Big day out... for people and ducks

Today we decided to make the spontaneous decision to go strawberry picking. We didn't get to go last summer and it had been two years since I had made any strawberry jam. The weather was good, was not swelteringly hot, and the berries were ripe. 

H. was a hard worker and picked a lot of berries.

Don't let those two full buckets fool you, some people were not enthused about picking strawberries. 

We ended up with 16 quarts. Less than we have picked in the past, but then we have fewer people both picking and eating these days. 

The other exciting event that happened today was that the giant baby ducks have been here a week. It also means that the birds have been stuck in the coop for a week as the new birds acclimatized. Today we could finally let them all out again. The giant baby ducks were not entirely sure but eventually left the pen and did a little exploring.

They are starting to hang with the other ducks a little bit. Here you can see exactly how much bigger the giant baby ducks are compared to the adult ducks on the right.

I'm not entirely convinced the giant baby ducks are actually ducks. Every other duck we have ever had has taken one look at the pond and immediately dived in. Here you can see the giant baby ducks looking at the pond, but definitely keeping their distance. This is very un-duck-like behavior. 

J. and I did have to herd them back into the pen at the end of the day, but that's true for even the geese and ducks who have been here for a while. Only the chickens take themselves to bed.

Tomorrow is jam. Guess what I'll be writing about tomorrow night.