10:30 a.m.

I've been away from the keys for a few days... hence the gap between this entry and the last. Lilly's passing has taken its toll on me. Her ashes are safely back and Piper has chosen Mercy as his new companion. While he is not over his grief and does not regard Mercy with nearly the same affection as he did his dear Lilly, she is keeping him distracted. On the other hand, Mercy (who never liked boy ducks before) has fallen head-over-heals in love with Piper. She follows him everywhere, bobbing her head at him--so cute! Boy is she chubby though... Piper likes the chubby gals! You'd never guess she once refused to eat when she first arrived.

Noel and Elfie (newcomers) both went to the vet to have their foot and leg injuries looked at. They appear to be in pretty good shape--old battle wounds, our vet called them. Elfie tested positive for coccidia though, so both girls are on a vet prescribed, two week regimen of Albon. We'll test them again in another week to be sure we've gotten all of the buggers out of them.

In other news, we have approved adopters coming to meet Romy & Michele today. As always, it will be both bitter and sweet to see them go. They've been such characters since arriving. Never does a day pass when one or both of them doesn't pull some kind of silly stunt. They are sneaky little buggers! Always trying to get to the next pen over, trying to get through gates to other pens--stinkers! And they're both loud and quacky and wonderful.

But... their leaving makes room in the pen for Noel and Elfie to eventually slide over. We took them in despite not having proper room for them, so this adoption has timed itself perfectly and it was very unexpected. Isn't it funny how that happens? Hmm...

In other news Bella appears to have sprained her leg (in a flat, hay-bedded barn no less... how do they do that?). She went to the vet yesterday for an x-ray just to ensure there were no breaks or anything hidden. Seems it's just a bad sprain, so she's on pain meds and an anti-inflammatory to keep her comfortable. She's also staying in the big barn all day, where she can't get into any trouble. Billy and Rilo come up to visit her on the other side of the barn throughout the day and she can see and hear the rest of the flock outside, so she's not lonely. At night she gets her very own kennel so none of the other ducks disturb her in her recovery. Poor Bella....

Now it's time to head out with the camera and take some photos!

2:20 p.m.

Adopters were wonderful, but even so, I teared up as they got in their car to drive away with little Romy and Michele. What wonderful, happy, funny little ducks they are. They will bring such joy to their new family. And I will miss them so much.

More Photos:

"That's one BIG duck!" -- Ranger quacks

Ring around the rosie...

Feathers full of posies...

Let's play a new game--follow the leader!

Oh Henry!