Evening walk

I took these pictures about a week before Solstice. The guys had driven south in search of hay. Avery and I enjoyed an evening stroll about the place. It was between nine and ten p.m. and you can see the sun is hours from setting. We have been having spectacular summer evenings. Even on days like today that start out rainy and overcast, it usually seems to clear up by afternoon, ending in blue sky nights. The temperatures have been in the sixties and seventies, some nights cooler with a breeze, but at least clear and sunny. Below are pictures of four Broad Breasted White Turkeys in their movable hoop-house.

On the left are shallots and peas, to the right are carrots. I'll have to take some new garden pictures, as they have grown so much in the last week. Last week we put up new supports for the peas. They've been flowering - today I spotted the first pea pod.

Avery, pretending to eat an egg. I usually keep a stack of egg cartons near the hen house, but when they run out, I often end up carrying eggs down in pockets, hats, gloves and in this case, a feed bucket. Note, Avery's goggles around her neck.

This is our Khaki Campbell pair from last year. We recently tried moving them in with the new ducks, but the male is a menace. For now they are in the outer pen without netting over the top. They sleep in the kennel, and I find an egg in there every couple days. I've been putting them in the kennel during the day for a few hours and letting the rest of the ducks out into the grassy area. There are areas where the fencing is too high and they can sneak under, so I only let them out when I'm around to gather them back up.

A couple Saxonies on the left along with a Pekin. On the right a couple runners.

A Welsh Harlequin takes a drink. We have two regular poultry waterers, this lid to a garbage can which gets emptied and filled daily. There is also a child size wading pool that we empty and fill about once a week, although we should try for twice weekly. They absolutely love the fresh water. Before getting ducks we said we'd wait until we had property with a river, creek or pond on it. Well, impatient and determined as always, we couldn't wait. We are talking about digging a five to six foot mini pond in their yard. The nice thing about the pool is I can dump and rinse it. Despite the less than ideal conditions, the ducks are thriving. I cannot believe how much hardier and faster growing they are than the chickens. I find them enchanting. They are graceful to watch, delightful to listen to and just plain beautiful!