September 2024 - The Hockey Mom Fit Life

September 17, 2024September 17, 2024

Ducklings

Our ducklings are thriving! We were quite nervous for them when Sweet Mama laid her eggs at our front door in the open. When they hatched and she was reticent to take them to the lake, we were nervous again. Fortunately, she made it to the lake on Sunday. She spends the nights there with the babies and her duck family. In the morning, several ducks escort her and the babies back to my front door. At night, they come and escort her and her babies back to the lake. It’s honestly quite heartwarming.

Incredibly, there are still eight lively ducklings! Normally, by this time she would have lost several of them to predators. Sweet Mama is taking no chances with her sweet brood. We give her plenty of space to take care of them. She gets nervous when anyone, even us, comes outside. She’ll fly you off if she thinks you’re getting too close to her babies. Consequently, I refill their water and feed them during their sojourn at the lake. If you had asked me earlier this month if I thought her clutch would be successful, I would have answered you no. She is intent on proving all of us wrong.

What would your life be like without music?

Life without music would be so boring! Music fuels my workouts and my life. Anyway, I’m pretty sure you already knew that since I post a music video to nearly every blog. Now off to take my iron supplement.

September 14, 2024September 17, 2024

Duck Tales

On today’s Duck Tales episode, let me introduce you to our babies!! The sweet mama duck that laid a nest at our front door is now a mom. We couldn’t believe it when she laid her eggs hidden in plain sight. I was worried this young duck and her eggs would be unlucky and fall victim to one of the many raccoons in the area. Yet, her plan worked. Our dogs, who would have loved to eat her. Ultimately, the dogs kept her nest safe by guarding the nest from our window.

The eggs hatched last night after work. As of right now, we have eight ducklings. Unfortunately, one of the eggs didn’t hatch. Now she needs to get the ducklings to the lake, like their “school/cafeteria.” This is where the young mama will teach her ducklings what to eat and how to stay safe. Only 10% of the ducklings will reach adulthood, which is a crazy number. There are just a lot of things, including Anakin and Arrow, that would like to catch and eat the ducklings.

Meanwhile, the Mayor and I ran up to the European supermarket in West Palm for some good kielbasa, paprika and chocolate. Once you’ve had the kielbasa from the Polish market, you’ll never be able to eat kielbasa from a grocery store again. It’s so much better. The paprika is also a lot better than anything you can find at the grocery store. I love cooking with it as it gives the food a richer taste. Afterward, we headed to Sprouts to pick up some sushi, vegetables, fruit, and some lunch meat.

Today I’m making my second attempt at the strawberry chiffon cake. Last time it turned out okay, but it tasted much better than it looked. I totally screwed up dividing the cakes into 3 layers. Hopefully, I don’t screw it up too badly this time. Additionally, I decided to add additional strawberries for the filling. I’ll post some pictures of the finished product. Tomorrow I’m baking focaccia with inclusions. Previously, I had been making it with sun-dried tomatoes on top, but tomorrow I’m mixing them in. Stay tuned for more Duck Tales!