My worst fear has occurred. I have allowed our ducks, chickens and turkeys to free range our property. The critters are getting more and more venturesome all the time. Yesterday I looked out my bedroom patio doors and saw movement in the pool. Well I'll be darned. If two of the Muscovy ducks weren't in the pool, having the time of their lives. The water has not had any chemicals added to it, yet, and they just were loving the clear, clean, cold water. Only two of them, the third one, Girl, must have been elsewhere doing something or other. They swam and they bathed, that flopped and they flapped, and then got out and preened and preened like there was no tomorrow. Then they left to go and find some more slugs, bugs, and muck.
The pool is deep, 8 feet on one end and three feet on the other end. They chose the shallower end, and they got out easily. I had visions of me having to go and rescue these two girls from the water, but nope, they are good at jumping and getting out. And oh yes, they make me laugh, they bring that stomach rollin' laugh and that beautiful smile to my face.
I went and checked if they had pooed in the pool. Nautta, nope, not a single mucky duck poo. I wonder if the will hit this water today too. Time will tell that tale.
In the background of the second picture you will see three stumps sticking out of the ground, just to the left of the gargoyle fountain. Those are the mother banana plants that overwintered with their black sleeves for protection. I removed the sleeves a couple of days ago. Believe it or not, these three stumps will produce leaves and these mothers will send up about 20 shoots that will make beautiful small banana plants, several of them will become the mothers that are overwintered with protection. Hard to imagine what the banana grove will look like in a couple of months, but I will guarantee it will be beautiful.
One of the chickens, that is Lucy, with the blue legs, was rather venturesome too. I recently took the winter leaves off of the gunnera plant and there is woodbugs, slugs, and worms galore surrounding this area. She discovered it and spent the good part of the afternoon turning up the ground there for me. It is hard to picture the monster plant that this gunnera will make also. The wooden pool pump house that you see in the picture will barely be visible in a couple of months, the gunnera will be so large, some of you may remember the pictures I put on the forum last summer.
Enjoy the pictures, summertime is just a whisp away, those beautiful, dog days of summer, beautiful day, beautiful life. Cindi
Another brown chicken was venturesome. She came up to the yard to eat the leftovers of the seeds from the bird seed that I throw out each day. She came to the area near our patio on the north side of our house where the toilet still remains. I haven't quite decided to do with the toilet from the renovations, so it sits in the bush, alongside a table. I had to blank out the chickens face so she remained anonymous, didn't want anyone to recognize her, hee, hee.