Hopalong Hollow....

Hopalong Hollow, where the Blueberries grow sweet, and the moss feels soft beneath your feet.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Babies for Tilly!

     It's a beautiful day!     
 
      Now for  a sweet story. I explained in the 2nd post beneath this one, that Mathilda (Tilly) the goose has been trying to become a mommy for 7 years to no avail, so I slipped fertilized duck eggs neath her which she's been patiently  sit- sit- sitting on, for weeks. They should have hatched by now. I checked her nest whenever she vacated it for a swimming break, which  occurred about once a day. I became concerned that a hatching just WASN'T going to happen at all; often the eggs smelled bad, I knew some were rotten and had to be tossed. Often the eggs were cold,  and her egg cache began to dwindle. Meanwhile, our duck Mia, hatched 6 little babes in her woodland nest.
   One afternoon I discovered a lone duckling far from Mia's
nest. He was covered in mud and stranded in a little puddle. I noticed that something about him was not quite right, as his little head seemed permanently cocked to the side, his waddle was very unbalanced and often he began to go round and round in circles like a spinning top! I thought he may be blind, or perhaps brain damaged and that his mother had dumped him on purpose.  What would become of  this sweet little special-needs baby? I immediately thought of Tilly, would she take this little fellow as her own?
 

I placed the odd little creature next to her and she gently nudged him beneath her warm feather breast. That's good.... but was it unfair to give her a baby who may be sick and have no ducky future? I did my homework and learned of his condition, wry neck; common in baby ducks and curable with poultry vitamins, hurray!

 Because I don't know if ANY of Tilly's adopted eggs will hatch,  I kidnapped another baby from Mia to add to Mathilda's new family and be a nest mate to the "spinning duckling".

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 See his little head cocked to the side?
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Tilly doesn't mind.
 Now Tilly is the proud mother of two adorable ducklings... she will never know they are not her own goslings, nor will she care.
 Mathilda is a patient and wonderful mother. I knew she would be.
It's a beautiful day!
P.S.I will have the drawing for the bird print next week, thanks to all who entered!

32 comments:

  1. Bonjour,

    Quelle belle histoire ! Je suis toute attendrie. Qu'ils sont beaux ces canetons.
    Lorsque j'étais petite mon grand-père m'en avait offert un. Il me suivait partout !
    En visionnant votre belle vidéo, j'ai pu entendre le cri des paons... En se moment avec la saison des amours, nous avons la même fréquence vous et moi !! sourire !

    Une très belle publication.

    Je vous fais de gros bisous ♡

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  2. I just adore you.

    I was showing Ruben a Youtube video of a horse and her new little filly named Coconut...he just laughed and said, "Anita, you are too much. You make me laugh because you care so much about these creatures..." Yes I do. And I see that you understand the strong force of LOVE in nature, and as I see this special story here, I just want to cry and celebrate the earth for the wonders we have been blessed to behold. From beautiful and perfect fillys to special needs ducks, it is all a wonder. The huge wonder is the "unconditional" love of Tilly who does NOT care if this little being is a gosling or duckling. This momma is built to be a caring caregiver! And the vitamins are HELPING!!!! Well you just tell that little Hawkins that I TOO had a wonky balance disorder for 8 weeks, and I am barely getting better. A few days before my 56th birthday in April, I got hit with vertigo that would not quit. But joy comes in the morning, and finally after all that time, I can wake up with no dizziness.

    Joy, joy, joy. It is a fine day. Anita

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  3. Oh Jeri what a lovely, sweet post and I so enjoyed the little video. I am so glad that wee Hawkins is doing better after taking ducky vitamins. This post is so full of love and joy of life. Thank you.

    FlowerLady

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  4. I LOVE little Hawkins! so very sweet ~ and I'm sure Mistress Tilly will become a most patient & loving Momma ~ you are wonderful for giving her this chance my friend :)
    much xoxoxx,
    L

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  5. Bless your loving, tender heart, Jeri. This has made my day....drying happy tears :)

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  6. Good Morning, Jeri!

    I've been watching and watching for news of little hatchlings! You are the most amazing woman with animals and I'm in awe of your devotion. Sweet, sweet Tilly - such a wonderful mother. And that little Aya! I laughed at loud when she did a somersault over her mother's foot. What a relief to hear that little Hawkins is making progress. With a mom like Tilly, a sister like Aya and of course a "grandmother" like you, he's one lucky ducky! I will be watching to see more on this little family. You've made my day!

    Love from Diane in North Carolina

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  7. Dear Jeri - it is certainly a beautiful day when I come visit you. I am so happy for Tilly and I just know Hawkins will get well and flourish under her loving care. Isn't it so wonderful that animals don't care what is hatched they just want to mother them. Please keep us posted on Hawkins' condition. He is so sweet and fragile.

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  8. So sweet to see little Hawkins sleeping on his adopted momma's foot! I've seen other amazing animal pairings on YouTube, but yours is especially touching because of the backstory. Thank you for the update. The video was endearing. All God's creatures have something to teach us!

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  9. Jeri,
    This just warms my heart... She is such a good mum, and I know the Hawkins will thrive in her care, and yours.. You are such a dear woman... Your tender heart has given care to so many creatures.. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful post.. I truly enjoyed the video, I love the sound of your voice, it is so calming.
    You made my day, dear friend
    fondly,
    Penny

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  10. My goodness Jeri, you have made Tilly the happiest goose alive. you are just adorable.. love your sweet farm!!!!

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  11. Welcome Hawkins and Ava, you have two good and kind Mommas

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  12. Thank you for sharing the wonderful video clip...it brought back SO many lovely childhood memories of summers spent on my grandma's farm. ~ Scattered Seed Samplers ~

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  13. Oh, how heartwarming! I am so glad!!!

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  14. Oh lovely babies ! Touching story. Good luck to Hawkins, poor baby, I hope he will cure neck twisted.
    Thank you Jeri for this photos and vidéo.
    Nice week-end Jeri !

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  15. Jeri - this brought tears to my eyes. How lucky that little Hawkins is to have a caring human and a loving mama in his life. I hope he is cured with the vitamins and good care. Please give us an update. Hugs, Deb

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  16. How precious....and how happy Tilly is to have her very own babies to mother. Keep us updated to their progress!! I have a Mama duck on a nest of eggs right now....they should hatch in a week or two. Nothing sweeter than baby ducklings.

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  17. Jeri...I have tears running down my cheeks. You are one of the most beautiful, loving, kind, and wonderful person I have have ever met. This is the BEST Mother's day story. I'm so happy for Tilly and most of all the wee one who will be treasured like gold even if he isn't perfect. Love and hugs to you my friend.
    Shell and the bunnies

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  18. I think all of you would have done the same thing for both mother and child. I am happy to report that little Hawkins has an upright head now! He is still very hyper however and continues to spin like a whirly-gig several times a day, especially when he gets too excited. But Tilly is just fabulous with him, very patient and protective, She went after the dog today for getting too close.

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  19. What a wonderful story! How lucky you are Jeri to be the caretaker of such wonderful animals. This beautiful story made me cry---happy tears. ♥

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  20. So sweet. Moms and babies are a love story that never ends!

    I'm eager to see how Goldie, our Buff Orpington, takes to the new flock of baby punksters when I let them outside for their afternoon stroll.

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  21. Jeri,

    That was the sweetest post! I enjoyed it so much. Thanks for sharing.

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  22. Jeri Such a heartwarming post !
    I also was reading the comments and was so happy to hear Hawkins head is now upright ! I adore the lovely little life on our hobby farms.

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    1. psst not sure why the comment came up anonymous ~ it is me Willow

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  23. Absolute sweetness~ your heart is so very tender <3 LOVE that she is a momma!

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  24. What a beautiful story. A happy mama with her babies'. You are so kind to help her out. xoxoxo

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  25. That was so sweet of you to do both for the baby and mama.

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  26. How sweet, lovely story.so precious!

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  27. adorable! so happy to see the 2 proud mamas and happy ducklings. I came by from Shell's blog :) all's well that ends well

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  28. This is just too precious to describe!! How sweeeet! So very sweet!!
    Mathilda looks so proud! Good Mommy she shall be :-)
    Buttercup was always so set to have babies wish she could have.

    Blessings and Hugs, Linnie

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  29. Aww so sweet! Did the mother duck mind the second baby disappearing? We had one of our baby chickens with that finny head side thing, but I didn't research it. I just let nature figure it out, and interestingly it went away on its own. But I imagine things happen usually to those little guys (as it was a bunch of chicks with no parents yet, we were able to keep them safe, which I think helped.)

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  30. Dear Jeri, this is one of the sweetest, cutest, most heartwarming things I have ever seen.
    Thank goodness the vitamins are helping!
    You are a Fairy Godmother! :)
    Warm hugs.

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