My brother and sister-in-law live in the country and for many years have had a few kittens here and there. This last year they ended up with more females than ever before and this is what it looks like at their backdoor……

I don’t think they have ever had so many kittens that are so friendly and want all the human attention possible!

And if those aren’t cute enough for you, look at the kittens we saw at my cousins house.  They feed their cats up in a tree so the dogs won’t get to the cat food. 

Now, how many kittens did you say you needed???

Sad, but true, I ended up selling my three musketeers on Saturday. Cher had to go because of her insane quack. And I couldn’t let her go without her closest buddies, Sonny and Ringo, who had been with her since the very beginning. They did everything together and I didn’t know what would happen if they were separated. I was afraid the others might get loud just looking for Cher.  They had their last swim and then the fun began.  I’m always hopeful that our neighbors aren’t watching when we round up ducks!

Carl and I ran around the yard a few times and finally rounded them up, much to their dismay, and loaded them into our special duck moving box

I had one last picture taken with each of them.  This one is Ringo…..

This, of course, is Cher (who must weigh at least 10 lbs, OMG!!)…..

And last but not least, Sonny………..

And because we didn’t want to take the truck on a road trip, we fitted the box ever so perfectly into the back of the car!

OHHH, you’re wondering where this road trip is taking them?  Well, I called up my new duck friend, Tim Byrd (yes, really, that’s his name!) who has a beautiful pond way down south.  He had taken three of my drakes in the spring, so I’d done this before.  We met halfway for us both, about 45 minutes south of Lawrence in Garnett. 

We never discussed the type of vehicle he was bringing.  I figured if we had ducks in our car that surely they would fit in whatever he might have.  But, we didn’t know he was bringing his mom and his son in a car seat.  Funny thing is, his mom and I had smashed down a box at our last meeting to fit the first batch of  drakes into her car, also carrying a car seat with child.  So here we were all over again.  She commented, “You sure like to have enough room for your ducks to run around!”  I guess we did overkill on space requirements. 

After a bit of box cut up (no ducks escaped or were injured during this madness), the box fit perfectly in the backseat next to 18 month old, cute, flirty, Tim III. 

So there ends the saga of my difficult decision.  I was sad for maybe 15 minutes, but let me tell you about the great sleep I’ve had the last couple of nights.  ALL worth it!  Plus, I know the ducks are happy in their new home.  I’D be happy in their new home!  Tim said he will send me pictures, so I’ll make sure to show you some smiling ducks when he does. 

Not to worry, I still have some QUIET ducks giving me eggs each morning.

Listen to this short clip, multiply it by 18 hours, and then decide if you could listen to this beautiful creature day after day.  I love this duck, but even I have a loss of sleep limit!  Friday night she started her alarm quacking at 3 in the morning.  So, after lots of thought and deliberation, I HAD to do something. 

To be continued tomorrow night, because MADMEN is starting and I just can’t miss a moment!  Oh, and if you need to kill time till tomorrow night, looks like you might be able to see some Cher perfomances at the bottom of my clip.  Her voice may be more soothing than my Cher!

That is the question of each morning, most often beginning with the HONK of my most annoying duck, CHER.  If things are usual her day starts to rev up about 6.  But if the world doesn’t agree with her, then she may start at 4, like she did this early day.  She may have to be re-homed, but I am putting that off as long as I can because she’s the one that gives me a laugh.  When I went out this morning, this is what she looked like…..

And trust me, at this point she is quacking up a storm!  I’ll be sure to youtube her next so you can all feel my pain.

But the most fun of the whole morning is to find out what the girls have produced.  For awhile they were dropping all over the yard.  Lately, they have found a favorite spot and so I’ve watched them take turns sitting on the same nest. 

My garden is winding down, but this is the total backyard treasure for this morning, not bad! 

My kitchen man says “Come and get it!”  I think a fancy omelet is calling my name!