It’s a day to celebrate mothers and grandmothers and those who’ve simply mothered us even though they weren’t the ones who brought us into this world.  I think, too, that it’s a good day to recall the joys that come to those of us who play that role in one way or another.
Here at the farm, [...]

With dozens of ducks running around, you’d think we’d be so over them. I thought I was over them, but this new hatchling changed my mind.

Have you ever seen anything so cute?

Everywhere I turn, there’s a nesting bird.  One of my favorite ducks chose a corner of the duck pen. She gathered hay from the sheep pen next door, added some downy soft feathers, and piled it all high near the spot where the other ducks lay their daily eggs.  I suppose she appreciates having company [...]

 
That’s twenty-two ducklings in the bathtub.  Go ahead, count them. 
 

This is their first swim.  Ducklings are hard-wired with swimming skills.  They don’t need to be taught.  As soon as their fluffy bodies land in the water, their webbed feet start paddling.  They swim back and forth, peeping with delight.  They’re the ultimate pool party animals.
The [...]

Even the chickens huddle up close to the fireplace when the temperature drops and the snow flies.

Really, there’s a fireplace in this picture with the chickens — the back of one, at least.    The wide base of the chimney is the barely visible section of concrete wall jutting out behind the pile of straw on [...]

Bruce the Duck came to live with us earlier this summer. His journey began with a phone call from the Genius Husband. ‘You want another duck?” Hmm. Yeah. I didn’t have enough of those.
Bruce belonged to a teenage girl, and he spent his early days as a fuzzy, yellow, adored pet. But as ducks do, [...]

for tomatoes….Toss them over the fence NOW.
There’s nothing happier than a duck with a tomato.
Both ducks are Pekins, but the one on the right might have a bit of Crested Pekin in his family tree. Note the puff of feathers – he looks like he has a cotton ball stuck to the side of [...]

It’s 103 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade here. I do not even want to know the heat index. The ducks have retreated to the shade under the trailer, which already was in the shade of a pecan grove. Notice the panting…notice that you can see right through the nostrils of one duck. I never noticed [...]