Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
More Duckies!
Hello darling!
Now that the brace of 15 ducks are old enough for me to identify male/female, I found that I am about even. For ducks and drakes to be truly happy though, a ratio of 1/5 is better. However, I do not want to get rid of any drakes at the moment, so I just ordered 10 ducks which will help balance out the odds a little. Later, when the hormones start kicking in, I will see which drakes need to go.
I am ordering cayuga, welsh harlequin, and white layer ducks. My hope is to have some egg production toward the end of fall, though it might have to wait til spring.
I am also going to be culling the Pekins. While they are gorgeous, they are just not working out well. They are barn sour (only wanting to be in the chicken run), they do not like the pond and will literally go thirsty instead of drinking from it. The only time they are in the pond is to terrorize the brace of 15. Plus the female keeps trying to mate with anyone who sits on the grass, which honestly is freaky.
There are hard choices on a farm. Sometimes you have to get rid of some animal because it is aggressive or weak and you do not want those genes passed on. With our chickens and our ducks, only the placid will remain. The rest will be sold as pets or food.
Anyway, come 22 June, I should have 10 more ducklings to post pictures of!
Now that the brace of 15 ducks are old enough for me to identify male/female, I found that I am about even. For ducks and drakes to be truly happy though, a ratio of 1/5 is better. However, I do not want to get rid of any drakes at the moment, so I just ordered 10 ducks which will help balance out the odds a little. Later, when the hormones start kicking in, I will see which drakes need to go.
I am ordering cayuga, welsh harlequin, and white layer ducks. My hope is to have some egg production toward the end of fall, though it might have to wait til spring.
I am also going to be culling the Pekins. While they are gorgeous, they are just not working out well. They are barn sour (only wanting to be in the chicken run), they do not like the pond and will literally go thirsty instead of drinking from it. The only time they are in the pond is to terrorize the brace of 15. Plus the female keeps trying to mate with anyone who sits on the grass, which honestly is freaky.
There are hard choices on a farm. Sometimes you have to get rid of some animal because it is aggressive or weak and you do not want those genes passed on. With our chickens and our ducks, only the placid will remain. The rest will be sold as pets or food.
Anyway, come 22 June, I should have 10 more ducklings to post pictures of!
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Resting On Purpose
I have found in myself a restlessness, a guilt, even a
pride--as if it was more noble to ignore the blessing of rest that God
gives in order to look more pious or fruitful.
It was not a physical rest that I was not seeing. It was a lack of inner rest, a lack of peace deep within. Even when I was at rest, I was not at rest. I would waste time (for example on fb) but not rest. I would dawdle, but not rest. I would not declare "Ok, this is my rest time. I am going to (whatever would rest my mind, body, heart, or spirit)".
When one substitutes time wasting for declared rest, what seems to result is still no rest, but now duties and guilt pile up. It is amazing how, if I declare a rest of 30 minutes, after that 30 minutes I am RESTED. If I just mindlessly procrastinate for 30 minutes, I know I have not rested, even if I do the exact same thing I would have done resting. It is the intent, the single mindedness, the declaration of rest that provides rest.
The Lord has been leading me to rest because when I rest, I focus on Him, which is actually the ultimate goal. Letting go of the stress of "not doing anything" has been incredibly difficult, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. :)
Try it. Draw near to Him on purpose and see how true rest is more filling than mere distraction :)
It was not a physical rest that I was not seeing. It was a lack of inner rest, a lack of peace deep within. Even when I was at rest, I was not at rest. I would waste time (for example on fb) but not rest. I would dawdle, but not rest. I would not declare "Ok, this is my rest time. I am going to (whatever would rest my mind, body, heart, or spirit)".
When one substitutes time wasting for declared rest, what seems to result is still no rest, but now duties and guilt pile up. It is amazing how, if I declare a rest of 30 minutes, after that 30 minutes I am RESTED. If I just mindlessly procrastinate for 30 minutes, I know I have not rested, even if I do the exact same thing I would have done resting. It is the intent, the single mindedness, the declaration of rest that provides rest.
Try it. Draw near to Him on purpose and see how true rest is more filling than mere distraction :)
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