Duck island installation via cams

Yesterday I posted about installing the new floating duck island. Today, some additional pictures of that process, as captured by the two cameras that watch the pond.

To start, here’s me easing the cart and island down the bank into the pond, as seen by the cam near the duck house:

Island down the bank into the pond

Island down the bank into the pond

Another angle, from the pond deck cam:

Island into the pond

Island off the cart:

Island off the cart

Adding the two extra buoyancy buckets:

Adding extra buoyancy buckets

Moving it to by the duck house:

Moving it to by the duck house

Removing the upturned boat:

Removing the upturned boat

Removing the upturned boat

A wheelbarrow of dirt (look next to the datestamp):

Wheelbarrow of dirt

Adding dirt:

Adding dirt

Adding grasses:

Adding grasses

Digging up grasses next to the duck house (it was encroaching a bit too close, so I wanted to remove some anyway):

Digging up grasses

Wading in the pond again to plant the grasses in the dirt:

Planting grasses

Anchoring the island:

Anchoring

Ducks investigating the island from a safe distance, an hour after I was done:

Ducks beyond island

Ducks near the island this morning; I haven’t seen any go onto it yet, but at least they aren’t totally avoiding it:

Ducks near island

While on morning rounds, I propped up the old boat with a couple of logs:

Propped up boat

The thought is that they could use it as an additional shelter, e.g. for laying eggs:

Propped up boat

Here it is from across the pond. It isn’t super attractive, though has a certain aged rustic charm. I might move it elsewhere, but that’ll do for now:

Propped up boat

Some more pictures of the island:

Island

Island

Island

Island

A glimpse of ducks on the bank at the back of the pond:

Ducks

Duck island installation!

Having completed construction on my duck island project last weekend, today I installed it in the pond.

I started by gathering up some tools, the two extra buoyancy buckets, and an empty bucket, and pulled it out of the workshop (remember, it was already sitting on my cart):

Duck island pulled out of workshop

I also attached a couple of bungee cords to the cart, to make sure it wouldn’t slide around too much:

Bungees

I added a couple of eye rings to attach the anchor cord:

Eye

Then I dragged it all to the pond, the long way around the veggie garden (as it was too wide to fit down the most direct path). I took a breather halfway there:

Halfway

Near the edge of the pond:

At pond

I then put on my waders, and lowered it — cart and all — down the bank and into the water:

Into the water

You can also see the anchor cord in that picture, a plastic-wrapped wire with spring clips on the ends (actually a dog tie-out cord, that I bought for this purpose). I also added a short piece of pool noodle to the cord, so it’d float if unhooked, though I later decided it was ugly and removed it; I can re-add it if and when I need to unhook it.

As I got deeper, it floated off the cart:

Off the cart

Floating high out of the water, just as expected:

Floating

I then inserted those two extra buoyancy buckets under the island, and used the empty bucket to add some water to the island to test weighing it down a bit.

I moved it over to near the duck house, and hitched the anchor cord to it temporarily:

Hitched to the duck house

Then I got out of the waders, and went and got a small wheelbarrow load of dirt:

Wheelbarrow of dirt

Then a second larger load of dirt:

More dirt

It was then floating lower with the weight of the dirt; just about the desired level:

Floating lower with dirt

Next, I dug up some of the grasses that grow like weeds next to the pond, and tossed them onto the island, with a larger one in the center:

Grasses

The island could be a little lower, but I wanted to err on the side of a bit higher, to allow for the dirt to get saturated. I might add more later, once I see how it stabilizes.

Then back into the waders and into the pond, where I poked the grasses into the dirt:

Grasses

The grasses are pretty dormant at present, and some may not survive the transplant, but hopefully some will. They’re pretty hardy. I can always add more later.

That done, I moved the island to the desired position, near the center of the pond, and anchored it by stringing the anchor wire through a couple of cinderblocks, that are sitting on some spare pond liner (to protect the pond floor):

Anchored

Here are some more pictures of the island in position:

Island

Pond and island

Pond and island

Pond and island

Pond and island

It’ll probably take the ducks a few days to get used to it there. Hopefully it won’t freak them out as much as the upturned boat did (which I have moved to the pond bank for now). It looks like it fits much more than that did.

My waders seems to have sprung a leak around my knee; I could feel cold water seeping in, and the leg of my work overalls and sock was wet. I guess I need to try to patch it, or buy a new one:

Wet leg

That concludes the duck island project, at least for now. It may get tweaks over time. I hope the ducks like it, once they get used to it being there. It was a fun little project, started almost on a whim, and mostly using materials I already had on hand.

Cat update for week ending February 6

Some cats definitely feature more on my weekly Caturday posts: Poppy and Porcini in particular. They just hang around more. But Spud and Pepper are up there, too. The others, Pommie, Bella, and Pansy, are more reclusive.

A GIF of Porcini wiggling (might take a moment to load):

Wiggle

Let’s not forget the traditional Porcini and Poppy snuggles inside their house:

Snuggles

Spud emerging from a cabin:

Spud

Poppy and Spud:

Poppy and Spud

Peeking at Pepper in her nest atop shelving in the shop:

Pepper

A super-cute glimpse of Porcini while I was refilling bird feeders:

Porcini

Poppy and Porcini in their house; Porcini investicating something on the ceiling:

Poppy and Porcini

Poppy and Porcini

Something fascinating outside (probably a bird):

Poppy and Porcini

Why share a door window when you can have your own:

Poppy and Porcini

Porcini yawning:

Poppy and Porcini

Porcini and Poppy watching me as I approach up the path:

Porcini and Poppy

Flock Friday for February 5

It’s quack and cluck day.

Here are the quackers beyond the pond:

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

And the cluckers in their run:

Chickens

Chickens

The ducks in and next to the pond:

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

The chickens are ramping back up laying eggs; they slow down in fall while molting, but are back up to about five per day at present:

Eggs

I often include screenshots from the cam viewing iPad app in my Caturday posts, but don’t tend to do so for the chickens and ducks, since it’s more easy to take better photos of them. But here are some samples.

Firstly, the page that shows the new chicken coop, the duck house, and two angles of the pond:

Chickens and ducks on cams

Later in the day; you can see how the upturned boat shifts around (I have yet to see the ducks on it; I’ll remove it when I install the duck island):

Chickens and ducks on cams

Another page in the app shows the old and new chicken coops, and the old and new chicken runs. Here you can see them starting to head inside as dusk approaches:

Chickens on cams

Heading up to the roosts:

Chickens on cams

All settled:

Chickens on cams

The pop doors automatically close when it gets dark:

Chickens on cams

Duck island completed construction

Yesterday I did the finishing construction touches on my pond island project: adding some bracing, the pond liner to hold the dirt, and some bumpers.

I started by added some bracing boards to help prevent the pond liner from sagging under the weight of the dirt. The liner is pretty stiff, and will be supported by the water, but a bit of extra support can’t hurt:

Added bracing boards

Another reason for that was to prevent the buoyancy buckets from pushing up into the liner:

Bucket strap

Plus I attached a pipe strap to support the buckets, to keep them off the ground during transport to the pond; again, the water will support them once in the pond:

Bucket strap

Here’s the last look at the island structure before adding the liner:

Island

Next I added the pond liner, using some scraps I had on hand. (Other than the buoyancy buckets and pipes, all of the materials for this project are things I already had spare; I always order extras when getting lumber etc for projects.)

There wasn’t a piece big enough to cover the whole island, so I added two overlapping pieces. Here’s the first, temporarily weighed down with heavy buckets to help position and shape it:

Adding pond liner

The liner is attached to the frame using screws and washers:

Screw and washers

Here’s the whole island with both pieces of liner installed:

Pond liner

(The liner is wet because it was sitting on the driveway while constructing the rest.)

I didn’t bother trimming the liner on the angles, I just tucked it behind the lower platforms, which helps fill the gap between the frame and platform, too:

Liner tucked

Lastly, I slit pool noodles and added them as bumpers on the lower platforms, to prevent damage to the pond if the island floats free and hits a side:

Pool noodle bumper

I will anchor it when installing it, but doesn’t hurt to be cautious. The noodles might provide some buoyancy benefit, though will probably become waterlogged over time.

Like the liner, the noodles are attached with screws and washers (small and larger washers on each):

Screw and washers

That completes the construction of the island! 🎉

Island

The next step will be to take it to the pond. It’s already on the cart, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get it there. I may need Jenn’s help in getting it from the cart into the water without damaging anything. Though one interesting notion could be to take the cart into the pond, and float it off. Either way, I’ll be wading in the pond.

I’ll be very interested to see at what level it floats. Once it is, I’ll try adding water to weigh it down, if it doesn’t all leak out between the two liner layers, then add dirt and grasses. I’ll also position it and anchor it to some cinderblocks on the pond floor.

The next update should be super exciting; stay tuned!

Mucking out the chicken coops and duck house

One of my many homestead tasks is mucking out our two chicken coops and duck house, which I do about monthly, give or take.

Today was such a day. I start by using scoop and spade tools to scoop up the dirty bedding, and place in a plastic bin for removal:

Chicken and tools

The bin with dirty bedding, and my supervisor:

Chicken and soiled bedding

A wide angle shot of the coop:

Wide angle

Several containers full of dirty bedding is carried to the compost bins.

Then I add fresh pine shavings; I usually just grab several handfuls and dump in a pile in the center of the coop, and let the chickens have fun spreading it out:

Fresh bedding

I do toss some under the roosts, though, since that’s where it’s needed the most, to collect night droppings:

Fresh bedding

I do the same in the other coop too, though it’s easier there, as most of the poop is collected on poop trays under the roosts. I still replace the bedding on the floor, though not as often.

I also added fresh straw to the duck house:

Duck house straw

I use straw in the duck house as it copes better with getting wet.

Cat update for week ending January 30

The last Caturday for January… or is it March 335, 2020? What is time?

We start as we often do, with cute Porcini and Poppy snuggles in their cat house:

Snuggles

Poppy and Porcini on their deck:

Poppy and Porcini

Spud, Poppy, and Pommie at the cabins:

Spud, Poppy, Pommie

Poppy has been spending a lot of time in the cabins; here she’s in the left one, with Spud behind her, and Porcini in the right one:

Poppy (Spud behind), Porcini

Poppy returning to the cabins, with Spud and Porcini still there:

Poppy, Spud, Porcini

Spud sleeping on top of the ever-patient Poppy, and Porcini still in the other cabin:

Spud, Poppy, Porcini

Pepper watching me in the shop, while I was working on the duck island project:

Pepper in the shop

Pepper in the shop

Cat

Cat

It snowed a bit on Sunday night; here’s Porcini with a bit of snow on the cat house awning (the ground in front is fairly sheltered by trees):

Snow and Porcini

Porcini, Poppy, and Pommie at the cabins again:

Porcini, Poppy, Pommie

Spud arrived too:

Spud, Poppy, Porcini, Pommie

A glimpse of Poppy and Porcini in the cabins while I walk up the path to the bird box (visible on the left). This picture is useful for context, too — our main deck and gazebo is above the cat cabins, with the bird feeders off to the right:

Poppy and Porcini

Porcini leaving:

Porcini leaving

Poppy thought about leaving as I got closer:

Poppy

But returned to the cabin and watched me cautiously while I refilled the bird feeders:

Poppy

As a feral cat, she’s cautious of all humans, but I think she recognizes me as not a threat.

Another busy day at the cabins, with Spud & Poppy in the left one, Pommie between them, and Porcini in the right one:

Four cats

That evening, a little more snow, and two cats:

Snow and cats

Pansy trying out a different chair in the back of the shop:

Pansy in the shop

Spud starting to throw up:

Spud yawp

A possum was happy to clean up the mess (time-lapse GIF), supervised by Pommie:

Possum and cat GIF

Spud was fine, he just ate a mouse or something that didn’t sit well. Here he is in the breezeway this morning:

Spud in the breezeway

Flock Friday for January 29

It’s Friday again. Today, a bunch of pictures of hummingbirds, chickens, and ducks. I know, very surprising for a Flock Friday post.

As mentioned on my personal blog, the hummingbird feeder was starting to freeze overnight, so I added my hacky heater. The heater comes on when the temperature gets down to 35° F, and goes off when above 45° F, via a thermostatically controlled outlet:

Thermostatic controller

The heating pad gets quite hot, enough to melt the ice, but too hot for the plastic base of the feeder, so it hangs a bit below via some paperclips:

Hummingbird feeder heater

Here’s a closer view of the feeder and heating pad:

Hummingbird feeder heater

The first customer approaches:

Hummingbird

Hummingbird

A couple of hummingbirds:

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

A cam shot of the ducks on a snowy morning:

Ducks

Did you see the snowy aerial photos? Here’s one picture of the pond and ducks that I didn’t include there; check out that post for more:

Aerial ducks

Snowy ducks:

Ducks

Ducks

A couple more pictures of hummingbirds, with at least 15 visible on the two closest feeders:

Hummingbirds

A closer look at the hummingbirds on the house feeder:

Hummingbirds

A bunch of pictures of the chickens, with new pumpkin and apple treats (and the older pumpkin shells slowly dissolving):

Chickens

Chickens

Chickens

Chickens

Chickens

The ducks on the back lawn:

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Snowing:

Ducks

A GIF of ducks going after mealworm treats while it’s snowing:

Ducks

A couple more pictures of ducks:

Ducks

Duck

We still haven’t decided on a name for that Silver Swedish male duck formerly known as Sassa; options include Stefan, Silvan, Sigfrid, Sigge, and Silvester; what do you think? I rather like Stefan, though am tempted by Sigfrid in honor of Siegfried from the All Creatures Great and Small TV series we’re enjoying at present.

Duck island tweak

Only a little time to work on the duck island project yesterday (Weekend Wednesday). I spent about a third of the time planning the previously-mentioned upper platform, about a third changing my mind about the position of the pipes, obviating that platform, and a third moving the pipes. Read on for details.

Last time I wrote about the buoyancy of the island, and adding the ring of 4 inch pipes inside the frame as part of that. The plan was to add the dirt-containing pond liner over the top of the pipes, then build a third platform level on top of that. So I started by laying out some scraps of wood to prototype the platform:

Platform prototype

Another angle:

Platform prototype

But on further reflection, I thought that the position of the pipes was suboptimal… or not optimal for submarine buoyancy. As mentioned last time, I wanted the water level to be about halfway up the pipes, which seems a waste of the buoyancy potential of them… and with the expected weight of the island and dirt, I need every bit of buoyancy.

So I decided that the ring of pipes should be below the 2x4s, not above, i.e. underneath the island instead of within the surrounding frame. Which also means I probably won’t need the upper platform I’d just prototyped; the dirt can just go to the edge of the frame, as I’d originally envisioned.

Having decided that, I unscrewed the metal hanger straps and carefully removed the pipes:

Removed pipes

I then lifted the island onto an edge, so I could access the bottom:

Island on edge

Then mounted the pipes underneath:

Pipes underneath island

A closer view:

Pipes

A pipe strap:

Pipe strap

I also mounted a couple of the buckets, attaching them with heavy-duty fence staples:

Bucket

Maybe the last view of underneath the island, with the pipes and a couple of buckets:

Underneath

I didn’t attach the other two buckets, as they would get in the way of the cart. I can just tuck the buckets under there while installing; they’ll be contained by the wood and pipes.

Back down on to the cart:

Island

A closeup of a bucket and the pipes below the frame; the bucket will be lower down later; it’s just resting against the pipe for now:

Bucket and pipe

The current state of the island:

Back down on cart

So not as much progress as I’d hoped, but that’s fine; this was a worthwhile tweak.

Next time, hopefully, I’ll add the pond liner. But before that, I’m thinking I’ll add a few 1×2 strips to help support the liner, to prevent sagging.

Duck island buoyancy

On Sunday I did some more work on the duck island project, focusing on the buoyancy aspects. It’s a bit of a guess on how much I’ll need to make it float at an appropriate level, but I figure more is better; having it sink would be not ideal, and if it floats too high, I can always pile on more dirt, or remove some of the buoyancy.

There are two components to making it float: four 5-gallon buckets, and a ring of 4-inch pipes.

Here is a bucket, with a bead of silicone around the rim to help seal the lid:

Bucket

As you can see, the lid also has a rubber seal, and clamps on to the bucket.

A stack of four sealed buckets:

Buckets

Next I moved the island onto my cart, up the right way; this is the first time it’s been upright. Placing it on the cart makes it easier to work with, and it’ll be ready to transport to the pond:

On cart

Another component of the buoyancy is a ring of 4-inch ABS DWV pipes. The sizing worked out perfectly; the pipes came in 2-foot lengths, and I didn’t need to cut any of them to make them fit:

Pipes

I put some pool noodles inside the pipes; I don’t know if that’ll help at all, but can’t hurt.

I sealed the pipes with ABS adhesive:

Pipes

Then I attached the pipes to the frame with pipe hanger straps:

Pipes and hangers

My ideal water level would be about halfway up the frame, at around the midpoint of the pipes, so the middle platform (where the tools are in the above picture) would be just under water. We’ll see if that eventuates!

Here’s a closer look at a strap:

Hangers

Once again, Pepper the shop cat was supervising my work (or really just waiting for me to go away so she could get to her food):

Cat

Cat

Here’s the current state of the island:

Island

Next up, I will add the pond liner to contain the dirt, and a third platform level above the pipes.