Emmy getting out of her bath at 31° F:

Canada goose in the alfalfa field:

Gracie Belle and Buck:

Izzy, with her beautiful, blue eyes:

Colors in the barn:

9/27 Update: The girls gifted us with a double-yolker right out of the gate.

Don fried it up for us last night. Delish! The consistency of the egg white was extremely thick, but Don said it tasted just like a fresh chicken egg. 

As for me, my mind played games with me at first, thanks to my dear husband. After I took my first bite, Don said, “Why are you eating your grandchildren?!”

Aaack! Once I got past that, I agreed with him. It was a delicious, fresh egg. Not gamey or weird at all.

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9/26 Post: We irrigated our pasture yesterday for one of the last times this season. We’ve gotten into the habit of putting the ducks out in the pasture on irrigation days because they love being ducks.

We found everyone and got them into the pasture, but Izzy was nowhere to be found. Finally, Don found her under a holly bush near the house. I heard him gently shoo her from where she sat and then heard him exclaim, “Oh my!”

Here’s what Izzy was sitting on:

Once Izzy was out in the pasture being a duck, I collected the eggs and took them into the house. The three smaller eggs were cold, but the large egg was warm. I figured that means Izzy had just laid it.

Oh, the eggcitement!

Just look at what Izzy did:

Pretty impressive, don’t you think? Once I finished oohing and aahing over the eggs, I put them in an egg carton to store in the refrigerator. The lid didn’t close all the way on the corner where Izzy’s egg sat:

Thank you, sweet Izzy:

Thank you, sweet Hillary:

And thank you in advance, sweet Emmy:

Our next step is getting the girls to use the nesting boxes in Duckingham Palace:

We irrigated our pasture yesterday for one of the last times this season. We’ve gotten into the habit of putting the ducks out in the pasture on irrigation days because they love being ducks.

We found everyone and got them into the pasture, but Izzy was nowhere to be found. Finally, Don found her under a holly bush near the house. I heard him gently shoo her from where she sat and then heard him exclaim, “Oh my!”

Here’s what Izzy was sitting on:

Once Izzy was out in the pasture being a duck, I collected the eggs and took them into the house. The three smaller eggs were cold, but the large egg was warm. I figured that means Izzy had just laid it.

Oh, the eggcitement!

Just look at what Izzy did:

Pretty impressive, don’t you think? Once I finished oohing and aahing over the eggs, I put them in an egg carton to store in the refrigerator. The lid didn’t close all the way on the corner where Izzy’s egg sat:

Thank you, sweet Izzy:

Thank you, sweet Hillary:

And thank you in advance, sweet Emmy:

Our next step is getting the girls to use the nesting boxes in Duckingham Palace:

There’s a new duck at Morning Bray Farm. We’ve named her Emily – or Emmy – for the emerald color of her feathers.

She looks like the female version of Jake the drake. Here’s Jake:

Here you can see the size difference between Jake and Emmy:

We think Emmy is slightly younger than the rest of the flock because she’s a tad bit smaller than Izzy and Hillary. She’s settling in quite nicely though.

Don and I decided to get another duck because our four drakes (boys) were constantly “bothering” our two ducks (girls). Poor Izzy and Hillary couldn’t catch a break from Alfie, Oliver, Jake and Gussie.

Here’s Izzy and Hillary now. They’re getting into their pool for a leisurely bath:

Of course Izzy couldn’t wait one second more to get into her bath:

They’re all growing up so fast. As I was taking pictures yesterday afternoon, I couldn’t help but notice how handsome Oliver has become.

More than any of the others, Oliver loves to show off his crest.

In Muscovies, both sexes can raise the feathers on top of their heads into a crest when they’re excited, flirting or angry. The male’s crest feathers are longer and stylishly waved.

Welcome to Morning Bray, Emmy! You already look cleaner, happier and healthier! ♥