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Monday, August 1, 2016

How to Attract Rain in Four Easy Steps

1.  Put three full loads of laundry on the line.
2.  Leave your car windows open.
3.  Forget you have a bucketful of duck feed on the deck.
4.  Do a chick swap with your neighbor because they all looked alike at that age and you couldn't tell a rooster from a hen.

Youbetcha - it works every time.  "Bunny" the roo and I got all sodden, as I tried to slip him unobtrusively into the small coop Saturday night.  I dashed out Sunday morning, after realizing that this was not going to be our usual 3 minute sprinkle, and dragged in the sodden clothes I had hung up on Saturday afternoon.  I let the ducks eat all of the soupy mash.  I took a bundle of towels and dried off my car seats. 

After months of only the odd sprinkle, we got over two inches of rain.  It rained all Saturday night and almost all day Sunday, which caused me to discover that my rain jacket is no longer water repellant.  I changed clothes four times.  I am hoping that the forecast for more rain today and tomorrow will come to pass.  This is a giant step in the right direction, but I won't breathe a sigh of relief until we get a couple more inches.  It will be nice not to have to schlep water home from the farm every morning.

It seems that Bunny, my "FREE EXOTIC CHICK" from my Murray McMurray order, is a bantam.  Sigh.  I love bantams, but so do the hawks.  He is peanut-sized and seems very mild-mannered (which is why the moniker, Bunny).  He managed to live through a day of bossy-pants pullets, although he did sail over the fence to perch atop Duck Hut 2 for a break.  But he placidly let me pick him up and carry him around while I finished afternoon chores (tucked in my rain jacket pocket - the only rain-proof part) without a fuss.  I put him back inside the little coop and, by evening chores, they were all copacetic. 

I had opened the enclosure around DH2 to encourage the Cayugas to explore the yard.  They were promptly herded back by my DHDs - Duck Herding Ducks - the Anconas.  There was no aggression - they just thought they needed to be back inside their fence.  This happened multiple times until the Cayugas just ignored them and waddled in a pack to some grassy bits.

Not much got done this weekend, but I am trying to take a more sane approach to my weekends.  Even if it kills me.  Which it might.  I chafe.

16 comments:

kymber said...

stop that chaffing! and thanks for the rain tips! here i thought what one needed to do to call rain was run around naked in the yard yelling "rain! rain! we need you!".

it's worked some of the time. but i'll try your tips and see if they work better!

sending much love! your friend,
kymber

DFW said...

Oh & don't forget #5 ... washing your car will always cause a sudden rain storm here.

Mama Pea said...

I implemented a couple of your suggestions this morning to no avail. Sigh. Guess I was supposed to do them all, huh?

Hubby says we might get some rain tonight . . . which would be wunnerful, wunnerful. Very, very hot out there again today. And I thought we lived in the cooler part of the country!

Susan said...

All that would happen if I ran around nekkid would be a sheep stampede....:)

Susan said...

My car might seize up with fright if I washed it...

Susan said...

Yes, what gives with your weather? It's downright weird!

jaz@octoberfarm said...

i thought the secret was to water the garden.

Sue said...

I hope that works--we need rain desperately. I've got a load of towels going right now......................

Nancy In Boise said...

Wow, that's a lot of water!!!

ElaineChicago said...

We need pics of Herding Ducks!! Did you see YouTube Indian Runner Ducks on their way to work?

Susan said...

We'd probably go into monsoon season if I added that to my list of voodoo practices.

Susan said...

Sue - Hey! That might do it - there's something especially fate-tempting about hanging out towels...

Susan said...

We've added another couple of inches since Sunday, so I am now able to breathe.

Susan said...

I'll have to get a video of them - they are definitely 'in charge'. I have NOT seen that video, but I will look it up. I love Indian Runner Ducks - they are like living cartoons!

Fiona said...

How do you get humidity to drop:)
Your farm is such an adventure....I had my beautiful clothesline break when it was full of 5 loads of laundry....Ralph said no rain anywhere in sight and we got 3 inches in a very heavy rain with high wind!

How many ducks do you have now?

Susan said...

Oh, no! One of my worst nightmares! The humidity has been awful, hasn't it? There were a couple of days where I felt like I was dog-paddling through the air. I have - are you sitting? - 16 ducks!