some pics I found...

The school our toddler goes to hatches eggs each year and this year they had too many ducklings to handle - and yes, they do make a mess! I had just built the rabbit hutch and borrowed the white fencing to make a rabbit / toddler play area so I moved the ducks in there. I knew it was temporary anyway, either they would be part of the main flock or be in the freezer two months later.

Having the ducks right up at the house worked great predator wise - nothing bothered them - but not so great having them right next to the picnic table... especially with damp or rainy weather their yard had a distinct ducky smell! On the other hand, Simon loved feeding them and this way he did not get harassed either (by the geese).

On a side note, while we spent Christmas down in the City we walked from the subway back up to the apartment and I found two more panels to the foldable fencing! They are the exact same kind and fitted perfectly... no idea why they were stacked out with the trash. My hubbie was not real happy with my 'dumpster diving' - even tho I see it as the ultimate recycling, cutting out the middle man, haha - but he did rearrange packing the car to fit it.

He's always so embarrassed when I "shop" along the road, it's almost cute, and I feel weird. And then we visited my Dutch friend Karleen in CT and she also 'recycles' whenever she can. We had a lively conversation about the availability of public dump sites (which Ithaca does not seem to have) lounging on a nearly new 'rescued' couch, drinking tea from a 'rescued' kettle while enjoying the view of a beautiful 'rescued' horse painting. She's cool :)