And then the rain set in!

It started raining yesterday at about 4pm, and has been pretty much non-stop ever since.  At 9am this morning there was 106mm in the gauge.  Its falling at a steady pace, not torrential thank goodness, but the dams are overflowing, the pens are awash - the ducks dont mind, but the chooks are not best pleased - and its forecast to keep on raining!!

Huey and Duey

I needed to keep a silkie chook broody, so I grabbed 2 eggs from the floor of the duck pen and popped them under her, when the chicks I wanted her to raise hatched in the incubator, I put them under her, and passed the eggs to the next silkie chook!  Eventually, I ran out of silkies and had plenty of mums bringing up incubator babies, but I couldnt bear to throw out the 'dummy' eggs, so I put them in the incubator.  On Friday Huey hatched, after pipping on Wednesday - nail biting stuff, but I am perservering (sp?) with the totally hands off hatching policy!!

Here is Huey, who well and truly passes the 'good ducks sit' test, and first sink swim.

Eventually... more than 24 hours later the other egg hatched - 2 ducklings from 2 eggs, pretty speccy!! - and Duey was just the company Huey needed.

Today they both enjoyed a sink swim, yesterday Huey began with the underwater swimming event, and is now able to do a lap and a half without coming up for air.  Today Duey also had a go at this fun activity, and he's pretty much sold on the deal ;-D

Hardest thing is putting them back in the brooder, they are pretty firmly imprinted and hurl themselves at the walls of the brooder trying to follow me as I leave - steeling my heart!

Some people tell me they are having problems hatching ducklings this season, me, I cant stop them!!  We are now approaching 150 after a slow start because of my trip to France.... and for my duck friends, Huey is light phase, and choc trout by any other name, and Duey is choc mallard - at least that's my bet so far!  The last eggs are in the incubator, and there's only 4 of them... but we'll keep our fingers crossed, also have 3 polish eggs moving along... hope another silkie goes broody soon LOL!!

Sparky Flew!!

First feed of the day is always a very enthusiastic one from Sparky, and he's always been a bit of a 'stop mucking about with that spoon, just place the plate' sort of guy.  This morning I plainly took too long between spoonful one and spoonful two and he took off from my hand and flew toward the plate - exciting!!

Vicki and saving the gene pool!

Vicki (Vicountess unless you've been formally introduced) is doing a good job also with the silkie chicks I've hatched since the fox attack!!  She has 8 to look after and I have 9, interestingly the ones to hatch after the attack are dark (they're in my group) ... since the roo was gone and I only had buff, porcelain, white and mottled chooks left .. that's kinda interesting!!  Think my gene pool is safe, but will need to buy in a new roo :( and also :)

Kiwi and the Po Po

Kiwi is doing a wonderful job - as always - at raising chickies, this time 2 polish, who may yet turn out to be polish frizzles :)

Yo Micki

Micki, our lovely little Modern Game Bantam is growing and getting her spangles!!

Sparky - Day 31

Sparky continues to grow, and to feather up and get more and more olive!!!  Have now started to put a few little millet seeds in the mix to help start 'weaning' and thus be prepared for 'fledging'!

In this pic you can see Sparky's one dark tail feather.

Shearing - nap time

Shearing has started at Wedgewood, and its a busy time for dogs.  Charcoal is getting older, and some days has difficulty getting up onto the bike, smaller wonder then that she decided not to get off during the lunch time nap break.  Belle also enjoyed a nap, but is a very light sleeper!!  LOL!!

Marsupial Mouse

Several times recently we have been watched, in the kitchen and outside at the barbeque, by a marsupial mouse.  The other night he zigged when he should have zagged and ended up in Skinny's jaws.  Skinny is a fussy eater and mice are toys, not food.  Pleased with his catch he brought the unfortunate creature into our bedroom, and let it go, so we could watch his prowess no doubt!  Unfortunately it was the middle of the night and his audience was largely unappreciative at best.

He re-caught it, and trotted back to the kitchen, where he must have let it go again.  It scampered up the pillar and onto the exposed beams on the wrong side of the kitchen - no boltholes there!!

Later that morning he was cowering in the albeit cobwebby corner, and still later he used my absence to feed the ducks and the cats fridge top nap time to make good his escape.... probably off to have a nervous breakdown in the peace and quiet of the space between the inner and outer walls!!

Azzura visit - Valentines Day :)

Went to visit Azzura, she has been on my mind, but not visited since before Christmas, luckily she is in good hands!!

She is looking round and fat and well, enjoyed a cuddle and scratch, although at first she did the whole - have we been formally introduced thing!!  LOL!!

This is Sheriff's mum See You Later, she is grandmother (thus) of our next Sweet Pea cria, very nice llama!!

And the young lads were again forward and friendly and very very personable!!

Zambuka's mum, she's lovely and so is Zambuka... Whisper has the looks as does her son Wizard, but some days Whisper is just a witch with a b and YOU need to get over it and move on!!  LOL!!

The dogs are always good value, the llamas dont like them, but the newest red heeler is a gas!  She loves to play fetch and will jump for ANYTHING!

I've always poo poo-ed the alpacas, namby pamby weak kneed lilly livered etc etc, but the colour!!  You cant get that wonderful black and that deep deep red in the llamas.  And then some alpaca girls are just gorgeous, these three having a talk fest, didnt even bother to get up when I walked past!!

And this is little Villia, luckily not for sale or we would have been eating mince and sausages for the next month!!  What a cutie!!

Sparky Day 24

Sparky's mum was a mostly yellow bird, with a few little daubs of olive.... looks like Sparky is going to get olive in spades... rotten luck!  However, nice yellow wings and mostly yellow tail, only one dark feather, and a yellow splot on the back of the head... nice!!  LOL!!

The Other Sunset

Some of the evening skies have been amazing, looking to the west the other night there were no clouds, and nothing very spectacular about the setting sun, looking to the east though - quite the picture :)

Sparky's Friends and Relatives

This is Sparky's dad, not the prettiest budgie in the aviary, but then his mother was not crash hot either... what chance has he got really??  Mustnt speak ill of the dead, Sparky's mother was a lovely big budgie with very good type.

And there are plenty of pretty budgies in the aviary!!

Wedgewood and the view from the house gates

Wedgewood is a truly lovely place :)  This is the view from the front gate - which is closed... because while they're nice to look at sheep, the whole rural idyll thing, are not good in the front garden!!  LOL!!

A new Hoya

Found this lovely hanging basket of hoyas at the garden centre yesterday, seems to have about 4 different plants in it, inlcluding 2 different variegated leaf ones, a pure white leaf one and the pea pod leaf one.  And its in flower :)

African Violets

I have 4 pots of African Violets on the window ledge in the kitchen, 2 I will leave behind when I go, and 2 I'll take with me to Mt Tanga.  At the moment the dark purple curly edge one (staying) is in full swing and looking fantastic.

Sparky Day 16

Sparky is getting bigger and louder!!  And has mutton chops!

Ducklings making a big splash :)

Last big bath time for the ducklings, today they have moved out to the 'bigger babies' pen on the grass, where they can bath at will, so today was their last supervised swim in the deep water pond.

We've called this fawn girl Flower, after Meerkat Manor's Flower, because she is always on the lookout and quite meerkat-ish!!

Ducklings are always having a good time in the water, but the head shakes are always on!!

All, but this one is shot of the day :)