Since no one else presented any ideas on names for our new little one, I came up with one because I needed something to call her. May I present to you: Cupcake.
The name came to me because my sweet husband suggested that her nurturing adoptive mother hen be called Ms. Cookie in honor of me. My thoughts turned to my own mom and then it hit me: Cupcake! That's what my mom used to call me, somehow it seemed perfect.
Yesterday evening I let the new little family out for some fresh air before the storm. Josh had let them out the day before while I was at work, but this was my first time to witness Cupcake's adventures in the yard. It was so fun to watch the pair of them run about.
I made some videos so you could all share in the fun:
In this one, Ms. Cookie seems to be trying to teach Cupcake to scratch and forage for food. Right at the beginning, you can see the duckling try to scratch but her little foot isn't really made for this. Eventually she'll learn ducks dig into the mud with their bills to forage. Watch it!
Every mother who has ever had a child "underfoot" will appreciate this video. Watch it!
In this clip, mamma starts into the grass, which is pretty tall, with Cupcake trailing behind. Can you imagine what those tall grasses must seem like to her?! She pushes through like a champ though. Watch it!
Last, but not least, in this little video Ms. Cookie decides to do a little dust bathing with baby in tow. This is something chickens do for a variety of reasons. It seems to cool them off on a hot day. It's fun throwing dirt all over the place. Most importantly, it helps to protect them from getting mites, etc. Now ducks, obviously, naturally prefer to bathe in water. Baby Cupcake seemed very confused about what was happening but dutifully followed her mom into the dirt. I was talking for her in my head saying things like, "Umm, mom. What's happening? What are we doing? Are we eating this stuff? Are we wrestling? Oh boy, this is fun! Uh oh, don't crush me! ..." Watch it.
After we got baby and mamma back into their little coop, Josh and I continued work on the coop expansion. We got the walls framed in on the second lean-to hen house. And as a special treat, I looked up in the sky after the rain and saw a lovely rainbow over the pond.
I just love spring. It's full of so many moments that make you appreciate the beauty of nature and simple pleasures in life.
No comments:
Post a Comment