DO YOU FEED THE DUCKS?

The boys are behaving themselves these days. . . 

which means they are not biting us. 

Mating season has ended until March, and sad to say, our female passed away a month ago. Therefore, the boys are less *rambunctious* these days.


We let them free range when we are outside and they follow us. It's quite a sight to see them waddle side by side down the narrow path to the horse barn. The horses come to the fence and two horses and two ducks stare at each other for quite some time and none of them utter a sound.


The ducks like eating snow, but especially love the thawed organic frozen corn and peas I toss to them .

You do know ducks should NOT be fed bread, right?  Unfortunately, we see people do it all the time at ponds and parks.

Bread is not good for their digestive system and it is not nutritious enough. It's basically JUNK FOOD for a duck.


You shouldn't feed ducks in the wild at all, but if you must, choose healthy alternatives such as cut up grapes, oats, birdseed, frozen peas and corn (thawed ) or waterfowl pellets. 
Read more HERE  
                                              
  and Please pass the word

happy day!

WORDS

A quote for today . . . 

Always jump in the puddles!  Always skip alongside the flowers.  The only fights worth fighting are the pillow and food varieties.  ~Terri Guillemets


                        happy day!

THESE ARE MY LEGS

These are the legs to my soon to be made coffee table for the great room. They have been sitting outside the kitchen slider  waiting to be rolled in to dry out.  


But they have waited so long that now they have be dug out first!

A saying comes to mind...Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today !


Stay tuned for the coffee table progress!
                        happy day!

ONE- LEGGED HEN

Not really! She (our Black Australop hen) is just resting with her leg tucked up underneath. She's conserving heat.

"Birds’ legs have an adaptation called “rete mirabile”  that minimizes heat loss. The arteries that transport warm blood into the legs lie in contact with the veins that return colder blood to the bird’s heart. The arteries warm the veins. By standing on one leg, a bird reduces by half the amount of heat lost through unfeathered limbs.

from bird note

  happy day!

{this moment}

"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."    Inspiration from SouleMama:

ENTER MY GIVEAWAY !

A book, a sketchpad, and drawing pens.

                                   Go HERE to see how                                                             
                             happy day!

SCULPTING IN SNOW . and a Nature Book GIVEAWAY!

An abundance of wet snow is the perfect medium for SCULPTING!

Dressing in layers and armed with a garden shovel and wooden spoon, my "sweet birdie" came into fruition. And how appropriate that she keep watch over our Bird Haven.

Noone was available to join in the sculpting, but that didn't stop me. The child within took over and I was having so much fun. WE need as much creative play as the children!

After shoveling off the branches and bird feeders, I stood back and looked at the pile of snow and thought of the sweet Mourning doves out the kitchen window this morning waiting for sunflower seeds to drop from the birdfeeder. (They are ground feeders!)

They were my inspiration for the snow sculpture.

Notice how they puff their tummy, I mean their feathers? That's how they keep warm.

Air is an insulator, and the air that is trapped in the puffed up feathers of the bird is warmed by the birds own body heat and stays trapped close to the birds skin.

Had I glanced at a picture of the Mourning dove before sculpting, I would have made longer tail feathers, but this is my rendition and exactness and perfection do not matter. It's the process of creating and being in the elements and breathing in the fresh cold air that matters.

I carved out a small hideaway in front of the sculpture, just enough for a bird to get respite from the wind and partake of birdseed.

It wasn't long before the birds came, as soon as I got out of their way.

If you want YOUR sculpture to be included in my SNOW SCULPTURE SHOWCASE , an upcoming blog post: 

1) Go outside and create a snow sculpture. . .with or without your children

2) Take a picture of it 

3) Post it on your blog and send me the link to your blog picture in the comments.

                OR

4) If you don't have a blog, just email me the picture and I will include it .

THE GIVEWAY ( it has nothing to do with the snow sculpture)

In light of being passionate about connecting people with our earth and being in tune with Nature, and that my blog has reached 100 followers; followers who I am grateful for and with hope that I have inspired in some small way, I am offering up one of my favorite books. . . AND a sketchpad and drawing pens so you can get started drawing right away :) 

This book is full to the brim with inspiration and the know how to connect with nature by drawing what you see.  What better way to start your new year than beginning a nature journal recording the natural world around you. 

Start a nature journal yourself, encourage your children, or do one together! You will see an even deeper connection to our earth.

To enter the giveway, please 

1) LEAVE A COMMENT - why you are interested in the book.

2) FOLLOW this blog ( link on right sidebar)

The winner will be drawn next Thursday, January 20th.

happy day, happy snow!

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

~ ingenuity ~

(Please feel free to join in One Word Wednesday, just leave your link in the comments).

                                           happy day!

WORDS

A quote for today . . .

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech tree, or a yellow birch, or an old aquaintance among the pines.
                                  - Henry David Thoreau 

    happy day!

OUR BIRD HAVEN IS A JOY

Our Bird Haven that we made on our deck is as beneficial to us as it is the birds. We have a close- up view all day long of them visiting the feeders. They are getting used to us moving about and don't fly off as quickly anymore. But many times we peek through the edge of the curtains so as not to alarm them.

    It's amazing how many birds will visit at one time. Can you count them? Click on the picture to enlarge it.


         (Click to enlarge and see if you found all of them. Look for the yellow stars)

                                We keep pen and paper nearby to write down the names of our bird visitors. It's fun to go back and see what bird visited on what day and when certain seeds or suet were offered.


 The field guides are kept by the window to look up the birds we don't know. These are the two we use the most.

We also have our bird chart hanging by the window, especially for people who visit. Before long they are trying to identify the birds themselves. Birding is contagious.

The birds visit the haven in all weather.

There are those who hang out and wait their turn.

sometimes on a nearby fence.

BUT there are others who come and partake of the birds' food. . . 
 but after all, they are living creatures too, I guess there IS room for all. 


The squirrels are quite brazen and and don't even care when we appear at the window.

They are fun to watch.

The hens have discovered good eating here too, and make their way up the deck from their coop

The Bird Haven has also been quite the entertainment for the kittens in the house. Each morning they sit atop a chest by the window and watch. Sometimes they peek through the curtains .

or sit in their bowls. I know, silly silly kittens!

Children LOVE the Bird Haven. Perhaps you would like to make one. You can see how we made it HERE. You can make one now, even if the ground is frozen where you live, just buy potting soil from the store.

Activities to do with the Bird Haven.
- keep a list of the birds that visit and the date

- notice their markings, beaks, what they eat and where they eat 

- look up the birds in a field guide and learn more about them

- take pictures of them
- draw them as you watch them, or from the pictures you take
- paint them with watercolors or use watercolor pencils
- make a bird book, telling what you know about each one or create a story
 - fill the feeders and add suet. We provide black oil sunflower seed, shelled peanuts, niger (thistle seed), saffllower seed, and suet.
- put out a very shallow dish of fresh water


Supplies:
-colored pencils ( we love Prismacolor)
-drawing paper, watercolor paper
-watercolors
-paintbrushes
- field guides on birds
- camera
- binoculars



A great activity for the Hands On Homeschool blog carnival.
happy day!