Chickens & Ducks

Now that I have been practicing the new normal I thought I would be sewing all the time.  I haven't sent since Sunday!  Oh dear.  I have been enjoying being outside with my chickens and ducks. 

Above chickens flock to the cat feed bowls to see if there are any treats left behind.  They love the high-protein content of cat food.  I don't let them have too much of it.

Below they are scratching for their food.  Foraging for food and eating bugs and plants and such is what makes the difference between free-range chicken eggs and store bought eggs.  The yolks are brightly colored yellow.  Yesterday I made a yellow cake in celebration of  my son reaching more than ten YouTube subscribers.  (We now have 13.)  He as soooooo excited.  THANK YOU!!!

Our YouTube channel is  TheShahann

Below is Wiggles the rooster.  He is so gentle to humans.  I think he knows that I would save him from the other rooster, Pluto, when he was young.  He is always on watch for the safety of the flock.

Below you can see my three ducks.  They love any water they can find.  They are on the search for bugs and worms.  Their eggs are great for baking because duck eggs are higher in fat.  It also makes for a great yellow cake because of the rich egg yolks.

Below you can see how barren their chicken yard is.  They (and the chickens) have devoured every blade of grass and anything green.  I cleaned out the flowerbed by the house.  It was mostly mint stems and roots.  First the ducks and chickens ate all the bugs and green stuff that was attached.  Next the ducks made a bed of what was left.  They are enjoying the dry spot in the middle of the mud.

I did make an apple cake for our son's celebration from a cookbook I have had for over 30 years.  It was made by a different class led by my favorite fifth grade teacher.  I made it because I had all of the ingredients.  It did not call for apples!  I was confused why it was called apple cake.  I made it anyway.  My husband said that it was like eating dust from a dust pan (he was being nice about it.)  It was so hard and dry.  When I broke it up for the ducks and chickens it was like croutons.  I didn't give it to them all at once.  I'll use it to coax them into the fenced-in chicken yard mid day when I won't have to keep an eye on them from predators.

Now that spring is here.  Things are starting to get brighter and brighter green every day.  For those that follow, this is a good picture that gives you an idea of the "house we live in where I piece quilts and sew" (the green one) vs. "the new house where my longarm is" (the brick one).  At the end of summer last year my husband did a lot of earthwork between the two houses.

The driveway comes up from the road and makes a big oval to access all the out buildings.  I guess I have my own walking path with a couple little hills.

These two were busy sawing a large tree that fell across the driveway a few years back.  There's a creek that runs under the low spot of the driveway.  This week Owen got a couple of new magnets to be used for magnet fishing.  Now that we are on a stay-at-home order, he will have to resort to playing in our own creek for now.

He found part of an old rusted shovel.  It is his "treasure".  He wanted to pose with him using the shovel.  Yes, he wears orange a lot.  It's good for when we are working in the woods or around some of our equipment.  He's easier to find.  It got up to 61 degrees yesterday!