Millie Duck

This was my little Millie duck, last June, when I first got her.  I got Millie to be a companion for Daisy, the wee little duck in the photo, who was lonely.  Millie came from a veterinary student who couldn't care for her any longer.

This was Millie, in July, swimming in her kiddie pool for the first time.  Below, she's with her little friend, Daisy.





Millie had a good summer and grew bigger and this was her in the fall, in her new duck run with her pool installed.  She loved to swim and play with Little Duck (Daisy).  She also loved to moodle around with her beak in the leaves and grass.  She loved to nibble on my pantlegs and she liked to quack really loudly.  She knew her name and always quacked a greeting when I pulled into the driveway.




This was my most recent picture of my little Millie duck, taken on March 31st, while she was mucking around in the leaves outside in the new fenced area I had made for the ducks and chickens.  She sort of liked the chickens and would try to roost up on top of their feed bucket so they weren't higher than her.  I'm not sure if she thought she was a chicken, or whether she just didn't want anyone to be up higher than she was.

Today Millie was killed by a hawk, while I was home and just inside, about 50 feet away.  I put them outside at about 7 AM, into their fenced area, where they go every day.  I came back in.  It was raining so I didn't go back out very quickly to check on them.  Millie had been hiding her eggs somewhere the past few days.  I went out around 9 to check on them and fill their feed bucket and Little Duck was walking around but I didn't see Millie.  I thought that I would probably finally be able to find where she was laying those eggs.  Imagine my shock and horror when I rounded the edge of the shed to see her dead on the ground with a hawk ON TOP OF HER.  It was not afraid of me and I had to run at it screaming to get it to go away after I put the chickens and remaining duck back into their run.  It looks like it pulled her out from under the edge of the shed, because her little feathers are under the shed a few feet away from where I found her.  She tried to get away from it, but it killed her anyway.  Poor little Millie.  My last look at her alive was as she marched away from me this morning when I let them out, into the fenced area with her little military gait, stamping around like she owned the yard, as always.

I wish that I had heard something and I wish that I checked on them earlier.  I can't believe that all this happened in the span of about 2 hours while I was RIGHT IN THE HOUSE a few feet away from the yard.  I should never have left them unsupervised.  Millie was a good little duck and I'll miss her and I am afraid to say that her little friend Daisy (Little) will miss her probably more than me.  Little is now all alone with only some chickens for friends.  :(

The Little Naturalist

Luke got to take a walk outside today.  He's outfitted in a new set of breeches, cotton shirt, reversible vest, and hat, and as an added bonus, the new wigs and eyes I got for him and for April arrived, so they are both sporting new eyes and hair.  I absolutely adore the shoes that Luke is wearing.  They're from Boneka and are sized for Bitty Bethany and fit him perfectly.

Belinda gets a new frock

I haven't made Belinda anything in ages.  I was inspired by the thought of blue flag irises when I made this dress:  dark purple and green.

The other doll in the last photo is Tamsin, who I haven't photographed in a long time, but she remains one of my favorite dolls.  I'm disappointed, though, that she seems out of scale with almost all the other Kish dolls of other sizes.  She looks OK with the Bitty sized dolls, and OK with the Chrysalis babies if you bear in mind that some babies are smaller than others!

Best Birthday Present Ever

I finally took some photos of my little Custom House Ange Ai Uri, who I named Luke.  He was the most surprising birthday present (in the end of February) ever--my little sister Sarah gave him to me, and I didn't expect a doll in my birthday presents at all!  I usually buy my dolls for myself, and I don't think anyone has ever given me a doll for my collection!  I was surprised and delighted!

I made the PJ's from a pattern that I modified and enlarged.  It was originally for Riley Kish.  I lengthened the legs and changed the foot piece quite a bit.  The PJ's are actually for Sarah's doll that is the same size, but I wanted to photograph them, so here are the photos.

April and Springtime

My Rosen Lied Beige, April, is wearing a new spring frock that I listed on etsy.  I love it so much I almost didn't want to list it.  It doesn't show, but there is a lining that makes a little petticoat beneath the top, and it has lace on the edge that matches the lace on her bloomers.  

It feels like spring around here today.  I had the day off to enjoy the bright sunshine, blue sky and 70 degree temperatures.  I cleaned the coop and also cleaned out the chicken runs, which were full of wet straw from a long winter.  The straw was so thick in one of the runs, there was still ICE beneath it!  It's already melted.  My red chickens are one year old today.  Hard to believe they went from this:

To this in just one year.

I had a fence installed around the half of lawn where their coop is.  They needed to be out.  We had issues all winter with Matilda, in particular, picking feathers from the other birds.  I have tried every trick out there to get them to quit, and managed to reduce it quite a lot, but they do best when they're out most of the time and don't think about boredom and picking.  They're still a delight and are funny, quirky animals, each with their own personality.  The Buffs will be 1 year old in about 2 months (May 31).