Greetings all,
Another cold & icey Monday morning but it got me thinking while driving the children into before-school-sport-practise . . . i don't get Mondayitis, i never have, not at school, Uni, motherhood or in my short-stint-working-life. I came home to flick on the computer & found this on my desk, aw, everyone needs an 8 year old boy in their life who thinks you are a rock star!!
Most of this year i've had to have a child at school (20km away) at 8a.m. for volleyball or netball practise, now very comfortable in a new car with leather heated seats, while we hang in the car park in below zero temperatures with primary schooler(s) waiting until playground supervision commences. So i'm home on Mondays half an hour earlier - a head start on housework or Spin Class at the gym for that gym-kick-start the week.
My mornings vary, depending on who has sports practise (i prefer before school than after school) . . . without fail, puppy, ducks & chickens need to be let out, fed & watered, then their coops de-poo'ed & freshened up with new straw. They pay me with cuddles, chattering & some bravely-laid-Winter eggs.
Keeping ducks is very similar to raising chickens, ONLY they like to fill their bills with water & spray-saturate EVERYTHING. This is a chore when they are ducklings indoors, so consider raising them in the bathroom & separated from their fine feathered non-oily chick cousins (when water is around.)
Our ducks are still less than a month old, so they sleep indoors/ the garage, nesting on old chopped up children's doonas, after a muddy day outdoors & their afternoon swim in the bath. The blonde Khaki Campbell duckling had to be helped from her shell at birth, the breeders weren't sure she'd survive, now she's spot on for size.
What i love about our inherited-from-a-friend adult hens is that they don't seem to have a pecking order - they are so friendly, inclusive & happily mix with ducks, chicks, then sleep side by side at night in the cosy coop at night!! Can you pick the 3 different ages of the Silver Spangled Hamburgs (4 week chick, 10 week old & adult hen??)
Undaunted by size, this tiny black Pekin bantam chick (left) hangs out with the enormous blue Jersey Giant (right) we affectionately refer to as The Cracken. We would so love to raise chicks from her, just to see how massive they are . . . we imagine they'll kick out their legs & walk around with the egg on their head for a while, like The Hulk!!
I'm happily out there flicking poo at dawn in the freezing cold, in jammies & gum boots, i am really going to enjoy the farm we plan, especially on Mondays!! As a housewife, Monday is the start of MY week, i have 6-7 hours a day to cook, clean, bake, read, gym, relax, sew, walk . . . & with my husband home on leave (Ok, right now he's in Brisbane for 4 days, but when he's back again) we might even take in lunch & a movie!!
Mondays, love them or hate them, there is no week without them, love Posie
