Quack Quack Quack

Heritage chickens and ducks have been of great interest to us over the last year and we have been talking about starting a flock. Recently we placed an order with Sandhill Preservation for their Assorted Chicken package, which will contain 25 chickens of 4-5 different breeds and supply us with an assortment of white and brown eggs. These chickens will not arrive for a few months and we were getting anxious, so a few nights ago we got motivated to search for some ducks to add to our future flock.

Brad and I were hanging out on a child-free Friday night and decided to look on Craig's list for ducks. Child-free is when the 3 older children are gone and our infant is with us. We found a listing that was of interest, so we called them. They had a Pekin/Blue Crested duckling and 2 Indian Runners for sale, which were exactly the breeds we were looking for. Within minutes we were in our vehicle heading to the farm store to get supplies and driving out past Halltown to purchase our first little ducklings.

When we arrived at our destination the lady handed us a card-board box with our three new ducklings. She gave us a tour of their mini-farm complete with ducks, chickens, quail, turkeys, angora rabbits and goats.  It was quite the inspiration! We even adopted 2 Rhode Island Red chicks before we had left the property. It was really hard to pass up the Angora rabbits, but my mama rabbit is pregnant, so I have my own little bunnies on the way. The chicks and ducklings all live happily together in a laundry basket in the kitchen for now until they are ready to move to the barn. Hansel, Gretal and Jasmine love to take a daily dip in the tub much to my 4 year old daughter's delight!

Heirloom Sweet Potatoes

With names such as Heartogold, Japanese Purple, Orange Oakleaf, and White Hayman, Heirloom sweet potatoes are a treat that is worth the effort to obtain and grow. We aquire our sweet potatoe slips from Sandhill Preservation Center. Check out their web-site for descriptions and growing information.