DUCK WEATHER
It rained all day yesterday. Real wet soaking rain. So the ducks and I practiced all day going in and out of their new home. 
It is the big central pen in the barn and full of straw for the laying of eggs.
I would herd them in then stand opposite the entrance until they were quite settled then leave them to it with their door wide open so they did not get frightened in there. The last thing I need is for them to fly out in fright. They actually stayed in there for long stretches of time. Then the pull of the rain and all that MUD would be too much and out they would stream into the puddles.
Last night at dusk I put them in there and shut the gate and by the sounds of it they are still there this morning. So far so good. This is a much better option for egg laying and for when the winter does come. Their little tin is really only a summer shelter. No good in the weather.
While I was mucking about in the barn I opened up the whole of the piglets creep (until now it was divided with straw bales so they could cuddle in there) and filled their food bin. Now it turns into their cafeteria. Not much food goes in yet, they are still just snacking, but if I sat in there long enough they all take turns coming in to play in the straw obstacle course I made for them, nibble on some food, nibble on my boots, have a slurp of water then race back out. They were a bit stir crazy yesterday because of the rain and their Mum keeping them inside all day.
Their Creep Cafeteria enables them to eat at their leisure. Otherwise their mother cleans everything up before they get a real chance.
I have awoken to rain again this morning. We are well and truly sodden, the cows are locked up off the good pastures and once we start to warm up again I look forward to some good growth for a week or so before letting them back out. We have a few days of coolness and clouds which is very good for letting the rain really soak in.
I need one more good cut of hay and at least 200 bales purchased then I might feel more ready for the winter. We have time yet. I hope. This will be a good cut if I can get it in before October.
But no gardening today and no sowing of the ground covers either – too wet. My guest and I will keep working in the barn. We will keep training the ducks and Tia and the piglets, which is quite a fun job for an Airbnb Farm Stay guest.
It is feeling so cool this morning! I will have to find my trousers and socks.
Have a good day.
Love celi
WEATHER: Drizzle then Clouds. Cool.
Saturday 09/08 60% / 0.17 in
Light rain early…then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 66F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
Saturday Night 09/08 50% / 0.1 in
Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low 56F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Sun
6:26 AM 7:13 PM
Moon
Waning Crescent, 2% visible 4:52 AM 6:56 PM
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34 Comments on “DUCK WEATHER”
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I am up early here too, Celi. It is in the 60s here in the Carolina Blue Ridge, & so far our days are hot & dry. We need some rain but mot a Cat. 4 hurricane, which we are watching out there in the Atlantic. The Farmy Creatures are learning the drill there with you & your guest to guide & admire them.
Oh no. A hurricane would be bad.
Just one word for those little piglets. Sleek! I love that overhead shot. So nice to be perched up there looking down.
I like those overheads too.
We had rain last night after a sunny, warm day. I sat at my desk as it grew darker, all the windows in my little apartment open to let in the sounds and smells of the first real late summer rain. It was wonderful to know that autumn is just around the corner…
This is such a beautiful description of your rain.
Thank you 🙂
Sounds just perfect.
Love reading about the ducks and little piggies. It’s very satisfying to get your little nerds trained to their places and schedules. Nice having a rhythm to the day. We are grey and cool here on the coast of Maine today. Nice change from the heat and humidity, but I am not ready for winter yet!
Tia is being a gem. I am amazed at how easy she is to train.
A high of 66?! Wow, it is getting chilly (well, I guess chilly is relative!) up there! We’ll have a high of 77 down here in North Central Arkansas today. But that is actually chilly compared to what we have had this summer!!! 🙂 As Deb says, fall is right around the corner!
I dread the winter this year so am not ready to talk about it yet!
A duck souper – I bet they like the rain more than you do!
They are thrilled by the puddles!
I really enjoy the tales of your ducks life adventures. I hope their eggs will make them profitable too. I am soaking in all your words about the rain and cool weather. As a New Englander in Los Angeles, I begin to yearn for rain and cool weather in September.
The seasons are very well defined out here – that is for sure.
whatever happened to your çlown suit’ has it disintegrated or still doing its job?….That is what you wear when it is cold and icy… The new Duck Cafeteria looks warm and inviting and those ducks look as though they have arrived in heaven…as you say a good place for laying eggs. You can’t have eggs laid willy-nilly….. Stay dry and may your grass grow tall, green and strong Love BG
The clown suit is for the cold. I not looking forwArd to getting it back out. Though I think I need a new one this year. I had better check.
We’ve been having the same rain you’ve had, Cecilia. Normally the grass of August is yellow as straw but this year it keeps on coming. We’re near the des plaines river which is very high now. Last year we put in a sumppUmp and drainage system in the basement…what we should’ve done 40 years ago but were still glad we did because we would surely have water if we didn’t…especially this year.
Our sump pump is going flat out but the basement is still wet. We have certainly got our fair share over the last few days.
To a city person, your Farmy animal training would seem a little bit like magic… I wish you just enough rain at the right time, and just as much sun and drying wind at the right time as you need for another good cut.
All beautiful wishes.
Looking forward to seeing nests with a pile of duck eggs and of course a couple more trailers piled high with delicious home grown hay. What color shells do the ducks produce? Laura
The ducks don’t really lay in nests. Just all over the floor. Luckily the eggs have really hard shells or they would be smashed.
Hmmm your chickens could perhaps “train” the ducks in proper egg laying? Hahah that would be a sight!
Alas we seldom have duck weather in these parts, worse luck, although we have some ducks.
I am now engrossed to stop by to get the regular updates on the plonkers.
I call my ducks and geese , mud daubers…cause they are always dabbling in the mud.
Yes! So they are!
Hello and *smile* on a spring Sunday in the Southern Highlands . . . .First photo: left top quarter . . . . does anyone enjoy a puff or two on the farmy . . . .
Thank you- I will go back and have a look for the puff?
:Love’ya . . . . I kind’a ‘gave up’ after uni . . . we did not ‘do’ drugs at that time, so black coffee and a ciggie a poor guy had to pay for was the ultimate ‘sophistication’ !!!
Have to admit to being a bit confused – I need to look at that photo again. Have a good one!
Really great to see that all is getting back “to porridge”, as my grandmother used to say. Lovely pictures. And I am marveling at “rain”. I haven’t experienced real seasons since I was east of the Mississippi ten or was it, twenty years ago?
Getting back to porridge. That saying makes perfect sense!