After a long winter the wild duck pen that I made last year fell into a state of disrepair. Fist off I lost several ducks to a mink last fall so I moved all the birds into the brooder coop for the winter. All the Freezing and subsequent thawing shifted the rocks around the perimeter and weakened the darn. Then with the heavy rains we had mixed with the melting snow caused a rapid rise in water level. This picked up straw that I had placed around the pond and carried it to the drainage pipe clogging it. So the water crested the darn and eroded nearly all of it. So the last few weeks have been I have been working on replacing the rocks, extending and fortifying the darn, making nest boxes and placing smaller size wire under the water where I believe the mink got in. This last part involved working under water that was just about freezing. The first five minutes were difficult, but after my hands went numb it wasn't so bad. Oh the things we do for love. Sorry for the loquacious introduction, but I just wanted to give the whole story. Enjoy the pictures.
