Meine Sonntag Blumen
This is the year for Hollyhocks.
This wild female duck laid her eggs in a secret spot.
And 24 days or so later, she marched her day-old ducklings past my window.
All in a single file with a purpose...to get to water and our pond.
The tiny little ducklings must have walked more than a mile.
picture added 7-31-2017
This mother duck is special. First she avoided all predators by laying her eggs in a safe place and now, weeks later, all eight of them are alive and well.
A Herculean feat.
Have an extra special week dear Friends.
Gina
http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/
Love your hollyhocks.
ReplyDeleteLove your ducklings.
Love your eye, your mind.
And maybe more.
😏💋
Hello Rick, Some wise man must have said that. Have a great week.
DeleteWhat a lovely and well photographed vase of hollyhocks Gina.
ReplyDeleteDucks nest with us too - they fly up up to us from the valley where I think they would be safer, as we have lots of foxes roaming around up here.
Dear Rosemary, I brought out the Pentax camera for that shot. I still prefer "our" little camera and will take it on our next trip in September.
ReplyDeleteOur last group of ducklings did not survive after only 3 days on the pond. The mother duck was inconsolable. She looked and called for them for days.
This mother duck is a mother with a very watchful eye. To have her entire brood survive for these many days is a miracle.
Dear Gina,
ReplyDeletegreat pictures of mother and ducklings in and out of the water and your Hollyhocks are so pretty. To see all that
from your big windows is a happy sight indeed and makes for colorful weeks all through the summer.
Warmest hugs, Sieglinde
Dear Sieglinde, So far so good. All ducklings have made it so far. They are getting so big that soon they will look just like their mother...and then they will fly away.
DeleteI adore ducklings - think they are so beautiful and sweet. What a lovely mummy taking such great care of her brood of 8 here - and how fortunate they are to be thriving in what has to be the most beautiful pond in America!
ReplyDeleteOh Gina - you never cease to amaze us!
Hugs - Mary
. . . . . . and of course the hollyhocks continue to bring a smile, actually almost a few tears as they are so lovely.
Dear Mary, It's going to be interesting to see if the duck family will come back to our pond once they have learned how to fly. In the winter we have more than 200 ducks on our pond. Wonder if we will recognize them.
DeleteI am so pleased that you like my hollyhocks. I will save some seeds for you so that you could give them another try.
Hello Gina, I've just discovered your lovely blog! So glad I did, too😊 While perusing your posts, i saw a picture of beautiful arabesque hand painted tiles and now I cannot find them again. If you have time, is there any way you could give me any information about them? Each is painted with a different image - angel, rabbit, flower, etc...and are just beautiful. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHello dasguti, I am so pleased that you like my blog. Have you looked into my Etsy shop? I believe that I have some of the tiles you like listed.
DeleteAt the top of my blog you will see a little square with Etsy imprinted. Just click on the symbol and it will take you directly to my Etsy shop. CountryVillaCeramics.
If you have trouble finding what you are looking for, give me another shout.
Regards, Gina
That is a remarkable feat for Mommy duck and family.
ReplyDeleteTwice now in seasons not too far past, we had Mommy ducks place their nest in a parking lot area of a local market. When it came time to lead her family off to a water area, it had to be first along side two lanes of traffic, where baby ducklings would stop at little water puddles in the ditch and swim around thinking they had arrived. Then Mommy duck would gather them in and move towards the big four lane highway. Thankfully both times I was there, though one of the two, I had gotten a call to "please go help those poor ducks!" I would get in front of the young ones and tidy up the lot as they would try to get to their Mommy duck who had plans that were not conducive to good crossing a highway idea. Momma duck would fly to the other side, her little ones could not. So I would put my hands out to oncoming traffic and pray quickly that this maneuver would go swiftly and smoothly and both times managed to get all of the ducklings across to safety. One of those two times I had no idea that a police officer had been watching the whole effort. Not sure if I broke any laws, or not, he was not smiling, but he also did not get mad. Your duck family beat the odds, well done. Have a great week my friend~
Dear Mary, Of course you would help and no one could do it better.
ReplyDeleteOur 8 ducklings are now almost the same size as their mother. Still remarkable that they have all survived. A large heron has been eying them and a hawk has been whistling above their heads.
Our ducks have learned not to build a nest or lay eggs near our pond. Raccoons find them every time. We had a duck lay her eggs under a neighbor's large trailer, about a half a mile from our pond. Still, the raccoons found her the day the eggs were to hatch.
Oh I love ducks and the hollyhocks are awesome ~ lovely photos for OWT ~ thanks, ^_^
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting Carol. Thank you also for your visit.
ReplyDelete