Friday, October 07, 2011

It's not all ducklings.

But yes, there are ducklings in my post today.

Yesterday I let the ducklings out in the duck run alone for the first time. I checked on them frequently, and mostly found them basking in sunshine.


But I did want to see how they'd handle the electric netted fence on their own. The shock it delivers wouldn't be deadly to a duckling this size, but it's still ouchy. 

Now guess, just guess, who was the first (and for all I know, the only) duckling to touch the fence)?

Yep. Amy Winehouse duckling! She of the "upsidedown hypothermic duckling" episode,  and  "mystery cracked beak" incident. She put her beak to the fence, gave a loud and alarmed "PEEP!!" and scurried across the yard with her siblings in tow. Let's just hope she learned not to touch it again. I'm not hopeful. Destructo Duck!
And this is not a duckling:


That's our house back in 2008, before we got the metal roof and shutters painted.

The deck and steps at the front door have been in need of replacement for some time. The railings got torn off last year when they rotted out, and we had a lovely Deliverance scenario going on, what with the indoor-outdoor carpeting being the only thing holding the steps together. So last month we had a proper front deck built:


That's the remains of the old deck to the left. The new deck will be stained next spring to match the other decking around the house. Now if only we could get going on the inside renos! I am at my wits' end with f-ugly wallpaper, and upstairs carpeting in need of incineration. Floors to strip and stain (not by me!), wallpaper to strip, plaster walls underneath in need of repair, painting to do... one day we'll get all new windows too. And my garden needs to be put to bed for the winter. We need to go shopping for a new sofa and chair too.

Also I want to replace the mish-mash of modern screen doors with some nice wooden historic-looking ones. Gordon needs to get some more law clients first, ha ha.

Meanwhile, you can tell it's fall. We have hundreds if not thousands of Canada Geese hanging around. Last weekend we also had some Snow geese in the field next to us, but I didn't manage to get any pictures. This is not a great shot, but there are a lot of geese in what was the wheat field next door:


Geese love grain!

They are noisy too. Here's a video:


Duck limerick contest coming soon. Sharpen your pencils! And your brains.


9 comments:

  1. Hi Nat - we have lived in an old home for 22 years and are still fixing and decorating. We have replaced floors, stripped wood, stripped wall-paper, fixed roof, added decks & a porch. It was fun *weird grin* but next house, I guarantee, will be brand new. I'm getting a little old for this. Your home looks beautiful from the picture. It's amazing what a little renovating can do.
    Love those ducks. Can't get enough of them.

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  2. Anonymous7:36 pm

    The electric fence? My bet was on Danger Duck.

    Anyway, they'll probably be hoping the electric fence will stop Big Foot Gordon from trampling on them. I expect they'll conclude you've put it there to protect them.

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  3. Anonymous9:11 pm

    Poor Amy. Some ducks insist on learning everything the hard way.

    Your home is lovely!

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  4. Anonymous10:16 pm

    That Amy Winehouse duckling! She's a wild thing for sure.

    What a great house--love what you've done with it. I'll be on the look-out for cousins to your geese. We are on a fly-way and I love to hear them go overhead.

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  5. I yearn for more ducklings. I think there to be a marked duckling deficit in said post!

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  6. Deb, I THINK that makes me feel better! :) I just want to get rid of all the wallpaper!!!

    Jams, I have to agree.

    Andrew, Danger Duck, for all her craziness, actually doesn't get in much trouble, and is (sensibly) the most wary of me! Big Foot Gordon is being VERY careful about where he steps in the duck run!

    CogDis, I am starting to think she's a little dense...

    TTPT, she'll be the death of me. And I am looking forward to getting the house all fixed up. It's all cosmetic stuff, really, although one day I would like a dream bathroom upstairs. :)

    Gordon, if you want more ducklings, get out there and build a bigger duck house!!

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  7. What a lovely house Natalie. We had a house in Ohio (for 15 yrs) that looked similar, metal roof too. We painted ours RED (the roof) and we also put on a new front porch. Once we did all that, it was time to sell and move :0)

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  8. I love the metal roof, the shutters and the new front deck porch. We used to live in a 100 year old Victorian home in the city. It was beautiful and full of character but yes, there was always something to do. Your wallpaper stripping sounds like a great winter project! It is always a lot of work both inside and out buy once your *makeovers* are complete, they are usually so worth the effort.
    Hoping the ducks (especially Amy) manages to stay out of trouble for a little while, their *Mom* has a lot on her plate right now.

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  9. Mona, I feel your pain. :) We fixed up so many houses, then moved. I think half the reason I'm dragging my feet on this one is that I have no intention of ever leaving!

    Paula, I really love old houses. On the plus side, this one doesn't need any major structural stuff done, and has a new furnace and other mechanicals. It's mainly decor and some plaster wall repair, and we'd like new windows at some point. We also want to replace the vinyl siding with board and batten, just because we like it. This house was originally sided with tin panels when it was first built over 100 years ago.

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