Blogs

[#1]

Recently when watering our outdoor plants at Valley Forge Flowers, one of our employees stumbled on a Mallard duck sitting in one of our planters.  She seemed very content with her “digs” and we let her be.  Soon after, we noticed that there was one, then two and now a nest of four eggs she is keeping warm and protected (we caught a glimpse of the eggs when she would leave to find food.)

We are a bunch of “mother hens” here (and, interestingly enough, Mallard mothers are called hens), so we quickly made some home improvements.  You know I am all about Outdoor Living!  We moved an espalier and blueberry plant in front of the nest for privacy and safety and the nest now comes complete with its own bath/water bowl. 

We have all promised not to disturb our new feathered family while being as protective as possible.  I have been told that it can take upwards of 26-30 days for the eggs to hatch and possibly a full 24 hours for the chicks to come out of the shells.  I can’t wait to meet our little, web-footed friends and will surely send out an announcement to everyone when they arrive.  Would love to hear if you have a similar tale of a wild little family in your own backyard.  Remember when my son Kyle rescued a baby squirrel?  (My blog “Backyard Friends and one very special squirrel” 10/30/14)