Monday, July 23, 2012

New Additions!! Baby Pekins

This is one of the five baby Pekin ducks
that we just adopted!! She is 5 weeks old!






Baby "Pekin ducks" just born

I love my life!


 



 



These Pekin ducks were incubated in a grade 4/5 classroom and born on May 26/12 and then raised for a month by the children, who got to watch and learn all about this intelligent breed.  It came to our attention that they quickly needed homes, so after a few emails and phone calls, the school teacher made the four hour drive and delivered all 5 of them right to our pond!! They quickly adjusted and absolutely love their new home!! They are a joy to have and a great addition to our farm!!
Videos and 'baby Pekin ducks just born' photo courtesy of the elementary teacher! 

Friday, July 20, 2012

A Ruby-Throated Hummingbird!

This little fella is a regular at our feeder.
Here are some interesting facts: 
Physical Description
Average length: 3.5 inches (8.9 cm)
Average weight: 1/8 ounce (3.1 g)
Body temperature: 105°-108°F (40.5°-42.2°C)
Wing beats: 40-80 per second, average about 52
Respiration: 250 per minute
Heart rate: 250 beats/min resting; 1200 beats/min feeding
Flight speed: 30 mph (48 kph) normal; 50 mph (80 kph) escape; 63 mph (101 kph) dive

Thursday, July 19, 2012

A Hint of Orange

Hike to the Falls!

 This female Spruce Grouse was walking along the trail in front of us and didn't seem to be too alarmed by our presence.  As we got within feet of her, she flew up into the pine tree right beside us and watched us walk by!

 And here she is allowing me to photograph her at her best!!

 
The top of the falls.. The water is extremely low!
 The falls are almost a trickle here.. We need rain!

Shelf mushrooms all in a row!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Lightning Strikes!


 From this....



To this.... in just over an hour!


This is the first time I ever captured lightning on my camera.. It was quite exciting when I downloaded over 400 photos with absolutely nothing and then voila!! Usually, one would run and hide for cover in a lightning storm, but the excitement of the possibility of getting one shot was enough for me to stand out on the deck with my camera firmly gripped to one hand and cable release in the other.. It was rewarding for me to get these two!!