FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/21/2026
Stormy loves his friend, Ben! 🐎
Ben comes by the barn to see Mary’s friend, Jen, and always stops by to say hi to Stormy. Stormy is always nice and welcoming to visitors at Black Hawk, and he thinks Ben is great! (That makes Ben our friend, too! 🐎)
Here’s a question for you! 🐴
Why does L’Orange sleep with his legs stretched out like this?
So his feet don’t wake him up while they're growing!
Kitty high-rise restaurant 🐈
For those of you without aquariums or houseplants, here’s 61 seconds of the cats eating breakfast in bed (Luigi’s bed, at least):
The adult ducks would like to remind you that they, too, are still around 🐴
Here’s Percy checking the sky for hawks:
What do ducks have in common with dogs? They both dry themselves the same way:
And here’s Daisy and Ferdinand looking glamorous:
A study in green and yellow 🐴
Today is windy, cloudy and cold—but Saturday was sunny and calm, and warm enough for L’Orange, Paschal, and Pooter (Leopold) to enjoy their first foray into the outdoors:
”Oh, so that’s a cat. GET US OUTTA HERE, HUMAN MOMMY!"
Here’s some news that doesn’t involve baby ducks 🐴
The cats have been competing to see who can camouflage themselves the best, getting ready as they are for sparrow season. I was asked to judge:
Evil Cat was the loser. I don’t think his heart was really in it. But Luigi was the winner!
Tee-hee! 😺
As the security camera can vouch, the ducklings all huddle together when they are alone.
By the way, the pet name of the newest duckling is “Pooter.” His real name (the name on his hatch certificate) is Leopold.
Nap time, and nest time
With three grown ducks and three growing ducklings, nest building around here just gets better and better!
Presenting the last duckling we plan to hatch this season (thank goodness) 🐴
We’re too tired to think of a name right now:
Saturday is L’Orange’s first bath day!
Yes, that’s his name—L’Orange. Here he is taking a bath in the bathroom sink (we like the sound he’s making):
Here, we add a little more water. He finally decides he’s clean enough:
Yesterday was a very windy, rainy mess 😿
But today is clear and warm. This is the only Stormy we like:
He’ll have to go back to school next week with Mary, so he gets to enjoy the front pasture today with Iris. 🐎
It’s movie time! 🐴
Here’s Mary riding Stormy. He’s happy to be home this week while Mary is judging at a horse show at the iWireless center (make sure you notice DHS security chief Luigi checking under the bench):
Here’s the baby duck just after it hatched. If you have trouble seeing the first half of the video because of the brooder light, don’t worry; the second half is much easier on the eyes:
And here we are discovering a cell phone:
I wish I could tap a screen with such precision. I have to use a stick in my mouth. 🐴
Spider cat strikes again! 😺
Schrödinger scales the screen once again.
But as soon as he gets in, he wants out.
This won’t last long 🐴
This new apple-flavored mineral block was supposed to be for the occasional lick.
But certain people (Iris) have discovered that chunks can be bitten off quite easily.
I hope there are no stomach aches tomorrow, deserved though they may be (Iris). 🐴
