Morning routine
As promised, I have some new pictures to show you of Dewey & Daisy. First of all, I want to show you a critter of a different sort. A couple of years ago, Todd brought home some little feeder fish for our ducks to play with (okay, eat). Along with them came two tadpoles. He put those in the fish pond and we really didn't see too much of them after that. Well, about a month ago, Todd was working in the duck pond and found a frog! Now for those of you in frog country, that may not be a big thing, but I've lived in the Phoenix area all my life and have never seen a frog here! Todd is sure that this is one of our tadpoles, but instead of taking him back to the fish pond, he left him in the duck pond. A little while later, Dewey & Daisy were in the pond and totally freaked when the frog surfaced! You'd think they'd seen the Loch Ness monster! Daisy, especially, was pretty scared, so Todd finally relocated the frog back to the fish pond. (This is the frog on Todd's hand.) As secure as our duck pen is now (and therefore the pond, since it's inside), we don't expect to see Mr Frog over there anytime soon. I know Daisy is relieved.
When planning the rebuilding of the duck pen, it was important that it not only be secure, but that it be a place where Dewey & Daisy would feel comfortable, happy, and safe. We kept the same footprint (12x25") and the pond is in the same spot, but the walls & roof are now entirely made of metal pipe and hardware cloth (a welded metal mesh). The hardware cloth is secured to the pipe supports with screws and washers every 6-8" and there's absolutely no way a predator can get through it. It's shaped a little like a barn with the peak at 8' so it's very easy for Todd & I to walk around inside. In addition to having sturdy walls & roof, it was important that the ducks have a source of shade. They have a wooden house for nesting in, but they're still spooked by it and won't go in. Summers in Arizona can get hot so Todd found some good garden shade cloth and secured it over the sides and top of the pen that is over the pond (the north end). Now that the sun is further south, they're getting more sun in the pen, but it's not so hot here and they enjoy preening in the sun in the mornings. All that was to explain why there are some weird shadow lines in some of these pictures (and why the pictures have a golden cast to them). This first shot is of Dewey (left) and Daisy (right) in the morning when they first went out for the day. You can see that the dirt is nicely filled in around the edges of the pond. We're working to get the grass to come back, and it's better now than a month ago (when these pictures were taken), but in the next pictures you'll see why we're having issues.
Their morning routine includes having fresh grain and some Romaine lettuce. Here's a picture of Dewey helping herself to the lettuce. That's right; it's not cut up for them. It's not even ripped off the core. They seem to take great enjoyment in pecking at the head of lettuce and, interestingly, they typically go for the part closest to the core first. What I like about this picture is that it shows how Dewey will put her foot on the lettuce to hold it still while she nibbles at the leaves. This is a common thing for her. I'm not sure where Daisy was at the time; perhaps she had ripped some lettuce off and was eating it at a distance. And when the lettuce leaves are all eaten, they like to play keep-away with the core!
After their snack, it was time to get in the pond and splash around for awhile. For some reason, Dewey contemplated her splash down for quite some time. I don't know if it was because we were watching or if it was the camera, but she stood at the edge of the pond for a very long time. I love how she's got her toes curled over the edge in this picture.
So what is their absolute favorite thing to do outside? Swimming? no Eating? no Preening? no
Their most favorite activity is doodling in the mud! Todd has created an area at the opposite end of the pond (in a corner by the door) for them to use as a mud bog. They love slapping the mud with their feet...they look like they're crushing grapes at a winery! And they love digging around for worms and bugs. But sometimes they're just a little too lazy to go over there. And they like to dig while they're floating on the pond. So what happens? Craters appear in the area around the pond. Now, in this picture they aren't floating, but you can get an idea of what they're doing. 
And here's a close-up of Daisy. She got her bill drilled down about as far as she can go!
And here's our little sweetie coming up for air. She must think she's at the spa getting some sort of fancy facial. The mud is literally dripping off her bill and you can see a hole in the ground where her bill has been. (You can also see a reflection of the duck pen and our backyard fence in the pond. There's actually about 3' between the pen and the fence but this picture makes it look like it's a tight fit.)
So that's why we're having trouble bringing the grass back, and why their pond always looks so muddy. You see, it's not enough to dig in the mud. They have to stick their face in the pond to rinse off each time too. And lest you think that this little mud crater isn't very big, after a day or two without filling them in, those holes go down about 6" deep all around the pond liner. Todd is constantly filling them in (and scooping mud out of the bottom of the pond). I see sod in our future!
One last thing: this is what happens when we don't collect eggs for a few days. This is their nest in an area not too far from the pond. Some days they lay them inside the house, other days in the nest by the pond. But never, never do they lay them in the duck house that Todd built for them.
