Ruth's Ducklings

Meet Ruth, my grandma (my mom's mom), and oh my, was she a lovely woman in all the ways a wife, mother, grandmother, and friend can be lovely.

Ruth was a schoolteacher and loved her family and community well. She kept charge of her home in a gentle, orderly, and masterful way, ensuring everything was in its place and ready for company at a moment's notice. Ruth was an excellent cook and cookie maker and had funny rules about bread bags being cut down so there were no long plastic "tails" on the bag as sandwiches were made.

She was a modest woman but always looked like she could step into a nice restaurant or attend a ladies' tea. I don't believe I ever saw her in what I would call "grubby" clothes. Even when she was working hard in the kitchen, she looked lovely and her working space was clean.

We all knew she valued keeping a tidy house, but as kids, my sisters and I never felt like we weren't allowed to just be kids. Her vacuum lines were impeccable, and I can't recall seeing dishes piled up in her sink. Legend has it that Ruth may have been buried with a can of Pledge.

Her sweetheart, Donald, my grandpa, cherished her, and together they created a fantastic partnership in life... but maybe let's not talk about the deal they made on how they would "help" each other on the road as their eyesight was failing. Yes, perhaps they were stubborn Swedes, but they were lovely!

My grandpa was a bit of a teaser, and I can still hear her voice say, "Oh, Donald!" when she had enough of his silliness. I miss my grandparents. The things I would ask them about now... the list is pretty long.

What does Ruth have to do with homesteading? Well, I'll tell you what... her penchant for keeping a neat home has led me to notice something about the difference between baby chicks and baby ducks.

Our baby ducklings, the Muscovy ducks, are very neat little things compared to the baby chicks.

From the beginning, the chicks made a mess of everything. They pooped on the roof of their house, in their food, in their water, pretty much everywhere... and the dust from scratching and pecking was EVERYWHERE! I knew they would be messy, but it was next level. Grandma Ruth would have been mortified to see the amount of dust in our entryway before we moved the chickens to the worm shed! Although, she would have been glad to help me clean it up with her can of Pledge.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/102bd3_469ae6d0626446d4824bb169713cd458/720p/mp4/file.mp4

The ducklings, on the other hand, have been surprisingly neat! They do not poop (fingers crossed it stays this way) in their food and water, and they seem to have created a "bathroom" corner in their setup. I get that chicks behave differently than ducklings with regards to scratching and pecking, but I expected the ducks to be at least a little messy... but no, they are so different!

Their waterer was filled this morning at 6am. This picture was taken around 2pm...nothing weird floating in the water at all! If this was the chick's waterer, I would have already refreshed it a couple times!

Part of our surprise has to do with a past experience of being "substitute" farmers for some friends in Missouri while they were on vacation. While they were away, we visited their farm daily to care for their gardens and animals, including their traditional farm ducks. My friend warned me about how messy these critters were. We were basically informed to "just spray down everything; they will make a mess of it anyway." Indeed, they were messy--we were gifted one of those ducks for a holiday roast that year. Our friends were over their untidy ducks.

I am not sure what Ruth (and Don) would think of the homestead, but I do think Grandma Ruth would be drawn to the "neatness" of our little duckling flock.

Ruth's ducklings...