Whew! Must say, I'm glad to be past that last post! I have worried ever since hitting the publish button, and to make up for it (kidding, of course) is my last and final look, up into the snowball bush :)
Couldn't resist just one more. Some of the balls were as big as my head...course, I have a small head. :)
Hope you all are still speaking to me after my last post.
Oh, we have baby Wood ducks! So yesterday, on our usual walk around the pond with Eli and Ellie
we rounded the corner and frightened mama duck and what looked like 10 to 15 teeny tiny newly hatched babies. Mama duck dove into the water and babies tried to follow...we quickly turned the dogs around and hurried away.
We've had a duck box up several years and this is the first time a Wood duck has successfully left the box with a brood of ducklings. How adorable!
I Googled and found out there are many predators of baby ducks; foxes, hawks, cats, turtles, and large mouth bass and we have all the above. Also read that 90 percent of baby ducks will die before they are a week old. Made me very sad.
Thankfully, there are lots of safe places for mama duck to hide. Yellow water Iris surround the pond...
more Iris...Hard to believe all this came from the one water Iris we bought at Lowes in 1996...
I went to sleep last night worrying about mama duck trying to protect her babies through the long dark night. It is 64 degrees this morning so she probably has them tucked under her wings for warmth.
Had lots of yellow to talk about...this is a cow pasture just up the road...
It is simply covered in tiny yellow flowers and dotted with black cows...
This farmer has hundreds of acres and hundreds of cows so this is just a glimpse from the car window.
Thank you dear friends
Love, Henny
Henny, what a lovely walk around the pond with you. The wood ducks are incredible. I do hope a lot if not all of them survive living in the wild. The males are so handsome. They also can have Hooded Merganser ducklings with their own as the Hoodies will lay their eggs in the nest so someone else will raise them! May be that is why your mama has so many young. I always enjoy seeing cows. Lynn and Precious
ReplyDeleteI was just about the shut my PC down, when l noticed
ReplyDeletedown my side bar a new post from the lady with the lake..
oooops! Sorry..pond..! :)
As l said before, to you it's a pond but over here in the
UK it's a lake...! HeHe! Big is beautiful...! :O).
AND..The snowball bush is amazing..look at the size of
those flowers..Wow! Wonder if they'd make great button
holes..Bit big perhaps, but, l'd wear one..Lovely!
And..Yes! Even large fish will eat ducklings, as you say,
Bass etc..even catfish..so keep yer eye on Smokey...!
HeHe! Bless him..!x
But! Let's hope most of the ducklings survive...!
Sun's been out over here for a few days, forecast is good,
though still chilly first thing..
Yesterday l was trimming the Virginia Creeper by hand, and
right in the very corner l disturbed a mass of baby spiders,
amazing, must have been 50~60 or more..all dashing about! :)
And..I saw a baby snail being born, the mother snail was covered
in foam, and slowly l saw a tiny snail appear, under all that foam!
The mother then left the baby snail, and went off, l picked her up
and put her on the grass area..the baby snail was already out of
it's shell and off..l carefully picked it up with a small sheet of paper
and put it on the ground in a safe place..Amazing!
Before letting them go..l told them both..stay away from my hostas! HeHe!
🍁 🍂 🍃 🍁 🍂 🍃 🍁 🍂 🍃 🍁 🍂 🍃 🍁 🍂 🍃 🍁 🍂 🍃 🍁
I didn't know that about baby ducks. Yikes! Everything is so beautiful in your land, Henny!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty there! Your Yellow Iris are ever so petty!
ReplyDeleteLove that first pic, Henny... and the others too... especially Eli and Ellie. And I know what you mean about worrying about the baby ducks. I worry about the kittens every time we have a storm and hope their mama knows how to keep them safe.
ReplyDeleteI worry about birds too-it makes me nuts sometimes. Your pictures are very beautiful-like paintings.
ReplyDeleteHow pretty the picture of your pond and home are. The setting where you live is breathtaking. Such a gorgeous area.
ReplyDeleteHope all the baby ducks survive. Must be great to see them all. Everything looks great out your way and what a lovely pond to have!!
ReplyDeleteThe blooms on your Snowball bush are so huge; as big as those of the Mophead Hydrangeas!!
ReplyDeleteLucky you to have Wood ducks nest nearby and swim on your pond. In recent years Wood ducks have begun spending the summers here and I hope we see some ducklings one of our walks. It's sad to think of the baby ducks being some turtle/fox/fish's snack. I guess that's why they have such large broods. At least a few will reach adulthood.
Oh Henny, I loved you last post! Your land and home are so beautiful. You should frame a picture of your home taken from across the lake. It is such a wonderful picture! What would spring be without a picture of you lovely and giant snowball bush. And I always love to see your water iris. How sweet to have baby ducks! I hope they survive. I know there are many predators out there. It must be fun to see them all swimming in a row. Take care Henny!
ReplyDeleteThat snowball bush is amazing! They are beautiful and I sure hope it isn't the last photo of the bush. I sure hope those sweet little duck babies are all okay to adulthood. We've watched a few National Geographic shows on the National Parks since we've been here and I've seen enough animal violence to last me the rest of my life. What is it about Nat. Geo. that they have to show all of the details? Yuck!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love Eli and Ellie. I want to snuggle with both of them because they look like big loves.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy
I loved your last post - of course I'm still talking to you! I love the snowball bush and so enjoyed the walk with the dogs around the property. It's so pretty!
ReplyDeleteWood ducks have some interesting habits. It's quite the sight to see them tumble out of the nest. They all go one after the other.
ReplyDeleteThe black cows dotted over that yellow pasture make a very pretty picture :) xx
ReplyDeleteLove all your pictures Henny....That snowball bush is really something! Wow. And Wood Ducks.....I love them too....sure hope a bunch of the babies will survive. And aren't the yellow Irises beautiful around the pond! We have Loons in our lake and every year we worry about the bald eagles grabbing the baby loons. But some years they do survive to grow up so here's hoping and praying for your wood ducks to make it! Love ya Henny!
ReplyDeleteI would be so excited to see a wood duck and her teeny tiny babies on our pond. There was a pair of ducks there today but no babies.
ReplyDeleteWhat stunning farmland! I do hope your mama duck successfully raises a brood. No wonder you often just see about 5 babies with a mama, when they are older. Poor things!
ReplyDeleteOh, that yellow field! Lovely.
ReplyDeleteSuch a joy to visit and see the beauty that you are surrounded by. The yellow is simply stunning...
ReplyDeleteI am catching up on reading blogs as I have been very busy with Mom. Goodness, I hope you didn’t get hurt walking into those stupid “automatic” doors! And I have to tell you, Henny, watches used to (I don’t wear one anymore) work for a while and then stop on my arm, too. It was traditional to give girls a pretty watch for high school graduation when I grew up and I only wore mine on special occasions because I knew it wasn’t going to work for very long.
ReplyDeleteSnowballs as big as your head, WOW! I’ve never seen them so large, but then you have a well trained green thumb as we see evidence of in all your beautiful flowers.
Happy Mothers Day to you sweet aunt Henny Penny! I love you so much!
ReplyDeleteHenny, the Wood Duck is my very favorite duck. I love that you have them nesting. Please keep us updated on how they are doing. I would be like you, I would worry about them too. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love all the yellow you shared today.
Carla
Oh, my, I would love to be able to see baby wood ducks...Wood Ducks are so beautiful anyway. Love that field of yellow.
ReplyDeleteYour spring time photos are all so lovely! What a beautiful area you live and roam around in! It is amazing that the wood ducks or anything else can manage to survive with all of the predators about! Hope they all remain safe!
ReplyDeleteIf you're able, a quick peek at the baby ducks would be wonderful.
ReplyDelete