~~~Gratitude~~~

Helloooo~~ I am still around...I haven't been lost in a snow bank..... 

I have been taking a bit of a computer break.  This winter is sort of dragging on.  Usually, by this time in February, I am getting nervous the winter will be over too soon.  Well, this winter has got me wondering if it will ever end!  Besides copious  amounts of snow it has been bone chilling cold!  For 3 days in a row I skipped my daily snowshoe and I admit to getting a bit cranky.  But, Sunday we finally had a respite with temps in the low 30's.  I got in a snowshoe, a walk on the road with a good friend, and best of all, my duckies got a bath!  I have much more to tell you about this long month...including BEing here for 20 days in a row!!  But for now I will be content with sharing (and revisiting) this balmy Sunday!  Yesterday and today are frigid again....but at least the sun is shining and no snow is falling!!

GRATEFUL for Duckie JOY!!!!

It is my intention, each week, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your moments of Gratitude. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~

Something Green

Who couldn't use a bit of green this time of year? I know I enjoy it even with my deep love for winter.  Winter is my sprouting time of year.  They are so tasty and nutritious!  A little fresh chlorophyll never hurts!  I sprout alfalfa & mung beans for us and oats for the ducks!

A little GREEN interlude ~~~ Then the story!

New Ducks this year so they are unaccustomed to sprouts.  Ducks are naturally cautious creatures.  Anything new makes them skittish, even a delicious platter of oat sprouts!

First I put them by the door...the ducks all ran inside their house...

Then a bit closer...they all skirted around the intruder and went outside...

I put them in the food dish and left for a bit.

When I came back they hadn't touched them!

Finally! after putting them in the water bucket and leaving again did they eat them up!

I am on my 3rd batch of sprouts and they only eat them if I put them in the water.

I won't complain though... 8 ducks & 9 eggs this morning!

Someone is doing double duty!

Speaking of GREEN...here are a couple of Eco-Friendly Items from one of my Etsy Shops!

Green Garland!

Upcycled Wool Pillow

LOVE to all my readers!  

I have been sporadic lately... I hope to get back in the groove soon!  

In the meantime, know I Love You & appreciate your loyalty!

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

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Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

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"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

☼ Forest & Field Happenings ☼ Duck Defense

Monday late afternoon I lost another duck! Around 4:00 pm I had been out with Runa.  All ducks were present and accounted for.  About 30 minutes later, in the house, Runa started pitching a fit.  I suddenly thought I better check the ducks!  One white one was gone without a trace!  Bumming.  Alien AbDUCKion!  I suspect the "alien" is either a fox or a Great Horned Owl.  I have been hearing an owl hooting nearly every night and often during the day but, the sneakiness suggests a fox.  I can't bare to have my ducks locked up all the time plus, I don't think it would be healthy.  So I spent yesterday morning tightening up my Duck Defenses. I rummaged around the house looking for things I could use.  First was to string up a distracting fence.

I have a drawer full of old CD's I have been holding on to knowing someday I would upcycle into a project of some sort. I added some jingle bells that I got at yardsale (but they don't jingle much unless the string is disturbed)  I hope the flashing from the CDs will make the area less appealing to the predators.

Next I put up this owl decoy that I glued the head back on the night before.

I had a couple bird scare balls that I hung up.

My masterpiece though is my "scarecrow" ME!

I stuffed some clothes with hay and added a mannequin head that I paid a dollar for at a yardsale!  I plan to move her around a bit and add a flashlight at night.  If this doesn't scare them I don't know what will!?  Runa jumped into her lap and licked her face when I was finished!  Glad I had the camera handy!!  She hasn't got a name yet...any suggestion!?

One more thing I added...from our 2nd bathroom....the pee bucket I dribbled some our scent around the edge of the woods.  We lived off the grid in our early years so using a bucket is sort of a habit.  Human Urine is a great nutrient additive for the garden or compost pile. We use it in our gardens and every Time we use the toilet we feel a bit like we are squandering our pee....hope this isn't TMI!  

Just one more thing...I ordered one of these from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E51X8Q8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So except for putting the ducks in earlier and letting them out later this is about all I can think of doing.  If anyone out there has had success with predator control that doesn't involve killing I would love to hear about your ideas! 

At least Runa seems to like the new addition to the family!

Just One More Thing (I sound like Columbo...for those of a certain age...TV) We have been on a campaign around here to train Runa to bark less.  Icelandic Sheepdogs are pretty barky.  This may have been a mistake.  So while I was outside shoring up my defenses I encourage Runa to have a barking fest.  Wish me & my duckies luck! 

Loss

I don't how to say this but to just say it....all of my Ducks are gone.  

I went out yesterday around 9:00am to do my duck chores and it was unusually quiet for such a cold morning.  My duck have been "sleeping" in during the cold so I was surprised to find their house empty.  But , they are hardy creatures and I have been noticing signs of the end of their molt and a bit more liveliness.  So I went around to the duck yard, all was quiet and undisturbed.  I started to listen for them, they sometimes travel into the woods along the stream if there is open water.  I was looking in that direction when I saw a body.  It was Pokey, the only duck that I named, because she was always left behind and trying to catch up.  She wasn't long dead, there were no signs of any other ducks.

I have to admit that I haven't been locking them up at night.

This is why...it is an ice skating rink between my house and the ducks.  I have spiky ice walkers for my boots but it is still treacherous.  Years ago I broke my ankle when I slipped on the ice.  It was not a fun time...I had to be on one foot and crutches for 6 weeks and had 2 surgeries.  I am more than extra cautious on ice ever since.  So time to strap on the super spiky snowshoes and take a look around.

All around the Duck house there was very little sign of struggle or attack.  I think the ducks must have been outside.  There were very few feathers, just poor Pokey's body.  I picked her up so I could take her far from the house and leave her in the woods.  I zig-zagged through the woods looking for any signs of struggle or just maybe a duck hiding in some brush.  This icey snow is not conducive to leaving track trails.  I found no more signs.  I admit I started to cry a bit.  The Ducks were more than wonderful egg laying bug eating machines for me.  They were a source of daily joy.  The nearly 5 years that they were with us I never minded any of the chores...I even like cleaning the duck house.  They are just such pleasant smile producing creatures I was always happy to care for them.  

Anyways, my guess as to what happened was 6 coyotes must of came.  The ducks must have been outside when they were attacked and then carried away.  It must have been morning based on Pokey's condition.  So even if I had locked the ducks in it could have happened.  It is a rough winter and many creatures must be struggling.  I do not begrudge the coyotes that saw an opportunity for an easy meal.  I am grateful that the ducks were 5 years old.  They have been slowing down with egg production.  I had been thinking of refreshing the herd but, had not intended to cull my old girls...well because they were my old girls.  I just got the Murray McMurray Catalog this week.  I was devising a plan to experiment with introducing the new ducks to the old....guess I will have to wait another  5 years to give that idea a go.

Day before yesterday I posted this Rumi quote along with this photo on my Facebook

Do Not look Back My Friend
No One Knows How The Worlds Ever Began.
Do Not Fear The Future , Nothing Lasts Forever.
If You Dwell In The Past Or Future
You Will Miss The Moment. ~Rumi 

I am grateful for all my duckie moments.  But I did leave the light on in the duck house just in case last night.  Today I cleaned things up.  Guess the wild turkeys will enjoy the open bag of duck food.  Below are a few links to earlier blogposts about my good ducks.

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com/2013/03/spring-snowed-maine.html

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com/2012/12/gratitude_16.html

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com/2013/03/sprouting-my-wild-oats.html

Fox Thoughts

The other day I was sitting right here at the computer when out of the corner of my eye I saw a red flash of movement.  My mind immediately said, FOX! The next thought was DUCKS!  My camera was sitting next to me so I grabbed it as I dashed out the door!  I took this photo when friend Fox was about a 100 yards from the duck pond.  My Quorum of Quack was happily drifting about in their pond not suspecting a thing.  When Fox detected my  presence  it paused a moment, looked at me with what felt like disappointment, melted into the woods.

The girls got put to bed early that afternoon.  The event had a feeling of synchronicity.  Many nights I have forgotten to put the ducks in, if I hadn't seen Fox out of the corner of my eye.... 

Lately, with the college choice angst around here, there has been advice, "Big Risk = Big Rewards!"  One hears that a lot in the human culture.  But observing Fox, and nature in general, that does not seem to be the case.  Fox was bold but, Fox was cautious.  I really had no way of protecting my ducks beyond waving my arms and shooing.  But Fox paused in a moment of discernment and took the safe path.  Though, I am sure Fox was hungry and Duck a l' Pond Water was a huge temptation~~~Better to Live another Day.  

The human race would do well, in my humble opinion, to show more caution in our choices.  Think a bit, have an alertness around our choices.  Remember that we ARE a part of the natural world.  There is such a culture of risk in our human world.  I looked up RISK in the thesaurus and this is what I find...  

Synonyms	accident, contingency, danger, exposedness, exposure, flyer, fortuity, fortune, gamble,hazard, header, jeopardy, liability, liableness, luck, opportunity,  peril, plunge,possibility, prospect, shot in the dark, speculation, stab*, uncertainty, venture, wager
Antonyms:	certainty, safety, sureness, surety

Very Charged Words!  We humans need to make some important choices if we are to keep this planet up and running to our liking.  I am a big believer that every action, every choice we make does matter.  Well, our son is not going to his "dream" college.  But a fairly safe choice money wise and location wise. I feel very connected to the idea of discernment.  That is how I try to live my life.  Here is a Mary Oliver poem that gives some suggestions.

When I Am Among the Trees

 

When I am among the trees,

especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness,

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

 

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

but walk slowly, and bow often.

 

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, "Stay awhile."

The light flows from their branches.

 

And they call again, "It's simple," they say,

"and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine."

 

~ Mary Oliver ~

 

(Thirst)

 

Turtle Watch Continues......

~~~Gratitude~~~

I am grateful for ducks.  We have the pleasure of caring for 7 Runner Ducks.  They have been under our care for 3 1/2 years now.  We loving call then the "Cluster Ducks" or for you Star Trek Fans..."The Borg".  Ducks are less individual and more community.  They are easy to care for and provide us with wonderful eggs.  They forage like crazy for insects, slugs, and snails. But mostly, I am grateful to have them in my life to just watch.  They are delightful creatures.  They greet me each morning with a wonderful bowing dance as I let them out of their house we call "Duckingham Palace".  And yes, I bow and dance with them...sorry no video?!?!

I will write more about ducks down the road and welcome any questions from would be quack care takers.  I am still new to the blogging rhythm.  I have a lot I want to share.  It IS the busy holiday season. I just want you to know I am still here and expect to be more rhythmic once the next week or so passes.  In the meantime enjoy these few photos of my girls with some duck poetry to go along.

The Duck

Behold the duck. 

It does not cluck. 

A cluck it lacks. 

It quacks. 

It is specially fond

Of a puddle or pond. 

When it dines or sups, 

It bottoms ups. 

Ogden Nash

This poem was one of my son's favorites when he was a little guy.  We used to recite it together nearly every night for several years.  That was many years before having ducks.  Maybe, this poem gave me the ducky desire?

`Ducks' Ditty.'

All along the backwater,
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling,
Up tails all!

Ducks' tails, drakes' tails,
Yellow feet a-quiver,
Yellow bills all out of sight
Busy in the river!

Slushy green undergrowth
Where the roach swim--
Here we keep our larder,
Cool and full and dim.

Everyone for what he likes!
WE like to be
Heads down, tails up,
Dabbling free!

High in the blue above
Swifts whirl and call--
WE are down a-dabbling
Up tails all!

Kenneth Grahame ~~~ Wind in the Willows

It has been a quiet week for me.  But not in the usual sense.  I have been out straight with Reiki clients and Etsy sales as well as the usual busy-ness of my life.  The quiet has been an internal one.  I caught a head cold.  It is the first time I have had one in over a year.  It totally took me by surprise.  Sick enough to be called sick but not so sick that my life duties could be ignored.  But it was a reminder to BE Quiet and conserve my energy.  Every year I pick one word to ponder and this year the word is quiet.  As the year draws to its end little time is left for my self imposed exercise.  So I feel the cold was a reminder to get to it!  The business of BEing Quiet.  Here are some quiet moments from my past week............