She Stuck a Feather in Her Cap and Called it Meriwether

We currently have 7 ducklings and 6 chicks growing up in our bathroom -- each in two separate Sterilite bins. The tub-o-chicks is in the bathtub, where we can shut the sliding door to keep them from flying all over the bathroom. (Especially important now that they are starting to grow out their feathers.) The ducklings tub is sitting right next to the tub. Magpies can't really fly, so they are much easier to contain.

Yesterday evening I was crouched down tending to our magpie ducklings when I looked up just in time to see one of our white-crested polish chicks fly straight up out of the bathtub to land directly on my head. "Well, this is a first!" I thought to myself. It was Meriwether, of course--our chief poultry explorer. Luckily, I happened to have my phone in my back pocket and was able to slowly reach for it and snap a photo to help document Meriwether's first flight to my noggin.

I say "first" flight, because it happened again this morning! When I opened the slider to peek in on the chicks and check on their food and water supply, Meriwether looked up and our eyes locked for one split second before my head once again became a helipad for Polish Airways. "This is going to be a very strange relationship," I laughed to myself. But I love it! I did have one small request: "Please don't poop on my head!" 

So, this afternoon, I tried to have the film rolling just in case it happened again. Sure enough, Meriwether took flight once again--but at least this time my head was spared. 

Polish Spies

It's a lot of work managing chicks and ducklings at the same time! Too young to be outside with the harsher elements, we currently have them in separate giant Sterilite tubs in our upstairs bathroom. 

We have three white crested Polish chicks (two black and one blue) among our current chick crew.  They were the first to start growing their wings (I was shocked by the wingspans on these little guys!!)...and they quickly set out exploring their surroundings. 

Meriwether was named after being found under a pile of ducklings during an early expedition: 

Now all three Polish chicks like to sit up on the ledge and spy on the ducklings (when we leave their door open). We named Meriwether's twin Lewis. Here they are peering over at their web-footed cousins:

Here is a picture of Angel peeking in with Lewis:

Lewis and Meriwether, again. Having a sidebar:

I am starting to wonder if we should have named them Statler and Waldorf...  

If it fits, Jax sits...

This bucket looks super comfortable, don't you agree?

If I sleep in this bucket, then when I wake up my scratching post is right here!

Hold on, I need another nap...

Top Picks from Sam

Today Sam forwarded me a bunch of old photos from her phone that reflect a collection of some of her favorites over the past couple of years.

L to R: Paisley, Lomi, and Molé

We call this one The Three Amigos. This was taken a couple of years ago, shortly after our camelids had their first haircuts. Paisley and Lomi are llamas, and Molê is an alpaca that we rescued.

They are due for haircuts again now. We'll have to post an updated photo after this year's cuts.

Next up, is a photo of Jax, our polydactyl cat. Usually his front paws look like adorably cute little white mittens. But, as you can see, having extra toes also means he has extra scratching power. Thankfully, I was wearing jeans when he considered my leg might make a good scratching post!

This one is also one of my favorite Denali photos. To me, it just screams "Meme Generator!" I will have to figure out if there is a way to embed a meme generator directly in a blog.

I would love to see what you all come up with:

This is Falcor (any Neverending Story fans out there?). She is Sam's blue and gold macaw. She says, "Hello?" when the phone rings, and enjoys talking about apples and bananas (especially bananas! I guess when you stop and think about it, it is kind of a fun word to say...). "Mmmm good!" she says. I also have to admit, it is pretty awesome having birds that laugh at your jokes.

Last year we had baby ducklings for the first time. Actually, Sam has had them in the past...but it was my first time raising them. Oh. My. Gosh! Most baby animals are cute, but ducklings have to rank pretty high in my top favorites! Especially when they start pitter pattering around--they are like tiny bowling pins waddling around with miniature duck feet! We hatched three baby ducks last year. These are the baby pictures of Patches, Zippy, and Leon. 

Peep! (Translation: Quack!)

Chillin' in Sam's lap after breakfast

 Finally, here's another series featuring Denali. Just another one of those days when she was rolling around on the kitchen floor acting silly.

Just Another Day at the Ranch

Here's another flashback to one of our favorite home videos I made using the Quik App by GoPro. (We don't actually have a GoPro...though if we did I'm sure we could get some even more amazing footage!)

This video features Baloo, our rescue horse, Aslan, our livestock guardian dog, and special appearances by Zippy, Patches, and Leon....the three magpie ducklings we hatched last year (along with several other duck "extras" in the background). Grab some popcorn, make sure your sound is turned up, and enjoy the show! 

My New Chicken Magazine was in Denali's Chair

Welcome to our Funny Farm

Sam and I have talked for quite some time about creating a website to help showcase all of our animal companions and their crazy antics. We wanted something outside of Facebook so that it could be accessible to anyone. I thought the blog format would be the easiest to work with. Feel free to sign up at the bottom of the page if you'd like to receive notifications when new posts are made.

To start with, I'll probably dig up a few of our favorite photos, videos and stories from the past that I've previously shared on Facebook. But the new material is constantly rolling, so there will surely be new stuff inter-mixed with the old. I just like the idea of having all the good stuff all in one place.

Maybe if we end up going viral we'll figure out a way to monetize our site and our beloved animal companions can start doing their part to earn some extra pennies in support of our ever-growing food and vet budget! ☺️ (Not to mention the fence repairs!) We can only dream!

Although owning a hobby farm is primarily full of extra expenses, without much--if anything--in the way of extra income....at the end of the day, we feel truly lucky to have been blessed with such a wonderful band of characters. We typically refer to ourselves as the Marauders. We look forward to sharing our Marauder Adventures with you. And we hope you find it as Purely Amusing as we do!