zen duckies

favorite things: daily morning treat

vendredi dans le jardin

2013 garden log download

Back in October I designed a garden log and posted it as a free print-it-yourself download for that month.  I'm reactivating the download with minor revisions today, because I would really like more feedback on it.   The original post has more information about it.

The garden log is for people whose recordkeeping habits are more anecdotal.  Its looser format provides a two-page spread for each month so there is a good bit of room on each day for quick notes or reminders.  It has four art prints in it, and divider tabs.

Click on the image below to go to the download page.  All explanations and printing instructions are in the zip file.

The art prints included in the garden log:

a lasting onion flower arrangement

Late last summer I planted some onions, thinking I'd pull them for green onions before they ever got big.  They've been out there all winter, now it's spring, the onions are big, and here come the flower stalks.  Wandering about the yard in search of a quick and easy table arrangement, I figured I could score twice by removing the energy-hogging flowers in order to get some bigger onions later, and having something nice for my dinner party.

The dinner party was three weeks ago, and the onions are still bearing up. There has been no strong onion smell, either.

This was so easy, it took just a couple of Ikea glass thingies, some clear marbles and the onion flowers.   Marbles make great plant supports.  I never did like the idea of spearing their ends on spiky frogs. 

infrared duckies

Even before we got our three ducks we were very curious about what goes on in the yard at night.  We hear owls in the summer, and know that raccoons and skunks visit.  Through the winter we've seen no evidence of raccoons, but come summer  we just know they are going to be prowling around the impenetrable duck pen.   With good timing, luck and buried hardware cloth bolted to the foundation, we made the duck house unavailable underneath for skunk goings-on, but we can tell they are still digging around trying to get under.  It was their deluxe neighborhood hangout.

 So we bought an infrared camera. We set it up in the pen to find out just when the ducks are laying, which is between 3 and 5 am, all in unison of course, like everything else they do.

They've decided they want to lay in an outside corner of the pen, not in their nest boxes.  Since we freshen their bedding every day, the eggs are always clean.

The camera is marketed to hunters (it's called "Trophy Cam"—eek—and you can get additional bear-proof housing for it). It can be programmed for 10-second movies, still shots and 3-shot groups, with moon phase, temperature and time stamp.  And polar coordinates.  (Gives new meaning to point and shoot.  Bushnell, I thought you just made binoculars for quiet birders.)  It takes color pictures in daylight, black and white after dark. 

This will not, however, replace my plans to camp out occasionally in the tree house this summer.  The lovely tree house that Patrick designed and built years ago, singlehandedly.

spring violets

What a sweet surprise, tiny violets from my neighbor.  Thank you, Karen!

egg week

This past Monday and just in time to celebrate the coming of Spring, our three Cayuga ducks were 23 weeks old, and one started laying.  A few days later another, and then today the third one laid her first egg.  Several weeks ago I had placed some training eggs in their house.  Ever watchful each morning, it was such a sweet surprise to find the first little egg this week.  We have collected eleven this week already. They are delicious, with beautiful yellow yolks. I feel grateful to have this connection with this food source and for the other benefits to our yard they provide:  humor, joy and gentleness, iridescent green and purple beauty, pest control, and a bounty of nitrogen and compost.  We never have enough compost, and they help immensely.


Right now each duck's eggs can be distinguished by their color: a range of black/gray/khaki which is typical of Cayugas. From what I've read, the black cuticle will eventually disappear.  The first duck never did lay a black egg.

in laying order

ducks! they're here

And they are incredibly cute, these three little Cayugas.  After two days they are still scared of me, but getting better about it.

Miss Wet Head in the middle has started dunking her whole head in the waterer, and she's the one who immediately and enthusiastically began to dive and dart around under water in the swimming tub.

Still running from the camera....

On the way home from the hatchery she was the one with the loudest cheep, who tried several times to jump out of the crate, and the one who keeps an eye on me the most.

They gobble up lettuce and mâche floating in their drinking water, but are not so fond of chard.

There is such a sweetness about them aside from being heart-meltingly soft and cute.  They do everything  in unison and I see them helping each other out with grooming.  They seem to be democratic, smart and gentle; full of life, growth and playfulness.