mr moor's photostream  

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I don't think I've ever been away from Flickr without a sign of life as long as this time. I'm sorry.
This is just a note to inform you that all is well, no need to comment as I am not in a commenting mood myself.

Like in many parts of the world it has gotten really cold in Holland over the weekend, right now it's freezing -3c during the day and the nights are bitter cold with temperatures around -8/-10c, it's supposed to get even colder further on in the week. We've had a dusting of snow but it's wind free and sunny.
I've dreaded this all winter, I guess we've been spoiled with our extended fall.

Yesterday I penned the older ducks, five of them, because I didn't want to risk frozen feet. The younger/stronger ducks are still outside but they have warm shelters with nests of straw.
Everyone is doing well so far. Last year and the year before we've had nights of -17c which they could handle, so hopefully they will sail through this okay.
The geese are hardy and I don't have to worry about them. I've given them piles of straw to sit on so they can warm their feet (but they aren't using them yet so they must be fine). The only problem is that the canal is constantly frozen so I break the ice a couple of times per day to let the Canada geese bathe and spend the night in the water. Hans and Grietje (our domestic geese) have baby pools which they enjoy.
Patsy is doing well, she's got a warm coat and enough good hay, summers are harder on sheep than winters.
The cats have cabin fever already and quarrel alot, I had to put the litter trays inside because the yard is frozen solid. But it's cozy during the evenings with all seven on the couch.

The cold asks for some adjustments but we've been here before so it should all work out, it just takes more time and of course I worry about the critters.
I've been doing pretty well this winter as far as the doldrums are concerned but January and February are always difficult. The best thing is to keep busy, and busy I am.

In other news, my mother is in hospital since past Wednesday. I've reported earlier about her Bronchitis which seemed to be under control with antibiotics but last week it got worse, she had trouble breathing and had anxiety attacks. She's on oxygen and medication but because of that her sugar levels are unstable (mom's a diabetic). I've visited her past Saturday.
It seems she's doing a little better and when the oxygen in her blood is at an acceptable level she can go home, hopefully somewhere this week. No need to keep her longer in hospital as the nurses in the home can look after her too.

Enough to keep me occupied these days. I'm sorry for not being online, work, the cold and the critters, concern about mom, it asks all of my attention and by the end of the day I'm beat.
The cold should last till mid next week, what happens after that is still uncertain so till then I'll keep a low profile on the internet. I hope you're all doing well, I'll see you when I see you:-)

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After ten years you'd think you've seen it all, experienced every fact of life with the critters, not.
Even though the year can be devided into different periods, seasons, patterns... this year a major change occured with our Canada geese!

We started with six geese ten years ago, our white domestic couple Hans & Grietje, and our two couples of Canada geese Felix & Fay and Rudie & Riet. For three years, untill they matured, they all shared one pen but when the hormones kicked in the Canadas started to harras the white geese.
Hans and Grietje got their own partition of the goose pen and peace had returned.
Our four Canucks lived together like a happy little flock except for breeding season when the ganders got overly protective of their ladies and started to fight eachother. For the duration of mating season I had to separate them untill molt set in and could reunite them again for the rest of the year. But this summer that all changed.

You may remember my reports about the arrival of the swan family this summer. I enjoyed those big white birds on our canal but it appeared that our Canadas didn't like them one bit. When the swans visited, the geese (specially the guys) went ballistic and almost honked their heads off trying to chase the swans away. In the wake of this event the ganders started to become very agressive towards eachother and I was left no other option than to separate them, even though breeding season was over for a long time.

I suppose the ganders considered the male swan a threat which triggered them to protect their ladies more fiercly.
I'd hoped they would settle down again once the swans moved on, so over a period of a few months I tried to reunite them every other week but to no avail. They would tolerate eachother for a couple of hours untill one of the guys made a wrong move and the fighting would start again.
I decided to give it up and keep them away from eachother permanently. It saddens me because they looked so beautiful together, but I don't want injuries.

A positive aspect of this new situation is that there is no competition between the guys anymore, I guess there's always been some rivalry between them. Rudie has always been the leader and Felix had to play second fiddle, but no more, both guys are now boss in their own pen, which means I have much closer contact to the guys individually (so I get something out of it in the end afterall;-)

Happy Feathery Friday from Fay and all the honkers at Foppe's Acre.

Felix' Feathery Friday Cafe has opened its doors and our Canucks would like to invite you to share a picture of your feathered friends for today's happy hour.
Drinks are on the house! Cheers!!

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The only thing blue around here is the sky!;-)

Beautiful start of the week, after a cold night (-4c) the sun came out and shone over a white frozen landscape. A big contrast with the spring-like weekend we've had, but the cold is not going to last. Tonight will be another cold night and then the temperatures will rise again and the wind and rain will return.

Blue Monday.
The third monday of January is supposed to be the worst day of the year, the weather is crappy; people realised they failed their New Year's resolutions; end of the month and money is tight.
How silly, like it's going to be all better on Tuesday. Someone must have made it up to give people a reason to whine, another high-light (down-light) in the most boring month of the year after the December festivities. An insult to people who really suffer in the darkest days of the year.

So let's all forget about it and celebrate today! Hey, we're given another beautiful day to be grateful for all that we DO have!

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For some unknown reason I woke up with a smile this morning;-)
So after feeding the cats I went outside and greeted the sunshine and my sweet Patsy dear.

I'd reserved a patch of Patsy's pasture for our Canada geese to forage on in winter but since the geese don't get along anymore I can't let them have it (I cut grass for them, no worries, they don't come short of anything). So every Saturday Patsy is allowed to eat some good grass which she enjoys (by now she's fed up with hay) and I enjoy seeing her graze.
It's a wonderful day in Friesland so I'll be out and about spending much needed time with the critters.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Everyone who has the care over animals has been there once or twice, when someone is ill and even the vets don't know what to do anymore. Or when a beloved pet passes away and you need that extra push to carry on. I know I've been there.
At these times I always burn a candle in front of my old buddy Ratje's photo, it served its purpose but I wanted to create something more permanent. For years I've been trying to find a statue of Saint Francis, he's the patron saint of animals afterall, but never could find one that I liked. I decided to create something myself that I could use whenever I need some guidance and figured other people might find comfort in it too.

I'm happy and proud to present my Saint Francis Devotion Kit! It's a cute little kit that holds everything when you need that extra push into the right direction;-)