Keeping Everyone Happy

The one thing that never changes around here...

is the fact that nothing ever stays the same!

We are always tweaking our animal routines...

trying to make life for all of our animals as good as it can possibly be.

This week we noticed that a couple of the male runner ducks were being

a little aggressive with the youngsters

(mating behavior, that is)

first thing each morning.

As a result, the youngsters were spending most of their day inside the duck house,

or in the corner of their yard.

(I have noticed that roosters wake up looking for a little action,

so I am guessing that drakes behave similarly.)

We have a zero tolerance policy for any kind of bullying,

so it became apparent that we needed to change up the duck routine.

Now, when the door opens for the ducks to come out of their house each morning,

the older ducks are ushered out of their yard.

We moved one of the pools outside the fence for them,

leaving the other inside for the youngsters.

As you can see... the youngsters love their pool.

When they are not out free-ranging and eating insects,

the older ducks hang out near the duck yard - 

outside the fence.

So far, this has worked out fine.

It won't be long until the youngsters are fully grown...

and at that time we will allow them all to work out their issues...

without our intervention.

It will be interesting to see how their relationships progress with time.

We are enjoying a week of lovely, cooler weather.

It's quite beautiful at this time of year...

with everything in bloom.

Colorful butterflies flit and float from blossom to blossom.

Occasionally a couple of hummingbirds buzz by the gardens,

looking for sweet nectar.

Tomatoes have started to ripen...

As have the blackberries.

Homegrown produce is one of the best parts of farm life!

We will have a house full of farm guests this weekend.

The animals will get lots of attention.

Saturday is Tyler's last swim meet of the season...

a championship meet.

Then on Sunday morning, our Littles will arrive to spend Sunday and part of Monday.

Our weekend will be full!

We'll have much to share on Monday, I am sure.