9/5/13

First Duck Egg & Garden Highlights

We got our first duck egg from our Cayugas yesterday and I just had to share! Cayugas reportedly lay eggs that are dark at the beginning of the laying season and then get lighter as the season goes on. We've been curious to see what they would look like. They are pretty cool! Kind of a charcoal color. We're pretty excited!
 I also thought I'd share a few lovely pictures from my garden. Fall may be on it's way, but there are still many flowers blooming. Here are a few that caught my eye recently.
First, I thought this Nicotiana looked so pretty against the red brick background. I love these flowers in my garden because they smell so delicious on a late summer evening and I love spending time outside at that time of day. These are right outside my back door, so every time I pass by as I'm doing my evening chores, I can smell them.
On the other side of the house, near the front door, I have several vines of Grandpa Ott's annual morning glory. I love stepping out on my front porch first thing in the morning, to see how many of them are in bloom. They are gorgeous! What a glorious way to start the morning!
And of course, I love the sunflowers that are all around my yard! I love seeing the wildlife that they attract to my yard. I was lucky enough to capture a couple of these visitors in photos: A little goldfinch and a regal monarch butterfly. So awesome! Have a wonderful day and If you haven't already, check out some reasons why I love sunflowers in my post:
Shared at these great blogs:

32 comments:

  1. Endah MurniyatiSeptember 5, 2013 at 8:18 PM

    Nice blog. I like gardening. And your blog give me a lot of new thing. I invite you to visit my blog. I think, I'm your newest follower.
    Endah-Indonesia

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    1. UnknownSeptember 6, 2013 at 11:32 AM

      Thank you so much! I'll have to go take a look at your blog as well. Have a wonderful weekend!

      Delete
  2. Tammy NSeptember 5, 2013 at 9:51 PM

    I don't think I've seen a duck egg before. How interesting! Love the photo of the sunflower and butterfly. So pretty.

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    1. UnknownSeptember 6, 2013 at 11:34 AM

      Thank you for stopping by! I'm so glad you enjoyed my post! I was pretty lucky to have snatched a quick photo of that butterfly. Those Monarchs fly surprisingly fast!

      Delete
  3. poppilinnstudiosSeptember 5, 2013 at 9:56 PM

    What an interesting color for an egg! Pretty photos, love the sunflowers.
    -Lynn

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    1. UnknownSeptember 6, 2013 at 11:35 AM

      Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Have a wonderful weekend!

      Delete
  4. StacySeptember 5, 2013 at 11:09 PM

    You have quite the view from your yard. Beautiful photos!!

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    1. UnknownSeptember 6, 2013 at 11:36 AM

      Thank you! I love the view too! Hope you have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. UnknownSeptember 6, 2013 at 10:22 AM

    Hello, I am visiting from Kathy's Home and Garden Thursday. I love your pictures. That egg is very interesting... I initially thought it was a rock. :) I wonder if you would like to join in for Fresh-Cut Friday? This would be a great addition.

    Enjoy your weekend!
    ~Liz

    P.S. I have started following you.

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    1. UnknownSeptember 6, 2013 at 11:42 AM

      Hi Liz! Thanks for becoming a follower and for the invitation to join in Fresh-Cut Friday. I'll head over and check it out soon. It's funny that you thought the egg was a rock because as I tried to decide what color it was, I thought to myself that it looked kind of like the smooth dark grey pebbles that are found on the beach sometimes. :)
      Have a great weekend!

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  6. AndreaSeptember 6, 2013 at 6:12 PM

    Oh it's wonderful to stroll around there, that mountain is a lovely background for your flowers. I love that white one too, never seen it in other blogs. And the duck egg, never thought it is so big and a bit dark, maybe when i see them they are already washed, haha!

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    1. UnknownSeptember 7, 2013 at 6:32 PM

      I'm so glad you enjoyed the stroll! I love the mountains near our home. We like to explore them in our spare time. The duck egg is unusual isn't it? Some varieties of ducks lay different colored eggs. These ones (Cayugas) start each laying season with very dark eggs, then they get lighter. We've had 4 more eggs and each one is a shade lighter than the one before. Eventually they will be white. It's pretty cool!

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  7. BernideenSeptember 7, 2013 at 7:47 AM

    Loving your Morning Glories!

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    1. UnknownSeptember 7, 2013 at 6:32 PM

      Thank you! I love them too! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  8. Simply SimplisticatedSeptember 7, 2013 at 8:45 AM

    OOOOOH your morning glories are Soooo beautiful!!! Fantastic photos! Loved them all:)

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    1. UnknownSeptember 7, 2013 at 6:33 PM

      Thank you Deidre! I'm so glad you enjoyed them!

      Delete
  9. Jean CampbellSeptember 7, 2013 at 6:10 PM

    Will you eat duck eggs or use them to hatch more ducks?

    Nicotianas are among the vespertine flowers that I enjoy so much.

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    1. UnknownSeptember 7, 2013 at 6:44 PM

      We eat the eggs. At the moment we don't have a drake, so no hatching right now. Eventually we may.
      I enjoy Nicotianas as well. I love to plant them under my bedroom window so I can enjoy the scent at night as I'm falling asleep. So heavenly!
      Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

      Delete
  10. September VioletsSeptember 10, 2013 at 10:10 AM

    So nice to still be enjoying some blooms right into fall. My mother used to have a plant called "night-scented stalk", that emitted it's lovely perfume only in the evenings ... I've never seen it anywhere in a nursery though (shame). That last shot of the sunflowers with the mountain in the background is breathtaking! How beautiful to enjoy that vision each day :) Wendy (visiting from Fishtail's)

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    1. UnknownSeptember 10, 2013 at 12:25 PM

      Thanks for visiting! I'm glad you enjoyed my post. I have a plant I grow in my yard called "Evening-scented Stock". I've never seen it at a nursery either and grow mine from seed that save from the year before. I wonder if it's similar to your mother's plant...
      There are so many wonderful flowers out there and I'm happy to be enjoying them still, but I don't think I have much time left. Summer is fading fast here! Have a great week!

      Delete
  11. Lisa LynnSeptember 10, 2013 at 3:56 PM

    Beautiful pics and I love your duck egg! Visiting from TGP and hope you'll share this on The HomeAcre Hop this week :) Check out the Autumn Giveaway too!

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    1. UnknownSeptember 16, 2013 at 10:07 AM

      I'm glad you enjoyed my pictures! Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  12. KathiSeptember 10, 2013 at 7:37 PM

    What an interesting looking egg. I had a black cayuga drake, but obviously no cayuga eggs!

    Thank you for linking up to the HomeAcre Hop. I hope you'll join us again this Thursday. Check out the Autumn Giveaway this week on the Hop.

    Kathi @ oakhillhomestead.com

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    1. UnknownSeptember 16, 2013 at 10:08 AM

      Thank you so much; I'm glad you enjoyed my post!

      Delete
  13. KathySeptember 11, 2013 at 12:00 PM

    How exciting! I've never seen duck eggs before - they look marvelous - your garden looks terrific - it looks like the butterflies are enjoying it too! I am delighted that you shared with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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    1. UnknownSeptember 16, 2013 at 10:09 AM

      Thanks for visiting and I'm glad you enjoyed the peak at my garden. Hope you have a wonderful week!

      Delete
  14. pamSeptember 11, 2013 at 12:14 PM

    I love that egg! Love seeing what's happening in your garden this week! Thanks for linking up to Garden Tuesday!

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    1. UnknownSeptember 16, 2013 at 10:10 AM

      You're so welcome and thank you for stopping by!

      Delete
  15. LindaSeptember 17, 2013 at 5:59 PM

    Hee!! I came over from An Oregon Garden's Tuesday Garden Party! How fun to see a familiar "face".

    What a cool looking egg!

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  16. Noel MorataSeptember 18, 2013 at 12:00 PM

    gorgeous fall colors from your garden, loved the tour

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