- Our duck hen is officially laying eggs. Supposedly it's just about guaranteed that she will go broody after she lays about 8 to 20 eggs. At that point she'll sit on the eggs for 35 days and then we'll have ducklings. Once they're mature, we'll probably end up slaughtering half the ducks and keeping one drake and 3 or 4 hens through this winter.

- Bouncer is working out fine. For the most part he's a calm dog. I've been walking him just about every day and I've gotten to see some beautiful scenes around our neighborhood. I love our neighborhood. The country landscapes are amazing. For the first few months of living here (it's almost been a year, by the way) I was mesmerized every time I walked outside. The magic is still there, but it's easy to take it for granted. Now that I'm trekking through the neighborhood every day, I'm starting to get those awestruck feelings again.

- The garden is looking good. Brandi has put in tons of tomatoes, various peppers, cucumbers, and green beans. She's going to put in a few more things like squash, melons, and sweet potatoes. The garden fence is doing its job just fine.

- Brandi has started composting. She even has a 3-gallon bucket of worms. :-)

- We're still looking to fence off an acre of land, but we're not 100 percent sure we're going to do it this year. We'll know more in a few weeks. Both Brandi and I really hope we can do it. We want goats and a calf -- right now!