#DuckyAdventures -- It's Finally Up!

One weekend + two excruciating sunburns later, we have ENCLOSURE.
(Sounded nice & dramatic with the suspenseful, yet booming movie voice in my head.)

(Has been a touch windy lately, so just ignore the filthy water, please & thank you!)

The ducklings are in Heaven now that they get to enjoy 24/7 unsupervised swim sessions on the pond!  And I do mean 24/7.  They're all about the night swim especially, and cheep so sweetly as they're splashing around making it difficult for our 3 Koi to sleep (Lasik is bright yellow with brown spectacles, Phantom is pure silvery white, and Cheddar is white with a bright blast of orange on its forehead).

We also planted two Weeping Willow trees in the yard.  Mini-Me is ecstatic and said she can't wait to watch her kids swinging on those branches when they all come to visit Grandma & Grandpa.  Normally I'd cringe at the thought of her ever being old enough to bring grandkids over to play, but I didn't this time.  Maybe because I could see the same vision in those lovely trees.  :)

Next project on the list is the Duck House, but that'll have to wait until graduation week is finished.

Happy #DuckyAdventures to you!

#DuckyAdventures Continue: New-ish Digs

The pond is coming along.
It now has a filter and a fountain.

And since it was Friday...

+ it's been long overdue to move their brooder out of doors...

+ they are much too big for that tiny brooder anyhow...

+ we had a spare dog crate that has gone unused for the last 18 months...

I got out the old deck brush & Dawn dish soap and dismantled the dog crate hard wear.  Scrubbing bubbles would've been no match for all the filth & spider nests (AND wasp's nest).  I was extremely grateful for the "10 foot pole" handle attached to the scrub brush and a high pressured garden hose.

I'm can't stress just HOW extremely!

While that dried, I caulked the seam between the two pond liners, and dammed up the sides a bit while sealing in a couple rocks on either edge.  This way we'll have no washouts thanks to their splashing about.  (We had no black or clear caulking to use, so please don't judge the gray too harshly.  All I care about really is functionality, so no plans on alerting BHG.com or anything here.)  From there I "planted" a lilypad & two mini cattails, for some variety & for eventual shade for the koi we plan to introduce.

Then I transitioned them into the dog crate that had their waterer & feed.

At first the bigger space was pretty overwhelming.  But then they seemed to be quite at home and decided to christen the new digs with an all out mud bath party!

So cute.
So glad those parties don't happen in my house anymore.
No longer in Mini-Me's room, to be specific.
You should see the muddied state of her mirrored closet doors.
On second-thought, no you shouldn't.  Their mess is embarrassing.
(Running for the Windex)

They were so content in their new crate, that even with the door wide open it took a bit of coaxing to get them to come out and discover how close they now are to the pond, not to mention the new amenities.  But once they did, man were they happy!

Obviously they've been in the pond before, but it had been several days, simply because I can't catch them all by myself.  And by the time Mr LKP & Mini-Me are home from their days, it's too late + too chilly for a dip.  However, today brought with it loads of diving + dabbling, and a new discovery: THE waterfall.



Once we've got their house & enclosure built, I will be more at peace with them being able to pond hop without supervision.  I'm sure they'll be in Heaven, but until then guess I've no choice but to be a worry wart of a Mama.  Might be different if we didn't have coyotes in our yard every night & hawks in the air and trees every day.

While they played for hours today, I planted Alyssum along the cracks in the rocks.  We purchased some Irish Moss, however its not made for full sun & considering the only shade we have is the north side of our house Alyssum will have to do for now.  Luckily it's safe to be around ducks, which is a relief.

So there's our progress.

I'm sure before too long there'll be another update.  :)

So....It's a Long Story

And I don't have a lot of time.
However, let's just say Mother's Day came & went.

There was an MIA mother who's 4 little children were lost, searching for her in a busy shopping center parking lot.  Lots of big engines & BIG tires everywhere!

So we gathered them up.  Searched the nearby bushes for their mom and/or their nest.  Nothing.

And no water for miles, mind you.

So *this* mother adopted 4 new babies.

They've been keeping me busy daily with swim sessions & diving lessons & bottom feeding lessons.  They are precious. And have already grown a great deal!

We're trying to keep them as wild as possible.  So a pond & house is in the process of being constructed.  We're only planning on them being here a few months, until all their feathers are good & fit, and they are able to fend for themselves.

They'll we'll take them to their new home on the campus of a local college that has a lovely creek & pond area right in the middle of the lush grounds.  :)

But the time in between has been pretty fun.
Never realized how soothing watching them swim around is for my soul.

Madly in love.

May have to get some domestic ones after they grow up and leave us.

In Case Any of You Have Been Wondering What We've Been Up to......

...the answer is OODLES & OODLES of LatchKey shooting + editing + editing + editing + editing + MORE editing! (With MORE shooting on the calendar, it just might be time to consider outsourcing that blasted editing, just saying.)

Isn't Mini-Me a doll?!

With what little time that's fallen outside of the above explanation being eaten up by LKP's radio gig at the big ol' bi-county fair, Back-to-School stuff galore, High School Booster Club swinging right back into session, 2015 parent fundraising committee picking up where it left off, switching Mini-Me over from Volleyball to her first year of Cross Country, getting prepped for Mini-Me's college schedule to kick in, Young Women/Mutual, finding Mini-Me's first car, barely sleeping and preparing for THIS:

Also have new simplified pricing in place now, specifically for our senior shoots (complete WITH a stylist!!!):

 
As well as some "What to Wear" info in a few places:

LatchKeyPhotography on POLYVORE.COM

LKP What-To-Wear on PINTEREST.COM

If you know of any 2014 Seniors in the Mid-Columbia (Eastern WA) who could use some quick & affordable Senior Pic options, pass the LatchKey Photography 10-IN-20 event info above along won't ya please?  They'll want to schedule ASAP as 9/28 will be here soon, and appointments are limited that day. 'Tis the season & yearbook deadlines will be here before we know it!

Now, with that,  gonna take a deep breath and get back after it.  If you don't hear from us in a while & notice smoke rising from this corner of the interwebs know that it's just LKP editing away!  TOODLES & L♥VE!!!  ::hugs::

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Roo for My Pouch

First's Rock.

My first baby pretty much rocked the Casbah.

...and her first day of her sophomore year did the same.

Our first full brood of chicks were out in abundance on that same first day of school for Mini-Me... which was a complete surprise since we didn't even know that that hen's nest even EXISTED,
all covert-like up in the insulation beneath our tack shed!

Now, me tending to invalid critters is not new but, in place of my own baby leaving our summer nest and heading to school, I now have "Tiny Tim/Tilly" to baby & nurse back to health, as he/she's my first run-in with Wry Neck.  Which less than rocks... poor baby, wants to crane his/her neck all the way around to upside down constantly.  Have done MOST things today one-handed, because without the support & security of being held, he/she gets extremely distressed & starts to flail about.  Good thing my trusty warm-in-the-microwave "Buckwheat/Rice Sock" came to the rescue of our
little sweet thing & my wrist!  I might actually get to feed myself once today.  :)

Sometimes it's not pretty results, but I'm dang determined that this  
first Wry Neck ordeal WILL ALSO ROCK, with wonderful results in the end!

(But say some chicken prayers & cross some fingers just in case, though, okay?)

...Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

"Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?
Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?
Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?
Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool, or swing in a tree up high?
Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?
Do you march in parades, or drink lemonades, or count all the stars in the sky?Is that what you do? So do I!" 

- © 1964 by Dorothy S. Andersen, “Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?,” 

Children’s Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 245

With all the busy-ness that summer brings, along with oppressive temps, here's a photo update of our activities, even clear since May:

Mini-Me got her braces off after 4 long-but-worth-it years...

(Left: 6/2008, Right: 05/2012)

We've been grabbing as many moments as possible to stare at the clouds...

Softball wrapped up...

(Yes, #25 is Mini-Me.)

Got me some more effective organizing in...

(Remember 2 summers ago when each pair of shoes got their own clear tote to lavish in?  Yeah, I loved it & they did too, but then I grew to hate it as the shoes took up too much space, and everything else didn't fit in the closet!  So the hat tote got emptied, hats went above the closet, shoes came out of their boxes & into the appropriate totes below, and the shelves have been put to better use!)

Visited Tauna, her family, her chicken coop & took in Madison High's 2012 graduation...

(Love my girls!  Juliann, Shaneece, & Kenya - my first Beehives in YW.  Can't believe how time's flown!)

A week later went BACK to see Tauna, her family & cat + be there for Meghan's wedding in Teton Valley...

(Proof that I do, IN FACT, clean-up decent enough.)

(Loved these kids on the rocks, pretty sure they had the best view in the joint.)

(Mod Podge genius at work on this here milk can!)

(Perfect cake topper: "Two trails become one road.")

(View of the Grand Tetons & Tetonia from the Lodge.)

(Headed back to Tauna's, off into the Eastern Idaho sunset.)

At home, Sullivan Thadeus has been honing his hunting skills...

(Poor Finch, but gosh it was incredible to see that vibrant gold color up close.  Definitely beats the usual mouse entrails & gut piles that normally are at my doorstep every morning.)

More lazy time snagged wherever we can find it...

Summer basketball (with tournaments & league games) has kept us hopping...

(Again, Mini-Me's #25, so that's her in the pigtail braids.)

Willow and I have played & played...

Mini-Me entered a design contest for this year's Girls Camp t-shirts...

(That's where she is this week, so we'll see if she won or not when she comes home.  Speaking of Girls Camp, another cool post about the clever prezzies whipped up for our ward's girls will come soon!)

There's a good possibility that we've been doing a little REI-drooling this season...

(That K2 kids mountain bike is my perfect size -not to mention a phenom price- plus that hat is quite fetching on, and those Chacos are THE most comfortable flip flops I've ever put on.  Then again, they better be for $60!  However, I figure we can go to REI, fall in love with stuff - but THEN get that same stuff for up to 70% less through Mini-Me's dad's company, The Clymb - and that's NOT a family discount, that's the everybody that's a member discount.  You should check it out too!)

Been stealing away for brief pop-ins at the park, amidst a schedule bursting with doctor appointments, volleyball practive, more doctor appointments, dentist appointments, and summer basketball tournaments, it's been more than a challenge....

Funny faces have been made...

Toenails have been painted...

Tissues have been shopped for...

Radishes have been harvested...

Highly (un)attractive attire has been donned while the following went down:

(The boys' kennels were evicted & my deck was reclaimed from all the Fall/Winter/Spring muck.)

(I evicted the pile of weeds above from a dirt patch I'd been reserving for the transplanting of bulbs, during which the weeds unleashed their fury on me in the middle, so I therefore vanquished them below.)

(A compost bin was established - and I cannot be happier about it!)

(I placed a new wading pool & installed a new tarp covering for they boys' pen; couldn't have been better timing since our temps have soared this past week to 105 degrees [f] & above, and this oppressive heat is not expected to relent until after July 20th.  Phew!)

(Mr LKP installed a clothesline for me, HOORAY!!!  Used to hate to do laundry, now I can't get enough of it!  Love saving money on our power bill, and I ADORE that the house isn't roasting with the heat from the dryer + even MORE power bill savings from less need for the AC to run constantly!)

Some macro shooting of Burt the Bush has come about...

Mini-Me turned 15, and only wanted a red, white & blue cake...

(So we grilled burgers, made homemade strawberry ice cream & RWB cake!)

There's been plenty of just watching the grass grow, too...

(It may be baby-fine grass, but LOOK!  We have grass again!)

New-to-the-Ranch species' of creepy crawlies have been discovered...

(Check out that FACE!)

Some incredible electrical storms have been oooh'd & ahhh'd at...

There's even been LKP shoots, some which required frolicking in local corn...

(Evans Family)

(Mr. L)

(My hard-working photo assistant.)

But even more wonderful, the most splendid sunrises have been soaked-up!

Hope your summer's been as full of blessings & adventures as the Ranch's has been.