Muscovy ducks, lucky ducks

As if we didn't already have enough animals, I semi-accidentally won some ducks in a fundraising auction - as you do.  I say semi-accidentally because I really did think someone would outbid me - 30 bucks for three ducks seemed a bit too good to be true (hey, that's only ten bucks a duck, about the price of a roast chicken at the supermarket).

Ooh look, a photobombing hen!  To her left is Mr Petrov King-Duck (ie, P King-Duck, har har) and to her right is one of his two sister/wives Tatiana and Anastasia. 

In spite of our names for them, Muscovy ducks aren't a Russian breed, they actually hail from the Americas.  The name has different origins depending on where you look, and possibly relates to their musky smell, or their fondness for eating mosquitos.  Another article here suggests the Muscovy was named after the Muscovite Trading Company which plied its trade on the South American Coast. 

A very good thing about Muscovies is that they don't quack, so are perfect for a smaller backyard.  They also keep your garden clean, as they love to eat insects, snails, slugs and bugs.  Mmmmmmm, tasty bugs, nom nom nom.

Aren't I a lucky ducky to have them?!

Cave canem - beware of the dog

Thanks to SA Dog Rescue for this

A useful tool for us all, especially my 4 year old DD who just doesn't seem to get it about not getting in the puppy's face all the time *sigh*.  This 'owning a dog' lark is certainly proving to be a learning experience for all of us, including Jenny the puppy!

All the news that's fit to print

Thanks Fodey.com for this awesome newspaper cutting generator!

Thrift shop manifestation (with chickens)

Oooooooooooh!  The op-shop gods were smiling on  me today!

Holds 2-3 cups, and doesn't leak

I thoroughly believe in op-shop manifestation, as described to me by a friend years and years ago.  It goes like this - at some point, if you are a good and (moderately) virtuous person who charity shops regularly, things that you have been looking for appear as if by magic, when least expected.

You could be going to the op-shop for a totally different thing (today I was looking for winter PJs for DS, didn't find them) and you turn around and there's something you've been thinking about for ages.

Squeeeee! He's delightful

It's been something of a joke among my girlfriends
that I drink a lot of tea, and love chickens, but
don't have a chicken teapot.  I was actually eyeing one
off at the markets on Sunday, but I was already in

trouble for buying a child's 'tag-along' bike (like the one you can order here), and a decorative plate with, you guessed it, chickens on it, and so my lovely friend C said I couldn't get it.  She's limited me to one chicken item per Sunday on our weekly trek to the Gepps Cross Markets (fruit and veg one side, car boot sale the other)!  As she points out, there is little point in saving money on groceries if I then go and spend the saved amount on trash / treasure.

But now I'm really really glad I listened to her (and sometimes I don't) because this one blows it out of the water.  AND it was only FIVE DOLLARS.  I'd have happily paid 30 for it, and didn't have to.  Thankyou, oh op-shop gods!

Poisonous mushrooms, anyone?

Picture the scene - we're spending the day at a friend's house, and the kids (Darling Son (7), Darling Daughter (4) and their equally darling friend (8)) are playing over the road at an open neighbourhood garden.
Me: Lunchtime, guys!
Kids: We've already had lunch today, Mummy, we ate things from the garden.  We've had peaches and nectarines and mushrooms.
Me: Mushrooms?  Are you serious?!?!?!

Exhibit A: the mushroom in question

First I had to check they weren't kidding - they weren't.  Then I had to get them to bring a sample of the mushroom - they did.  Then us adults frantically got on the internet to Google 'poisonous mushrooms of Adelaide' - and there are plenty!
So the Poisons Hotline was called, and the mushroom in question described.  Verdict of the Poisons person was that it was 50/50 harmless/harmful identification, hard to decide over the phone.
YIKES!
How do my family get into these situations?!?!
After much parental wailing and gnashing of teeth (and consumption of lunch by 3 very un-bothered children) it was decided to 'wait and see', given that the kids had been over there for a couple of hours, and the Poisons person said that ill-effects would show 1-2 hours after consumption.

So we popped them in front of a movie and kept an extremely watchful eye on them for signs of fainting, vomiting, seizures, etc etc.  And by tea time it was decided that they had got lucky and eaten mushrooms that had sprung up from mushroom compost on the vegie garden.  Phew!

'A recipe for disaster' or 'How the great are fallen'

Sooooooooooooo,
the kids have been taking roller skating lessons at St Clair's, in Woodville.  It's $3 for an hour-long group session on the rink with an instructor who gives you tips, helps you improve your technique, etc.  The kids love it, so I decided I could do this too - I skated many eons ago in my distant youth, with the skates you wore over your shoes - remember them??

They're pretty smart looking for weapons of wrist destruction!

I was really stoked to pick up this pretty pair of purple quads at the junk markets this week for ten bucks - awesome!  I thought I'd practise for a bit at home to get the feel of them.  And then suddenly - BANG!!!!!  I go arse over tit and land hard on the kitchen floor.  A trip to the Emergency Department later, I have a small fracture diagnosed and a lovely cast.  Must remember to wear pads next time!

Oops, how embarrassing

A great artist captures the feline gaze - meow!

Every cat owner has experienced this patient, hopeful, polite but persistent feline gaze, so beautifully captured in this sketch by Australian artist Norman Lindsay.  I love this funny little sketch because it really is a cat-lover's POV,watching two little heads popping up over the edge of your tray or table, just waiting to see if there are any tasty morsels to come their oh so deserving way.

A greeting card of this scene is framed on my wall, because these two pusses are very like our handsome lad Lister, and our previous tabby girl Gemma, who died in 2010.  I love the contrast between the black cat's slightly disdainful frown ('haven't you finished yet, selfish human?') and the saucer eyes of a really rotund greyish cat who doesn't need any extra calories ('I'm visibly wilting here, please feed me').

Lindsay's cat sketches are gorgeous, and just a small part of his body of work, which included sculptures, books, articles, cartoons and scale models (check out this for a potted history of this creative bad boy, whose prints and novels were often banned as pornographic).  He was also a boxer!