“Oh m’god, what is THAT?!” This is the reaction of most folks who meet The Duck of Earl for the first time. One friend mistook him for a large, concrete garden sculpture, until he moved. A few have been surprised to find him standing suddenly behind them, making a noise like those raptors in Jurassic…
I cannot believe it is already mid-July. This summer, more than any in my recent memory has fulfilled that old adage, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” So many stories have been in the making these warm months, but the telling of them may have to wait for the cold moons—my traditional writing time. So…
Lucy Lu, our Muscovy duck, has been in voluntary seclusion this past month and a half, patiently sitting on eggs. Duck eggs don’t take a month and a half to hatch, but it took me a couple weeks to decide to find her some fertile eggs to sit, so she’s been sitting extra long. Meanwhile,…
If you have a yard, you need two ducks. Trust me, have I ever steered you wrong? I’m advocating for two ducks, not many ducks, although if you have a lot of property, you might want more. Here is why you want ducks, muscovy ducks in particular, and not chickens: Unlike chickens—which I kept and…
She always takes the high ground wherever she can find it. And when. Lucy atop the lion’s head or the bird feeder or the strawberry pot. Sometimes it is so hard for wide duck feet to find purchase on high ground. Orange skin smooth as summer sunrise curled tight and holding on. She knows things…
For our seventh anniversary, after breakfast out, Carter and I spent part of the day assembling a Costco chicken house. It is not especially well-constructed, but is better than we could have built on our own. I really had no immediate plans to fill the abode. But critter houses rarely sit empty with us for…