and we are now the “happy” mom and pop of a brood of ducklings. I know that Mom in Albuquerque will be checking out her soup recipe!!! Greg was less than pleased, rearing ducks wasn’t on the agenda for this year…or in fact, any year.

Yesterday also saw the return of Gregs favoured child. The John Deere tractor was released from tractor hospital and we arrived in Sumner in warm sunshine to pick it up. Clearly, since it was us, it couldn’t be THAT easy…it wasn’t!  As we got out of the truck..hailstones, big hailstones and just to make us really wet, it rained, torrential rain and we got soaked, saturated and miserable……but the tractor is fixed !

Well, it’s time I got moving, it’s 7.10 and time to get ready for the first shift. Today may be a quiet day….may be ! take care, M

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Its me, Maureen, (the Boss)

    Archives

    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.