dobby_the_duck on Instagram

Since 90% of what I post on Instagram involves ducks or chickens, 

I've decided to start posting on 

dobby_the_duck 

instead of on my personal Instagram. 

Sometimes Tasha, who posts on Your Daily Dose of Duck on tumblr,  dobbytheduck.tumblr.com 

will also be adding pictures to Dobby's Instagram.
Follow Dobby on Instagram and tumblr 

to maximize the cute in your life!

Another Day with Ducks

Check out the cute rain boots my mom got for me!
Just in time, the rains have started and the yard is getting muddy.

And that rain brought about the discovery that our Kia Sedona was designed with the perfect dimensions for carrying two bales of straw! 

(Usually we only buy one bale at a time.)

Now the fun begins. 

The ducks and chickens get to spread the straw 

while looking for seeds. 

I'm For Ducks!

Creating crowdfunding campaigns has caused me to think quite a bit about people and what their giving says about them. The world is full of causes, from frogs to children to fandoms, from personal to global. Well, really, all causes are personal to someone. And what might be vitally important to me may not even be on your radar, which doesn't make me better than you or you completely heartless, it only means that we care passionately about different things. It may be that you don't know about my cause, but if you did you would become an advocate. It may be that even if you knew all about my cause you might still choose to put your time and energy some where else. That's not only o.k. it's a good thing!

There are too many causes in the world for any one person to care about them all, or even know about them all. And imagine a world where everyone supported the same cause, that would leave a whole lot of important issues languishing in the shadows. 

There's a meme that floats through my facebook feed now and then that states:

"Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate."

Sometimes I need that reminder. If other people have a cause that I don't support, even if it's a cause that I strongly disagree with, it doesn't really help anything if I get in their face about it. It's a rare day when doing so changes anyone's mind. And because people champion causes that are meaningful to them for personal reasons, people take it personally when I don't support their cause. 

But back to the crowdfunding, which is what caused me to ponder these things. In 2014 my husband was raising funds to get a book published. The book, Radical Family! Parenting: A Guide for Parenting with Compassion, Honesty, Respect, and Unconditional Love, is now complete. You can learn more about it Here. 

When we had 15 days left in our campaign to raise $5,000 we had raised $1,685 in pre-ordered copies. That week I received an e-mail from Indiegogo about a campaign to raise $50,000 to fund the first sonic vibrator. Now there's nothing wrong with trying to get funding for a vibrator. The variety of causes on indiegogo is diverse and includes those heartbreaking, breath taking, and down right crazy. People fund all different campaigns, and that's great. People choose to fund things that inspire them, bring them hope, give hope or help to others, and that bring them pleasure. I'm not judging anyone for what they choose to fund. But as we struggled to raise $5,000, it was interesting to see that with 15 days to go the vibrator had been over funded. 507 people had contributed $68,842! And the least amount they had given, the lowest perk, was $130. 

That got me thinking about how people spend their money. What they are willing to back financially, and what they think is just a nice idea. It caused me to think about the crowdfunding campaigns I've supported, which include: top surgery for a transgender person, summer camp for a teen, a tasting room for a cidery, and a book of poetry. What caused me to contribute to each one? What did my contributions say about me and what I support? I suppose it shows that I support people in being who they are, following their passions, and having experiences that encourage them. 

We all have different causes that speak to our souls, inspire us to give, change the way we live, or give us a reason to get up in the morning. Ultimately, it's my hope that we will focus on promoting what we love instead of bashing what we hate. We can support each others passions simply by being aware that there are endless causes in the world and each one is important to someone. 

My friend Jeff challenged people to post what they were for on facebook, instead of posting what they were against. I decided to write out a statement of what I am for as a reminder to myself. Here's what I came up with:  

I'm for compassion, respect, and remembering that we are all in this together. 

I'm for recognizing that children are people, and people sometimes need support in getting their needs met. I'm also for remembering that other people's needs are at least as important as mine.

I'm for crocheting, gardening, chickens, ducks, baking, music, spending time with the people I love, and solitude.

I'm for making mistakes, trying again, trying something different, and moving on when that's the best thing to do.

I'm for following passions, chasing dreams and not giving up on myself or anyone else.

♥ What are you for?

Visit

Help Dobby Find His Dream Duck 

to learn more about #FundItForward Week 

and which campaigns Dobby has selected as his favorites.

Much of the content of this blog post originally appeared April 15, 2013, on With The Family. 

Ducktails

Drakes grow a special curly feather, the drake feather. In breeds that are monomorphic, meaning that the ducks and drakes look alike, the drake feather can help you tell males and females apart. My ducks are dimorphic, which means you can usually tell them apart quite easily. However, the males will spend a few months a year with eclipse plumage. Eclipse plumage is generally less flashy than the feathers the drakes have during breeding season. For wild birds eclipse plumage plays a role in protecting the drakes while they are molting their flight feathers. Once they have their new flight feathers they are back to their usually dapper selves and ready to fly away from predators. 

Although many domestic breeds no longer have the ability to fly, they still go through the molting process and will display eclipse plumage.

In the 1950's the Ducktail was a hairstyle popular with young men. The duck seems an odd symbol of masculinity. This makes me wonder who first came up with the idea for this hairstyle. Was it a young man who grew up on a farm? Or, was it a gentleman strolling by the town pond? I guess it's time for some research. 

Ducky Barnes at the Door

The sliding door was open just a crack

 Ducky Barnes decided to stop by and say Hi!

Nap Time

Ducks are big on naps.

The challenge is taking a picture of them without waking them up.

They usually take a morning nap and late afternoon nap.
A duck's life is exhausting.

Molting: A Harbinger of Autumn

The ducks are still in the process of losing their juvenile feathers 

as they transform into flashy adults. 

Well, the boys are flashy, 

Herman is just her usual adorable self. 

The chickens are molting, too, as they do every fall.

Shedding tired old feathers and growing in fresh feathers 

can be pretty messy. 

 A truly pretty mess.

 Treasures can be discovered across the yard

 as we search for the best feathers to save

 for crafts, sharing with friends, or simply because 

each one is a miniature masterpiece. 

With the molt well under way,
there is a dust bath in the shadow of my rain garden.

 

 The ducks and I look forward to the autumn rain.

The chickens will great the rain 

with disdain.