we haven't had any major storms or anything so it has been a nice winter so far. *knocks on wood*
this afternoon we spied this little guy:
sorry for the bad picture but i took it through a window. he is a male mallard and at first we thought he was hurt. jam went out with a towel to take him in, in case he was hurt, but he flew away. 10 minutes later we found him out under the bird feeder and he's been there ever since!
it looks like we have a duck - woohoo! he doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon so here's hoping he'll get a mate and bring her back with him. then in the spring we'll set up a pool for them. if he ends up choosing to stay here, we'll turn him into our guard duck! bahahahah!
kids, what is it about january that makes me crave potstickers?
i honestly don't know but every january i go on a pot sticker binge.
january is also a month that we spend our afternoons in the bright sun reading through our Harrowsmith magazines.
these magazines are like Mother Earth News but were published in Canada. we have over 10 years of these magazines that jam's mom and stepdad gave us before we left the city. we enjoyed reading and learning from them back in the city but they were a godsend for us during our first winter here - shivering, freezing, pipes blowing up, losing power, freezing, more shivering, flooded basement, bathing in bins, melting snow for water, more shivering and freezing BUT bundled up in clothes and blankets and reading our Harrowsmith magazines!
we break them out every winter and re-read the lot of them. and we have learned so much about homesteading/gardening/prepping/self-reliance and we relearn all of this great information every winter.
my mother used to say that if the house was burning down, she would make a bee-line to her photo albums to save them. we would grab our cats and our Harrowsmiths!
hope everyone is having a great week!
Ahh I loved my Harrowsmith...I have a box of very tatter but much loved issues. Ready for reference needs and memory lane! That duck is smart...free food 101!
ReplyDeleteFiona - sooo glad that you had the chance to read, and keep your Harrowsmith's - they are worth their weight in gold and we have 2 banker's boxes full! i have to admit, i think you are right on the money about that duck! he just sat under the bird feeder, pecked the seed when he was hungry, and then kind of napped. why bother having to go look for food when you can just nap right under and on top of it - bahahahah! i sure hope that he stays! xox
DeleteHarrowsmith looks interesting. I have never heard of it before.
ReplyDeleteI hope the duck is ok. There must be something wrong with him for him to still be up there in the snow.
Nothing but wind, low clouds and fog, and drizzle here for the last few days, but it beats the bitter cold we had before that.
Harry - the Harrowsmiths are even better than early Mother Earth News, in my opinion. we have the cd's of the first 40yrs of MEN and they are great - but i really love the Harrowsmiths because they are canadian-focused. being that you love information of all types and brands, you would probably really enjoy the Harrowsmiths and all of the canadiana that they contain.
Deleteas for the duck, he's fine. our ducks and geese and quail and pheasant live here year-round. the duck probably lives in the swampy area just in front of the road in front of our driveway, and probably glanced up one day and saw all of the birds flying to our house. it is very clear all around our house, but then we have forest on all sides. then we have a river in front and a river in back. that duck was suntanning and getting free food. i sure do hope he will be back! with a mate! and some children! good guard ducks are hard to come by!
our weather has been pretty ok so far. *knocking wood again* much love, my friend!
Maybe it's hungry and the food the birds drop is easy pickens for him. Or like Harry said it's not feeling well. Why not put out a box or something for a shelter and some food for it. Maybe spring if it's still around it will draw some more ducks.
ReplyDeleteMike - he's fine. but smart, lazy, fat or a combination of them all. we have so much forest all around us and so much running water that he has a nest/house somewhere near here and is just an opportunist for free food. i really hope he keeps coming back - we will be certain to keep feeding him and hopefully he will bring a mate here and then we will have 2 guard ducks! much love, buddy!
DeleteIt isn't uncommon for Mallards to join a barn yard crew and over Winter. Used to happen at my Grandpa's place from time to time when I was a kid. We would go out one day and there would be a mallard of two walking around with the chickens. :Grandpa got a duck!!! we would yell only to find out he didn't know they were there either.
ReplyDeletePut some feed out for him and some type of shelter and be sure he always has non-frozen water and he might stay and over Winter at least. I have never seen any of the other puddle duck breeds hang out with humans but I have seen it happen with Mallards.
yep PP - he had no problem getting along with 25 of our chickens (they are really doves but they look and act like chickens). the bluejays didn't mind him nor he, they. and our crows, the most scaredy-cat crows you have ever met, were eating chunks of bread all around him while he napped. the finches and chickadees don't seem to mind him, neither the ravens. he was out there all afternoon alternating between napping and eating. he's gone to his nest/home now...but we sure do hope he comes back for the free food and decides to make a nest/home here. he'd make an awesome guard duck!
Deletehe doesn't need any shelter as we are completely surrounded by running water and forest. much love bro!
mmm potsticker recipe??
ReplyDeletedang lw - i have been neglecting our food blog again. *hanging head in shame* i will get the potsticker recipe up for you in a day or two. i will provide the recipe for making them using bought wonton/potsticker wraps as well as a fresh home-made wrap dough. xox
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ReplyDeleteSorry never heard of Potsticker, what is it? And don't know the mags, but they sound really good. Love the pic of the duck, My daughter has always wanted a duck. Hope he stays.
Rosezeeta.
hey Rosezeeta - potstickers or dumplings are a type of Korean/japanese eggroll kind of thing. some contain ground pork, chicken, beef or shrimp but they are mostly made with vegetable filling (think small eggroll or springroll). they are delicious! you can deepfry, bake, steam or fry them - i like mine fried. but i especially love the dipping sauce - soya sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, fresh ginger and fresh garlic - yummeh! i will put a recipe up on our recipe blog in the next day or two.
Deletethe duck has gone home to his roost for the evening but we are hoping he will be back tomorrow - jam always refills the bird feeders every morning. i hope that your daughter gets a duck one day. this guy is wild and absolutely beautiful! xox
Those pot stickers look amazing, as your food always does. I am hoarding Mother Earth & Grit magazines (don't have time to sit down & read them now). They definitely will make it to the country house one day. My dream is that on rainy, windy and/or cold days, to wrap myself in blankets on the couch with a fire in the wood burning stove & peruse them. Of course I need to retire, move to the country & buy a wood burning stove to make that day dream come true.
ReplyDeleteSweet Kymber,
ReplyDeleteOur ducks loved bread soaked in warm water, and left over lettuce. Maybe you could put some out for him, this will keep him around. I bet he has a mate that's not to far from where he's at.
I've not heard of the Harrowsmith magazines before, I'll check for them the next time I go looking for my favorite magazines. I love my Mother's Earth News magazines, I keep them stashed and re-read them often.
I'm not sure why you're on a pot sticker kick.....there's nothing wrong with being on the kick though.....those things are delicious.
Y'all stay warm, enjoy your new visitor.
Love and hugs to you and Jam.
Sandy
Oh you are still around, thought maybe you moved south to Missouri to pester PP. Thanks for all your kind words you have left me on my blog they sure have cheered me up.
ReplyDeletePotstickers are a huge hit around here, partially because of the sauce. Nighean Gheal and Nighean Dhonn will happily eat them any time. My parents actually had a Canadian Goose pair that landed in their meadow and have returned every year. Unfortunately they have not been able to raise a brood as the coyotes seem to get all the goslings.
ReplyDeleteI think if I had a duck hanging around my place, I would be tempted to serve him with some rice!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the early MEN but it got to be very yuppy and rick country homeowner for me. I haven't seen an issue around for a while though. Has it gone back to real country living or is it still talking about building a 300,000 dollar house on a rural package?
ReplyDeleteOMG... I know I have never told you about my nieces pet ducks. they bought three runner ducks, and have them living in their basement. ( yea I know) but their landlord does not allow pets, and they have to hide them out. I know somewhere in this is a blog post...lol
ReplyDeletePotstickers look amazing. don't worry you will get plenty of snow soon.
It has been mild on the south shore of the mainland too. I can't say how lucky you are to both be on the same page with this prepping /homesteading lifestyle. So happy you have each other. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnother comment...this one on reading...Have you ever read the Book "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank? It is an old book having been published way back in 1959. It is a marvelous read if you take it at the values of when it was written...it has a message of both hope and disturbing consequences.
ReplyDeleteAlas Babyon is a great book.
DeleteKymber and Jambaloney - Keep posting pictures. I showed them to my two younger daughters and believe I may have started a "Move to Nova Scotia" movement. They were trying to talk their older sister into it this morning.
ReplyDelete