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I have mentioned her ("IT" really, her ovaries quit and the SHE looks like a HE now!) before as being our very first baby duck we ever had hatched. Coarse and large for a "bantam" duck and kinda weird and ugly bugly and gorgeous all at the same time. A living treasure to marvel at the longevity of these little webber wonderments. Gotta luv a duck!
That little Blue Fawn Call hen is still popping into the pond as much as she is able and her drake is still trying to convince her that sitting beside him having a nap is a much more fitting way to pass the evening!
A little example on one of the more newly recognized varieties, Blue Fawn in Call Ducks. There are some that "think" one does not have to have a good supply of black pigments as a good base for this variety. I beg to differ and offer up this example of what happens if you only breed Pastel to Greys to get your Blue Fawns...knowing of course that Blue Calls are rare...a rarer commodity than Greys or Pastels which explains why we are seeing washed out Blue Fawns.
Example of a Washed out Blue Fawn female on the Left
You need an influx of BLACK from breeding BLUE Calls to Grey Calls to make better Blue Fawns (BF is wild type, need some black and one dose of blue dilution to dilute that black to blue). Otherwise that beautiful blue cast to the plumage begins to fade away and you get far too much brown (more a soft tan colour) instead of black diluted to a nice, rich blue! But heck, don't let my words convince you...l00k at the photos and judge which Blue Fawn is nicer.
You need a good dark black base to make a good solid blue marked bird. Those black pigments (found included in rich brown marked Calls) just don't carry on thru in Pastels (many of us double mate for the "Pastel" variety in the Call Ducks!) to give those Pastel [called Apricot in the UK-it is the "splash" version as in it contains TWO blue dilutions-of Grey (no blue)->Blue Fawn (one blue)->Pastel (two blue)] to Grey breedings all the rich pigments.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scottcaddy
And here I am still getting tomatoes and green beans and a few bell peppers. I wish you all the luck with the Ewe!
Have a good Din-Din!
Scott
Right on...enjoy that bounty you are having! Before we know it, we'll be able to set out plans for next year's garden...think about the layout and what seeds to plant. Such promise.
I decided to grab what I could from the bean plants--guess I just wimped out, eh?
I think if I left them too much longer, I would have lost more beans to mold and rot than really seeing any growing larger. Enough is enough for me I guess and there sure are alot of things to grab your attention Fall time that need doing. I figured I would get focussed on some task like pen cleaning out and forget to watch them beans...best to have some than none!
Besides, I AM looking forward to the temps getting progressively colder over the next bit of time--how else can one expect to think of -10C/14F as t-shirt weather unless you get yourself tempered for the cold! If we got hit with forty below today...yikes...I think I would not be too capable of handling it that well...it needs to start sliding down the scale, getting colder and colder otherwise...
Now we have no bell peppers this year (do nicely in the greenhouse though!) but I must say Rick has really been winning with the tomato battles up here in the Great White North.
He has hung some poly up and in combination with either the heat lamp, the propane heater, the BQ on low all night or the woodstove going in the Man Porch--He has been really keeping those two plants thinking summer is still on. "You are warm...you are enjoying SUMMER...You will not give up the ghost and stop being alive and well"...
He certainly has various progressions of the growing cycle in tomatoes on the go...
MEGA Flowers
TONS of ripening fruit
and fruit ready to be consumed!
He better watch out and do a count each morning or he mighten find the plants were raided during the DAY shift...num num NUMMY for the tummy!
Ewe is still going strong; judging her status day by day by day. Sometimes I do ponder their quality of life and whether or not there is any suffering or cruelty in letting them continue but as I have said, if they want to eat and drink and look to be enjoying living. You gotta just let them continue. She does bleat out a few forlorn BAA's when the rest fly out the corral gates but I just heap on an extra few big bunches of alfalfa leaves and she dives into that and knows if the others where there...she'd get rolled for the best of the best..."Give US the green leafs! Never mind her...we will take the greens!" Prod prod and push push...
Din din was great...filled the whole house up and the smells did leaked outside...knew what was in there waiting for chores to be over for the evening...
When I got home from the afternoon bus run...I took heavy cream, cold from the fridge and mixed in some all purpose white flour to then cook to thicken up the liquid from the stew cooking all day in the crock pot. Gave it a nice creamy texture...a bit of a change from when I do beef stew based more on tomato (a red beef stew then) flavours.
And I asked Rick..."You want fresh bread slices for lunch tomorrow?" and he momentarily paused...indecisive...
You could see the wheels turning in his head--smoke pouring out his ears..."If I take the fresh bread for lunch, does that mean NO bread tomorrow for the stew?"
Poor man...will he like bread in his lunch for just himself or will he like bread shared at the dinner meal with me? Ah, how cute! So I made it FAR too easy for him to decide.
I'll just make another loaf today! YAH...bread for lunch, bread for supper...bring on the bread! Bread bread BREAD!
I mean...how more insanely easy is bread in a bread machine?
Ready, set, pour the warm water in the bread mixer pan...top with the dry ingredients and the butter and away it goes!
I can liken this to when laundry meant a whole day was invested in beating up the clothes (which must have been filthy for how long they wore them and how much work and the type of work that was done back then!) on the rocks by the river (where you did NOT have the option to the concept of "eating a steady diet of government cheese and living in a van down by the river" to quote Chris Farley) and were then hung out on the line to dry so sweet smelling (but I do remember an Aunt of mine...did that but with no fabric softener...holy cow...I thought I was going to take my hide off trying to put on my pair of jeans--ouch!).
Making bread in a machine is easy peasy. In fact, we often tuck the bread machine away for a time because we get too use to fresh bread and begin to crave the more chemical kinds...the store bought breads. Hee hee hee--imagine that!
Doggone & Chicken UP!
Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
