Swimmies

Twozie and the ducklings are swimming! 
Dad has this huge steel tub for mixing cement and it works perfectly for the babies.

 At first, they were afraid of so much water and they wanted to get out but it wasn't long before they were enjoying themselves. 

 One of the ducklings was taking his first dive~

 Don't forget your bathing caps, girls!    hehe

 They are having a blast and don't want to get out. 
They are fast in the water - very fast!

 Believe it or not, you have to be careful with baby waterfowl.  Their down gets wet and they can actually get tired and drown.  
This photo is a funny color because dad has a heat lamp over them to keep them warm to dry them off. 

 We bet they'll be ready for another swim soon!

Guess what?  Our Lupines are coming into bloom ☺

So until next time............

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Sunshade ♥

One of our very bestest friends in this whole wide world has gone to the Bridge and our hearts are breaking in two for her mum.  

We have been reading Sunshade's blog for many years and we were over-the-top excited to finally meet Elaine and Sunshade in person!    One of our dreams was to hike Sleeping Giant together and we did and we loved every moment of it.

Mom got to kiss Sunshade and she was so sweet and her fur was so soft.   The memories will last forever~

She walked all the way up to the castle and all the way back down again - unleashed.   She was an amazing girl~

Elaine and Sunshade were soul mates. They shared so much together.
You were the bestest AireMum ever, Miss Elaine ♥

Elaine has put together a tribute to her special girl and we wanted to share it with you.



Run free, Sunshade.  We are going to miss you for a very long time to come.  And we will never ever forget you.  You were one of a kind and so very special ♥

Our thoughts and prayers go out to you and Jaffa, Elaine. 

We love you ♥

 Mitch, Molly, angel Maggie, Sue and George

Muffins

We're helping mom bake Buttermilk Apple Muffins!
APPLES - my very favorite!!

 Shall we share the spoon, Molly~

 Cooties - your tongue is touching mine! 

 Buttermilk Apple Muffins

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 apple, peeled cored and chopped

Preheat over to 375 degrees.  Grease 12 regular sized muffin cups or 6 large ones  (we like the large ones).   Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and power, salt and spices.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, buttermilk and vanilla.
Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until mixed (the batter will be lumpy)  Stir in the chopped apple.
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffins tins;  fill the cups almost to the top.   Bake in preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes for regular muffin tins and approx 30 minutes for the large muffin tins.

They're hot out of the oven and the smell soooooooooooo good!

 We can't wait to have a taste!

 Mom treated herself to a gardenia plant.  It's almost time to put it outside in the garden.  The weather is finally not so cold overnight.  The plant is in mom's computer room and every time she enters, she smiles because the scent is so overwhelmingly beautiful ☺

So until next time............

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Twozie's Big Day

Twozie and the ducklings are growing like weeds.  They've outgrown the fish tank that the ducklings came home from the livestock auction in.  They've graduated to this box.

 Today was their big day.  Dad took them out to the swan cottage and tipped the box on its side and out they came.

 They have the entire inside of the swan cottage to run around in.  They're safe and secure.

 They can see all of the other waterfowl through their "screen" door.

Pretty soon they'll be able to go for their first swim but we start off slowly - no big pond for them yet.

So until next time............

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Fish and Ice Cream

We had the bestest afternoon yesterday.   Mom and dad suggested Lenny and Joe's and we were only too happy to jump in the car and head off!

 Dad had a shrimp roll~

 And mom had the clam roll~

 Excuse me. This box is forever in our way and we are very starving pups, ya know!
Dad shared french fries and mom shared bread from her clam roll.  She was too stingy to share a clam or two!

 Next stop was Durham ice cream!

 Maggie's favorite part as she got older was the cone and mom never forgets to point that out as we're chopping down on her ice cream cone ♥

 I need to keep an eye on dad too.  He might be wanting to share with me too!

 OMD, Molly! That's chocolate ice cream on your nose! That's a definite NO NO!   Are you sure that you don't want me to have that so you won't be sick? 
Don't worry.  She only got a smidge.

 What a fun day we had!

So until next time...........

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

She's a Girl

Dad took Twozie up to Litchfield yesterday morning to have her sexed and pinioned and Mr Nick said that Twozie is a girl!
Twozie and the duckies had a great time outside.   Dad put them in Maggie's old crate.  We took out the pan in the bottom and they had access to grass and water and sun~

 While Twozie and the ducklings played outside, mom and dad worked on the timber frame inside our red barn.   The door openings are fenced off so that Molly and I can run and play and be safe inside but still be able to see outside. 

 My ball is on its way down, mom!

The perennial Bachelor Buttons are in bloom~

 And so are the Bleeding Hearts~

 And the Lilacs ☺

 And the Jack-in-the Pulpit!

We had a beautiful and a superfun day!

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Twozie's New Friends

Mom and dad headed to the livestock auction this morning to find Twozie a buddy. 
Nope, you guys are definitely not duckies!

 Nope, you won't work either.  You need to have webbed feets!

 AHA!  Just what we're looking for only there are 5 duckies and not just 1!  
Oh well.  Twozie will have lots of new friends to keep him company!
Two of the duckies have pom-poms on their heads and 3 of them don't.  Does this mean the ones with hats are girls and the ones without are boys?  Dad needs to do his research~

 Twozie looks overwhelmed to have so many new friends!  haha
That's our dad for ya.  He never buys one of anything!

 You won't be lonely anymore, Twozie ☺

 A quick search is telling us that this duck might be a Pom-Pom duck and these duckies come in a variety of colors.  Dad is leary of white because we find that the night life isn't always kind to white domestic ducks.  Darker ones get by more easily.   Cross your paws that these 5 duckies will be anything but white.

 Are you all going to be sitting on my dad's shoulder?  He's MY dad, ya know, and I'm not sure that I like any of you!

So until next time...........

Love ya lots♥
Mitch

Twozie, the Grey Lag Gosling

One of our Grey Lag goose eggs that was in the incubator hatched this morning.

Dad was up last night for hours watching and waiting like a nervous daddy would have been. 
This picture was taken around 6 AM this morning.

This picture was taken around 7:30 AM.  We just got back from our walkies.
Dad decided to help the little guy out.     His name is Twozie because of the  number 2 on his shell. 

We don't think the other eggs in the incubator are fertile.

Twozie's body totally fills the entire egg!

He's on his own at this point.  He scooted out of the egg all by himself.  It's almost 8 AM now.  Twozie takes lots of rests.  It must be hard work cracking yourself out of an egg shell. 

This is inside the incubator with the top closed.  It's 90 degrees inside with high humidity. 

It's noon and Twozie is drying off nicely. 

Dad is heading out tomorrow to get Twozie a duckie mate so he/she won't be all alone.
This is Twozie at 2 PM.  He's all dried off and out of the incubator in a nice warm box with a light above to keep him warm.  Dad has tons of sawdust underneath his towel. He has plenty of cushioning.  The duckie experts say to give him water but no food yet.  He got lots of great nutrition from his egg. 

Can you believe it?  I'm an uncle and Molly is an Aunt!  Is that cool or what!

What an exciting day this has been - from a crack in the egg shell to a cute chirping baby gosling in 8 hours!  It's amazing!

So until next time.............

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly