Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Not ducklings but still, in my humble opinion, cute!

The other day I walked the dogs to the back of our farm, which borders the Beaudette River. Tristan was particularly happy to have a swim:


Happy happy happy!



Time for a good shake!



"Oh! Hello! Were you watching?"



It's looking very lush and green down there. And of course the evil moquitoes and deerfly are out in full force!


For reasons I will never understand, the dogs enjoy snacking on river mud.



Sophie took a particularly big bite.



Munch munch munch munch!




All of our fields are platned now. In the front we have wheat and a little bit of soybeans. In this field, we have otebo beans that are destined to become baked beans in England!

Next year we want to start the process of turning our farm into a pollinator/bird sanctuary of sorts. This fall we are getting a 1/2 acre duck pairing pond put in our back pasture (mostly funded by Ducks Unlimited. No, they won't be hunting on the pond!) In the near future, we are hoping to get a larger pond (nine acres) put in for ducks to raise their young in. It all depends on funding! Meanwhile we are planning on gradually turning our fields into something friendly to pollinators and birds. It will take some time to transition over and we are working on plans.

And look who I found on a daisy on the grassy cow path:


A well-camouflaged crab spider! I only had my iPhone with me, so the pic isn't as clear as I'd like it to be. I know that crab spiders wait to ambush bugs but apparently their diet includes honeybees!


The ducklings had a good swim today and I will try to get some pics up tomorrow, and maybe a video.




19 comments:

  1. I always wanted to make a bird sanctuary :)

    I never thought I'd say this, but that spider is actually very cute!

    Glad your dogs are having fun... with mud and all!!!

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  2. Maybe there is some kind of nutrient in the mud. Love the pretty little spider on the daisy. The daisy is so pretty, too. Your place looks so lush and green!

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    1. It's lush very early this year. We had an exceptionally warm spring and things are way ahead of schedule.
      I bet there's lots of good stuff in that river mud!

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  3. Lovely pictures but first a swim and then eating mud *smile*.

    Hugs
    Elna

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    1. And they weren't just eating, they were heartily enjoying it. I do feed them! :)

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  4. I think the dogs are craving the minerals found in the mud, I prefer mine from Jamiesons. I've always thought the crab spider rather cute, but I'm having second thoughts now.
    Jane x

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    1. It's cute when it's not ambushing honeybees!!

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  5. That's really great that you want to create a wildlife sanctuary. We only have 2 acres but we have tried to keep it as natural as possible and it is quite encouraging to see how many different birds,insects, and frogs hang out in our little spot. Every bit of friendly habitat is helpful, and with your acreage, you'll have a really significant impact.

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    1. Two acres is great!! It's amazing what a difference even a small space can make to wildlife. We've had to phase this whole thing in, as we will lose our property tax farm credit once we boot the tenant farmer off. :) But we are looking for other ways to make up for that!

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  6. You have daisies? Lucky you. Beautiful photo. Give those dogs a big hug from me.

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    1. We have lots of daisies along our "cow path" (grassy lane that runs through the fields to the back of our farm.)
      Hugs delivered!

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  7. Great idea with the wildlife sanctuary. We are looking forward to seeing it at our next visit. Mosquitoes are a few and no blackflies at all at our place.
    Thank goodness.

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    1. The blackflies didn't seem to last as long this year. I'm glad!!

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  8. The dogs are wnderful as ever. Glad ou have crab spiders too!

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    1. I was thinking of YOUR crab spider photos when I took that!

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  9. That crab spider's coloring is lovely -- it resembles an iris.

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    Replies
    1. Nature never ceases to amaze me. So much beauty, even in the smallest creatures.

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  10. I love the sanctuary idea. And as an avowed arachnophile, I think that spider is gorgeous. :)

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!