I received a call this morning at about 8:30 from the feed mill: our wee birds arrived! 15 minutes later I held a box of babies on my lap. We spirited them back home. We started preparing yesterday. Michael started a fire in the "guest room," I located the watering and feeding jars, and we put pine straw in the buckets. I've been sitting with the babies ever since.

One of  the 8 black chicks we ordered. 29 chicks in all. Wood burning stove keeps the chicks comfy and me wishing I knew where my bathing suit is. We will keep them at 90° for a week. — One of the 8 black chicks we ordered. 29 chicks in all. Wood burning stove keeps the chicks comfy and me wishing I knew where my bathing suit is. We will keep them at 90° for a week.

I dutifully dunked each beak in water as I transferred them to their bins. The chicks found their food without help, but the ducklings needed to be introduced to the feeder as they were trying to eat the dried leaves that came in with the pine straw.

Irene even came out to cuddle a duck. Last year she wouldn't even look at them. Over winter, when the birds were closer to the house, she started to become fond of them.

I'm mainly hanging out to get the ducks accustomed to being handled (something that couldn't happen last year due to unforeseen emergencies), and to gauge how our lighting system is working. The lights will keep them warm over night when we may not tend the fire constantly.

Sacked out. They eat, they drink, they poop, they keel over with sleep.

Half as many ducklings go through twice the amount of water as twice as many chicks. Back to my spinning and singing with my birds.