Babies on the Move

Mama duck's brood is down to five now (originally there were six little ducklings), but it looks like everyone is thriving and getting bigger!

Everything's Just Ducky

So let me start off by saying how excited I was to hear the 'peep peep' of BABIES!!!! yesterday while checking on the veggie garden. I stopped near the zucchini (which is one of the best growers in the garden so far) and peered into the pond to see the BABIES!!!! swimming with their mama. Today, mama has taken her brood of little fluffy balls on land, and I managed to snap that shot above.

Drainage

We've come to expect unplanned projects around here (so far there's been an outbuilding demo, drywall demo, wiring upgrade, siding replacement...), so adding fixing the drainage around the house to the list was no surprise. Strangely enough, we don't freak out about these sorts of things -- it's all just part of the deal.

(Although talk to me if any more unplanned projects come up and I might have a different attitude.)

The original underground pipe that took the water away from the house had been crushed in the fall, and Trevor had done a panic dig to open up an area to let the water flow down to the ravine (I should also note here that he did his panic dig during heavy rain. Very dramatic.) Now that the weather is a little more on our side, it's a perfect time for things like this:

Trevor's in the orange digger...*ahem* excavator down there. (This is also the same excavator that a week ago dug a poorly placed hole over in the field and accidentally ripped up both the power to the well pump and the well line. Sorry Trevor, had to add that in!)

Just before we filled it in, here's the reference photo for the future, so no poorly placed holes find their way around here. Also, it's your first look at the back of the house in a while -- that crappy deck is coming off soon.

The Escapee

The people next to us keep chickens (you may remember seeing the party they had at the coop in a previous post). This smart little clucker figured out a way to pop through a hole in the fence and roam through a field to come visit us...twice so far.

The Next Door Neighbours

We've discovered a large fence that runs between one side of our property and our neighbour's. It's not completely apparent because there are a ton of trees planted in front of it. It's no ordinary fence -- it was constructed due to some quarrelling between the people who used to live here and neighbours on the other side who have moved away (I'm placing blame on the people who used to live here, they were straight up bonkers).

The best part though, was discovering a piece of the fence missing...

...and finding CHICKENS!!! (Not that we haven't heard them, but we've never seen them.)

I cranked my head around to spy on some escapees:

The funniest part is that they looked to be having a party!

Springtime

Here are just a few shots of what things look like outside around here lately. It's been a warm winter -- I don't remember spring arriving this early in the past (but I'll take it!). It's a huge surprise watching what's popping up around here as it's our first spring. I'll be taking notes so I can try and figure out what everything is.

Buds on a plum tree.

A ton of daffodils.

Trailer Living

I rarely post any photos taken in the trailer, and for good reason too. It's a place I can't wait to get rid of! The beginning of February marks our sixth month being trapped in 320 sq. ft. with no bathroom and a pathetic excuse for a kitchen. So far, we've made it. (There are days -- that are starting to happen more frequently -- where I think I might lose it though.)

The house is nowhere near inhabitable yet. Trevor's still working on small bits of framing (small things, like around where the fridge is going, and the arch in the bathroom), and plumbing and electrical are starting to take shape.

The grand move-in date has been moved to June (originally was Christmas, then March). Who knows how realistic that is.