Pekins find a new home

Baby ducks and geese, bathing in the tub

We re-homed our three Pekin ducks this past week. We took them into town with us on our shopping/errand day and gave them to a nice man who has many more. He raises fowl and even has a pond they can use. Our ducks were getting trampled by the insanely nervous turkeys in the coop. It wasn't fair. Plus, they need some water to clean themselves up in. A bath in the bathtub in the house now and then is just not workable for me anymore. It's a big mess of duck poop, feathers, and flying water.

When we moved to this rental farm, we thought, and were told, that we could use the pond for our water fowl. But on closer inspection, we realized it was not a good idea, as the birds would cause the rocks lining the pond to roll into the middle of the pond. As it was, our young son was being accused of throwing the rocks in the pond, which simply was not true, as he does not have unsupervised access to the pond. The fact is the pond is poorly designed, with too steep of sides and the rocks tend to roll in by themselves. Or maybe the foxes and other critters help out too. In any case, we decided we didn't need the headache related to the pond and decided not to use it. Although Richard did plant some cattails on one edge and added some fish.

So the ducks found a new home. Foolish of me to think I could maintain water fowl in a desert climate anyway. They sure were cute when they were little though, and developed some personality as they grew.

This week, I also came off my water fast. I made it through ten days and decided I was just too tired to deal with my life on the farm while fasting. Still, no small accomplishment, ten days of nothing but water. Now, I am trying to transition back into food without gaining back the weight I lost on the fast.

We are still looking for a place to relocate, as usual. Living this transient farm life is unnerving. Now, I am stuck between the extreme bitter cold of the winter temperatures, but mild and nice summers, here in the San Luis Valley, and the other extreme of mild and relatively nice winters, with extreme hot and unbearable summers, in the Arkansas Valley. What to do?

I suppose the Universe will decide for us anyway, as we pursue some type of financing and see what we can afford. I have found properties in both areas that could work for our purposes, although each has its own pros and cons. The adventure is in not knowing, isn't it? Change is always interesting, no matter which direction we head.