more gardening

Out in the garden on Monday afternoon I suddenly realized I couldn't see or hear any of our ducks - then I found them, in the field, all of them!  Captain and his two were their side of the fence and the two groups just on the other side near where Hedda was taken.  There was no aggro, all were just quietly pecking through the grass in their own little groups.  I drove the 24 back up towards the garage and the 3 others went back to the big pond.

All of them are pretty territorial, they know where they belong, but the few "trouble makers" among the
13 feel they have to make their piratical excursions.  With both gates of the youngsters' enclosure now being open the odd invasion happens, from their side as well as they always seem to think the food elsewhere must be better than their own.
The 11 get driven back pretty sharpish when they venture out, usually by black Jay-Z.

On this occasion I clicked the camera too soon and got a fuzzy picture, but I did manage to capture him coming back out, chasing having been completed!

Just while taking the two snaps above I saw a flash of pale orange-red flying by and settle on top of the big cedar, I got all excited and thought it was a jay which we hadn't seen for while ...                                            ...  no it wasn't, it was a pigeon!







I had been really disappointed I hadn't got the camera with me on Monday when all 27 were together at the far end of Captain's enclosure, so yesterday I made a point of taking it with me hoping they would repeat the get-together.  No, they didn't.

I had ducky company though of the 13 while I tackled the huge dogwood facing the sun lounge, reducing it to just a few red twigs, and then moved on to the Kiftsgate rose and the Weigelia near the stile.  I managed to fill 2 big builders' bags without trouble which John dragged away to behind the donkey shelter in between the two fields again.  He doesn't seem to mind doing that, is it a case of "boys' toys"?

Didn't quite manage to capture white Daisy as she poked her head up between the greenery under the day lily, but I did get a nice shot of black Jay-Z.