We put the plug back into our main pond at Struan Farm a few weeks ago so that it could refill after its winter clean up. Since then mother ducks have been there with ducklings, and a trio look to have decided this may be their permanent home. I've enjoyed watching them mingle with our decoys Hughey, Dewey, Louie and Tui. Haven't been able to capture that with my camera just yet!
The big news is that we put the plug in Paradise Pond or "P2" this past weekend. It's filled up quickly. Can't wait for the ducks to discover it too.
Next we will finish landscaping the surrounds with native plants/trees. We've already planted some manuka/tea tree and flax, although the sheep did rip some of the smaller flax out on us. So the next installment will happen in winter when it's wet and John will fence things off from marauding sheep. There is some talk of putting limestone rocks to make more of a natural looking waterfall too, but we may be dreaming.
Farm Girl got onto the thistles in this part of the farm this past weekend. She'd dropped that ball and it was starting to look a bit atrocious. The Mad Mower, aka John, also went down to our new picnic area and the grass by the Mangaotaki rapids on his mower, it now looks like maintained lawn in both places, beautiful! He may be making a habit out of this, rather like what has happened with our front roadside Pet Paddock.
And this was a man who used to give me grief about picking up fallen branches in the paddocks; now he's mowing them....ahem.
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