I remember playing with my Pop's collection of marbles as a small child. He kept them in a wooden box in the top drawer of the dresser in their bedroom. My mom told me that all Seniors of Minden High School were presented these boxes when they graduated so this box could have belonged to either one of them. Before I was tall enough, I would ask for help. Either my MeMe or Pop would get down this box full of beautiful marbles and provide me instant entertainment. I was (and still am) instantly drawn to the colors and design. But lately these marbles have provided a much more practical purpose.
A couple of weeks ago, B and I and made a huge leap and purchased 5 baby chicks and 2 little duckies. I have always wanted to live on a farm, have a million and one animals and my own garden and chicken eggs. It is seriously a fantasy of mine, to wake up and go gather eggs for breakfast and pick out lunch in my garden. We have toyed with the garden idea and even started one unsuccessfully, thanks to a mischievous pup who liked squash more than us. So seeing as how we aren't getting any younger, we had a sort of "what are we waiting for?" moment and just did it! Now we had been talking and discussing for months now so it wasn't exactly a spur of the moment decision but when I woke up that morning, buying 7 more animals wasn't on my to do list.
If you have read any of this blog or know anything about us, you know how we feel about animals. I'm pretty sure we are way over the limit for most people but these little critters just bring about more joy to our lives, as well as a lot more chores! One of those chores is cleaning out their feeders and waterers every day. We learned quickly that the ducks are so messy and by putting marbles in their water bowl, it can prevent a little bit of the mess and can also keep them from drinking too much too fast! My Pop's marbles that had been sitting in a blue milk of magnesia jar for years were the perfect things for these our baby ducks! I wonder how he would feel about his marbles being used like this but it makes me smile thinking about how he would probably just be happy that they make me happy.
Besides, making us happy, buying these animals, is just one more step in the direction of living simply, eating clean and becoming more self- sustaining and aware of where our food comes from. While we don't exactly have a farm right now, we have hopes of eating yummy fresh chicken and duck eggs every day and who knows, maybe we'll have a farm one day. Until then, I'll settle for a small hobby farm. Since the purchase of several more animals (including more bunnies - that's another blog post), I've heard so many people including myself say that we're crazy! ha! And yes, we might be but we are living our dream! If that makes me crazy then I am crazy! I am convinced though that in order to pursue your dreams, you have to just throw caution to the wind! Don't let fear rob you! Just go for it! If you think you are loosing your marbles, then you are probably doing it right! :) So who cares what everyone else thinks, right? Do what you are passionate in and go for it, even that means adding 7 more animals to your herd!
Right now our chicks and ducks are still brand new. When we purchased them, most of them were barely 2 or 3 days old! We kept them all together for about a week in one large plastic tub to make cleaning super easy. The ducks have quickly out grown the baby chicks and if there is one thing I know for certain, it is this: ducks are nasty, messy, playful but oh so cute animals! So if you want ducks, then prepare for a mess! They are all just now getting their feathers so I'll have to get some updated pics once their feathers come in! I can't wait to see what the chickens feathers will look like. And the ducks feathers coming in is super important because we will soon be able to tell if they are boys or girls based on their feathers. I'm hoping for two beautiful egg-laying females. Will keep you posted! Until then, I'll just be here cleaning up poop and counting my marbles.
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