Bloom

Two hundred fluffy chicks make a lot of noise. They are also fun to watch. They run around with their hidden agenda, stopping momentarily for a short nap every now and then, as if, a bell only they can hear, rings. It matters not where they are, be it standing on top of another chick, at a full scamper or sitting in the feeder. They stop and sleep. Then, when the nap bell rings again, they are off and running, as if late for an appointment.
The Muscovy ducklings are happy, now that the work of breaking out of their shells is done. They hide under their mom, vying for the best spot and trying their darndest not to get stepped on....by mom. Sometimes, after she has moved a little you can see some poor son or daughter tugging like crazy to free their little webbed foot that mom.s big webbed foot is on. Then the oblivious mom moves and no one even remembers there was a problem. The other mother/daughter who was setting on a clutch of eggs has decided that she wants to just be an Auntie. Mom moved into her laying box, kicked out most of the eggs and moved in with her new brood. When Tim tried to shoo them out and let the daughter set again, she just wandered off to keep her nieces and nephews warm. Apparently, motherhood was too intimidating for her, or her mother wasn't ready to be a grandmother. Whatever the reason, we have 14 Muscovy ducklings and a couple of eggs in the incubator with low expectations. Not many, if any, of her eggs were fertile. If they are and they hatch, we will try and sneak them under the "Moms" with the ten Pekin ducklings due tomorrow.

The plants continue to thrive in the dining room under the brilliant lights. In the evenings it is quite like the "night construction" lighting that blinds you as you try to drive by and stay on the road. I have taken to turning them off when I go to bed, so that the plants can rest with me. We all need rest so that we can store energy to use the next day. Sometimes we think we should just go, go, go. Stop and breathe. So you can bloom tomorrow.