Solo week

Kern and Anika have been gone all week at Nationals, so I've been holding down the fort!  It has been a weird week for weather... the forecast predicted storms and rain all week, but it hasn't produced much.  The lighting was really odd one evening and I got a few pictures.

A bit of evening sun after a cloudy day.

Check out the rays... it was like they were dark!

We got some very odd clouds.

I walked past a fig bush a couple of times this week, and was really surprised to see how much the leaves had grown in just a day!  The peach trees are loaded down with little marble sized peaches!!

Fig leaves that were half that size yesterday!!

The ducks kept going over onto the neighbor's property and I was afraid they were going to make a mess of his lawn as well, so after chasing them back to their territory a few times, I decided to move the fence that they weren't using near the duck house over to the property line.  The first time I didn't put in the long fence, and they simply waddled around it.  I had to try again with the longer fence.  So far it has kept them contained.

If you squint you can see the fence posts to the right of the trees here.  

Thursday morning I made a trip to Waxahatchi to pick up my next Zaycon order.  40 pounds of hamburger and 20 pounds of smoked ham.  I host a ladies' group at my home on Thursday mornings, and Kae had to get it going for me since I wasn't home yet.  She did a great job setting up coffee and playing hostess for me!  I got home just as the social time was finishing up.  After they all went home, I got busy processing the meat.  I cut both of the hams up into 3 nice sized chunks to put in the freezer.  Kae intercepted one and it went to the refrigerator for lunches.  Yum!  I cooked up half of the beef and filled the canner with 16 pints for tacos and casseroles in the future, bagged the rest of the cooked beef, and portioned the rest of the raw stuff into 2-lb packages for the freezer.  I had  enough to make two LARGE hamburger patties that also went into the freezer.

Headed for the freezer

Ping, ping, ping!!  I love that satisfying sound of sealing jars!!

A few days ago I planted some seeds that I wanted to get started, and on the third day, a bunch of them exploded out of the ground.  THIS is ONE DAY worth of growth!!  I had to take the cover off these cells because the little plants were pushing on the ceiling!!  These are long beans and loofah gourd starts!

ONE day from breaking soil to having to remove the lid!!  Crazy!

Funny story... This morning I opened the duck house at about 7:30, changed the babies' water, put out the food, etc.  The adult ducks were all 'hiding' in the back corner of the house, and I went to the side and tapped on the wall to encourage them out.  It usually works, but this morning, they weren't moving!  I figured they would come out when they were ready, so I went back into the house.  At 12:30, I walked back out there, wondering where they were, and the dumb ducks were still IN the duck house!! Five hours.  FIVE hours they stood there.  I had to go in and wave them out, which I hate to do because they totally panic and upset the little ones.  I keep reminding myself their brains are about the size of almonds, but BOY are they STUPID!!

I've been keeping the babies indoors the last few days.  Even at that, I'm noticing some weakness in some of them. This morning I thought for sure one was going to die on me today, but when I went to check on them again later, she was just fine.  Their feathers are starting to show me some patterns.  This little beauty let me take a picture of her beautiful breast feathers!  She's going to be fabulous!

LOOK at those gorgeous feathers on her breast!!

Kae and Toby came out to take a walk around the pond this afternoon.  Both dogs AND the outside kitty decided to tag along, LOL!  We went to see the bluebonnets on the far side of the pond.  I"m pleased to have a little patch here on my property!

THIS way, Mom!!  Shadow, Toby and Stella lead the way.

So pretty!

Before we walked around the pond, we had thrown some bread into the pond for the fish, and they were super active, so after our walk, I decided to throw a hook in.  I dropped my line in about 2 feet from the dock, and within 30 seconds, it was pulling like crazy.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to land it myself but I managed to get my net into the water with one hand, held onto the pole for dear life with the other, and SOMEHOW managed to coordinate them to successfully swoop in under it and bring it up!  Made me laugh.  I couldn't even believe I actually got the net under it in one shot and without knocking it off the line! After that... not even a nibble.  I cleaned him up and stuck two nice fillets into the freezer.  (I'm collecting them until there is enough to feed the family, LOL!!)

22 inches!  I think I need to get a selfie-stick for the next time!

And how is YOUR week going??