Mid autumn evenings

As I road rage my way home after work the golden late evening sun dips low in the sky
spilling long dark shadows creeping across the landscape.

It's only slightly over a week since the clock went back for daylight savings and the bird squad puts themselves to bed earlier and earlier every night. If they aren't on the driveway waiting when I get home, I just have to open the garage door and look in my side mirrors to see 3 ducks and a cockerel running as fast as their little legs will carry them to remind me they want treats
and NOW dammit! It's almost bed time! where were you?!!
The pullets follow

I've started making up a bowl of their favourites in the evening so I'm ready the next day, dog roll, peas, grapes, scraps.. Stevie watches his girlfriends charging around like angry tanks inhaling dog roll, Chuck stalks the ducks (we've come to the conclusion that when they eat, the girls look like they are squatting, and Stevie just happens to be slow enough that he is an easy target) as far as he is concerned they are going to have the most beautiful babies

 

 

the pullets scuttle around getting what they can.

 

While they are distracted I start moving their food containers and water into the coop for the night, they prefer to walk in and settle on the roost when I'm not already in there, although they will just head in to get their favourite spots anyway. The ducks rush in last, when I shut the coop door they chatter away and settle down.

The queue for the coop

 

 

(The ducks don't sleep in the same way chickens do, it doesn't matter what time of night you go in, the second you reach the coop door you hear raspy drake noise warning everyone something is coming. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure if a predator managed to make it into the coop the ducks would warn the chickens but I'm a bit jealous of people who can go in at night to pick up completely asleep chickens to check them over. Plus Lacey gets super bitey in the dark)

Cleaning the duck pools is getting interesting.. by the end it is so dark I have trouble telling whether the pools are full and my hands are covered in mosquito bites because I just can't seem to remember the repellent beforehand.

 

 

The mornings are cooling down. The flock doesn't mind the early frost and race out to find breakfast bugs.

We are quite lucky here. Temperatures drop below 0 Celsius in winter and a couple of mountains close by are known to get snow coverings occasionally but the peepers will never have to worry about trudging through snow. (as exciting as it would be to have snow in the yard or catch their reactions!) My biggest worry over the coming months will be the rain and dampness
although the thing that has been bothering me the most for a while, pretty soon it will be dark *while* I'm drivig home! my buddies will already be in bed by then.

 

But anyway! Miss A woke me up yesterday morning after finishing night shift.
'There were 2 eggs in the nest this morning! one was a bit soft and smooshed'
I didn't take a photo figuring Whitney misfired after laying a normal egg.

'How do you know none of the eggs already collected aren't Bonnies?' T asked.
I told him I had considered it, but it seemed odd that if we had 2 laying ducks, that over a whole month we hadn't had a single day where 2 nicely shelled eggs were found.
He pointed out she could be laying anywhere. Yep and if she was we'd need psychic powers or dumb luck to find them!

Well, this morning there were 2 proper ducky eggs hiding in the nest! another 97 gram double yolk monster and a more normal sized one so it would appear Bonnie has *finally* joined the ranks of laying hen. Go Bonnie!
(the picture above shows the slightly tinted duck eggs and the bright white plastic egg)