There is nothing I love more than sharing ‘homesteading’ lifestyle with others. Whether it be learning from others and asking a million questions, or teaching others on their adventures.

We are all on different paths and even when you are teaching someone, they may be better than you and help you in the end.

It brings my soul so much joy.

Sharing and acquiring skills from like-minded people.

If you missed it – our ducky hatched! We had two duck eggs sitting under our chicken and when her eggs hatched we moved the duck eggs to an incubator. Duck eggs take 28 days to hatch and chicken eggs 21 – we needed to grow the ducklings a bit longer.

The eggs were set to hatch Saturday.

Friday morning was rough – the youngest child woke up at the butt-crack of dawn and I sat downstairs with him and dozed off while he played. A bit later I went to get him some food from the kitchen and I heard something peculiar…

Now I should mention I am blind as a bat. Thank God for modern technology because I wear contacts but without them I can’t even see the hand at the end of my arm.

I didn’t have my contacts or glasses on.

I looked in the incubator and could make out two eggs… was a window open? Could I hear baby birds?

No. This was definitely coming from the foggy incubator.

I gently lifted the lid and my heavens there was a wet little fresh duck.

I nearly cried.

I waited 24 hours for duck #2 to hatch. No signs of anything. I listened. No peeps or pecking.

I scratched the egg with a sewing needle to break away some egg.

A few hours later, still nothing.

I carefully broke the egg membrane and looked inside. The duck was not breathing and I could see no heartbeat.

I waited a few minutes for movement, nothing.

Ducky #2 didn’t make it.

Ducky #1 I left in the incubator for a few hours – until it was mostly dry. Then I wanted so bad to snuggle it. So I did. And it snuggled me back.

I carried it everywhere with me – being sure to give it breaks to rest in the heat lamp and snuggle with a few chicks I got from the feed store.

My goal is for ducky to be my friendliest duck yet.

After a few Facebook polls we decided to name the lucky duck Little Ricky. Gender neutral name and it’s parents are Ricky and Lucy – it only makes sense. 🙂

Little Phoebes- she sure is a trooper. She has been patiently waiting in her little Rubbermaid waiting for her little nubs to heal. I am truly not sure what is taking so long. She looks healthy and alert though. I wish she could go outside.

I tried to introduce her to Little Ricky, and the duck took to Pheobe like a momma hen.

Pheobe was not acting as a momma hen, but she was tolerant. I don’t think she hated it. Chickens are social animals and besides human interaction, Pheobe doesn’t get much chance with chickens. The coop friends aren’t so nice to her.

It has got to be one of the coolest things ever to see chicks growing up with their momma. The chicks are almost 2 weeks old and outside a majority of the day and already dust bathing. Yup.

Brooder chicks don’t dust bathe until at least six months old. Maybe even longer. Brooder chicks don’t eat scraps or bugs until the same age – just feed.

These mini chicks are like full-grown hens behaviorally, but much smaller.

They even come when I shake the mealworms!

So there was high hopes I would have a giant garden plot this year – for perennial plants and veggies not so finicky, like corn.

The hubby did it. He put the new tractor to work and made a giant garden.

His aspirations are corn – mine are herbs and berries. We have room for both! Hallelujah.

So far we have plans to grid it out in large squares. One for each of the following, so far: strawberries, raspberries, tea plants, medicinal plants, corn, and whatever else peaks the husbands interest. I think sweet potatoes are on his list, and maybe onions.

I love that he is hooked.

I also have been planning MY veggie garden – it’s near the house so it can get daily care and watering.

Planning that garden has been so much fun this year. I can throw any easy plants in the field and fine-tune my skills for the plants that need them.

In planning my garden I have shared the interest with a few friends. We have planned our seeds together and when those have failed, we went to a local nursery and bought starter plants.

Sharing the experience of seeing what others plant and succeed in is great. Watching the infection of gardening takeover someone else is so fulfilling.

As we fail, we learn and as we succeed, we can share the fruits of our labor.

My heart is full.

On Facebook, an opportunity presented itself to have our animals photographed. A high school student is doing a project on Minnesota animals and breeds – she would photograph our animals free of charge for her project, and share her images with us.

Now, I love to photograph my animals, but I am no photographer. It is fun to see the images someone can get, especially when they don’t know your animals. An outside perspective.

I am anxious to see what she comes up with.

Sharing the work we have done with our animals and learning how she is incorporating homesteading into her city lifestyle is inspiring. At her young age, she caught the bug. And her parents support her!

The weeks I can work with and learn from others will always be a great week in my books.

Getting the garden started has got to be the busiest time of year, followed by a lot of dedication and prayers your efforts will pay off.

If you ever have any questions, or ideas for future blogs, comment below or shoot me an email!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

From the farm,

Alyssa
thesheepshedmn@yahoo.com

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