My First Official Three Days of Being a Country Digger

'Tis a strange thing, accomplishing a dream. We are here: on our land, in our trailer, unemployed. Our dream (well, not exactly our dream). We did it. We actually cussing did it. For three nights now we've watched the sun melt down the surrounding hills without hearing a single city noise (plenty of cows, foxes, donkeys and birds though). We've gone to sleep with all windows swung wide open, not even bothering to lock our door. We have risen every morning, had coffee under our big ol' oak tree, and then headed out to our respective areas on the property to sweat and dig and shovel. I've planted lettuce, attempted to build a duck pond (horrible turn-out), raked my ass off, planted four trees, pulled down a fence, and shoveled decomposed granite like a madman. Oh, and we went to the feed store and bought our very first bale of hay! If there is a heaven, this is ours.

But still there is a dichotomy of emotions running through me right now. Sorrow is one. My dear friend, Jess, hosted a going away party for me the night before I left, and the loss of the closeness of friends is still fresh inside of me. Knowing you can meet up with someone at any time if you need to is something I no longer have. And that is OK, but sad at the same time.
Fear is another one. Fear seems to want to jump down our throats at every moment, and if we drop our guard, it's terribly easy to be pulled under. Fear that I won't be able to make a living is the one I've lost sleep over for the past month. I just up and quite the only career I've ever had, and a career that made me blissfully happy. I have no idea what comes next for me, and now that I'm here, it's becoming more and more clear that "working and living off one's land" stopped being realistic with The Little House on the Prarie (God did Michael Landon make that look awesome). In my stronger moments, which thankfully are more often than not, I know I will find something that will bring me joy and cold hard cash, but I can't lie and say that pursuing this dream isn't the scariest thing I've ever done.

Anywho, let's get down to what's really interesting: the ducks. Since they are my very first farm animals, and I know absolutely NOTHING about them, maybe one of you will see these photos and be able to help. One of them is a bit smaller than the other, but what's worrisome is that her face seems to have failed to grow feathers. It's actually pretty freaky looking, and I'm going to guess, not normal (considering her sister has facial feathers and they are the same age and born of the same mother). So if you look at her and know a thing or two about feathering, do tell. It would be a crying shame if my very first farm animal loses all her feathers and ends up bald. What in the hell would she tell the chickens?

Feather-full Face

Featherless Face

No Caption Necessary