Lawn Service Mishap?

So the lawn service finally showed up.  I was so excited.  I love having someone else take care of the lawn.  Our mower broke at the end of last season.  Instead of getting a new one, (both JA and I were out of work at the time), we hired our neighbors lawn service to do the last few cuts.

WHOOOWEEE did our lawn look nice.  We never were able to get our edging nice due to the fact that the prior owner neglected the edging for many, many years.  Edging needed power equipment and we just have the typical homeowner crap.

So imagine how happy I was when JA decided we are just going to let someone else take care of the lawn this year.  No mower to buy.  No worrying about when to cut the grass, the weather and again when the grass will get cut.  The twins are never home these days, so we can not rely on them.  After JA’s heart attack, our outlook changed.  Why stress over the lawn when we can have it done for us amiright?   What takes these guys about twenty minutes would take us a couple of hours.  Without the trimming and blowing.

With JA’s schedule he could be home from work at 2:00 one day or 8:00 the next.  So there is never a reliable schedule for cutting our grass.  We always ended up being in close tie with Mama Drama’s lawn and that, my friends, is pretty not cool.  Our neighborhood has impeccable lawns.  They are fanatic about it around here.

HOWEVER…while being all giddy and stuff from them showing up, I grew rather alarmed when the mowing frenzy ground to a complete halt.  I hear a muffled thud, then the guy running to the front  of the house yelling, “Chuck!!! CHUUUUCK!!!”.  Then Chuck came to the side of the house and there was utter silence.  All I could think of was they hit Mama Duck and there were duck guts everywhere.  Where they trying to cover the deed?

But alas the mower started up and the job was completed.

So I just checked and Mama Duck is doing very well considering the mower and trimming that took place not even two feet from her nest.

And the lawn looks pretty.

 

 

I Might As Well Call This Place a Zoo.

Well, in my backyard I have seen deer (they show no fear), squirrels, hawks, raccoons, skunks, backyard cat(s), coyote…but never ducks.

That changed Sunday morning when something caught my eye near the sliding screen door.  I got up to look and there they were!

Three ducks.  One female, and two males.  They were walking around the yard like they were sizing it up – looking around all the bushes and corners and trees.

They wandered out of sight.  At the time I thought it seemed they were looking for an area for a nest.  I had a conversation in my head that went something like, you know, how there were two males and one of them was going to get dumped and he was following the happy couple like a fool.

Then I forgot about it until today.

Whilst weeding (in March!  Can you believe it hit 84 here?  We should have like 12 feet of snow on the ground or something like that)

I found this.


At first I thought there were two eggs, but the pic seems to show three eggs.   So I and looked again and yes.  There are three!!!

This calls for internet research.  I learned that the momma duck will return to the nest repeatedly to lay more eggs and then do the hatching part.

Thing is, this nest is about four feet from the sidewalk.  And a lot of people walk around here.

AND there are all those other animals I mentioned above.

Oh baby ducklings.  I fear for you.

And for the stupid people who might try and go up to the nest with mama near bye!

It is inevitable!

It has become very dark, widyand well, the first snowfall is coming.  The one that happened last week at night does not count since no one I know even saw it,

By the time they woke up, the snow had melted.

But I saw it!  In fact I stepped up to the sliding glass door at 4:30 AM and marveled at it.

That was when a big bolt of lightning hit followed by a gingormous clap of thunder.

Scared the pajamas off me!

 

Strange weather we are having…

So I woke up around my now usual time, 3:47 and saw the first snow fall of the season.  I stood next to the sliding glass door looking at it and pondering the usual first snow of the season thoughts when suddenly…

Lightning!

Not little lightning but big flashes.  Three in all.  Followed by big claps of thunder.

Boy did I back away from that door.

Well, jumped up and away is more like it.

Mother Nature.  You sure got me this time.