The weekend...and another heatwave looms

The ducks are returning. A sure sign that cooler weather will soon prevail. In late Spring the female mallards go elsewhere to nest and raise their brood.  Leaving behind some very bord males.  They are funny as they appear to be very bored in thsi time and spend much time sleeping. Around the end of June they will disappear also, I assume to join everyone else at the Yellow Breeches Creek or Susquehanna River, now that raising the ducklings is about done. Now they start to head back to their home territory. 

They'll trickle, slowly the numbers will rise.  It started out with one female, then the next day there was 2 females and one male. This morning I counted 8.  But it won't get crowded until closer to October, when hunting season begins.

It's obvious that they have been here before. They know I have a food source for them, along with all the goodies they get from the stream. Though always a little shy at first, they still recognize me and don't fly off when I come home or outside. They just waddle a little distance away and stop, watching to see what I'm doing.   I usually have around 2 - 2 1/2 dozen regulars.  The number swells at time depending on weather conditions or who knows what else is going on.  One year I'd had about 2 dozen a day, but when I came out on one Xmas morning several years ago I got a shock when no less then 80 ducks filled my yard!

But they are fun to watch, see how their behaviors change, especially as cold weather or snow settles in.  And most years I get some sort of surprise visitor. One year it was a pintail duck, another  it was a stunning male wood duck. It was early Spring so he was in full color.  He was very shy.  Wood ducks don't quack, they whistle!  He stayed around for a few days.

This past year I had 2 female wood ducks visit.  Once for two days I had a goose visit. That looked so funny among the ducks.  He looked like a giant compared to the mallards.  he'd eat alongside them and if I came out he would stand right by me as though he'd always been there.

I'm anxious to see if "white duck" is back.  Though technically not white, she appears that way from a distance. She has a yellow spot on her throat, adn she's more ooff white and dusky grey then truly white.  But she stands out, so I've been surprised at her survival for 3 seasons.  Every year she seems to bring an odd duck with her.  Last year it was this one. He was big, and oddly marked.  I always say she's enticing someones farm ducks to join her LOL

Then there was also the blue eyed mallard last winter

So you see, I'm like the ducks as I am with the butterflies.  At least this way there's always something entertaining going on outside regardless of the season!

Some day maybe I'll share the story of my favorite and special duck who we called "Duck Duck" . It's a duck I'l never forget, despite his short time, less then a year, here.

Anyhow, here's the first of the seasons ducks Notice the male doesn't have his color yet.  Males have the solid yellow or orange beaks, while the females have the black and orange beaks.

Yesterday I picked a bucket of herbs to share with my house bunnies

HoneyBee                                                     Star

Despite a whole bucket of herbs, Star (black) and Sweetpea apparently think what the other has tastes better!

My black swallowtails on fennel and dill seems to be doing ok.  I found a new one on the rue but it's disappeared.  I may move the one on the fennel (in photo) to some fennel I just potted.  I'm undecided on the ones that are on the dill. I have a cover for the plant, but the black swallowtail has been spending a lot of time here and I don't want to cover a plant she may want to use for more eggs.   :)  Next year I'll make better arrangements for the butterflies!

Today I did find 3 tiny monarch cats on my swampweed.  I asked my sister if she had room for them so I took them to her place this afternoon.

The heat is unbearable today.  We have embarked on yet another heat wave.  The last I checked it was 91 degrees, the next 3 days it's to be 93 and then drop to a mere 88.  By Saturday things should be better. I hope because it's over 90 in the house with a window AC running. It just can't keep up in this old place. Someone was to come look at the central air unit to see abotu fixing it, but that fell through. I was hoping the big window unit I put in would hold me over. It's just not working!  But it's only a few days, or so I keep telling myself. 

One good thing is that it makes me look forward to going to work tonight. That AC works great!

Here is Little Dude.  I still think there's something wrong with him. He isn't getting any bigger and looks under weight for a groundhog. I took the picture through the screen door so lacks some clarity. I was surprised to see him over under the feeders.  I suspect that some of the bigger groundhogs around here are stil bullying him a bit.  But I know he's getting food every day at least with the corn I put out, and I've seen him eating grass, weeds, and nibbling on a few of my plants. I know there are at least two other, large groundhogs that live close by. One I know lives across the stream and he is teh grand daddy of groundhogs in size!  Which makes Little Dude look even smaller. And I've seen him chase L D away at least once.  I wonder if L D will survive hibernation this year if he doesn't gain more weight.

Time to nap before work.  Can't wait to cool off!