Duck Duck BOOZE! - Using Ducks To Grow GRAPES! - The Vergenoegd Wine Estate VIDEO - steemit

Duck Duck BOOZE! - Using Ducks To Grow GRAPES! - The Vergenoegd Wine Estate VIDEO

mericanhomestead (63) in homesteading • 

There are many alternatives to growing sustainable agriculture without the over use of chemical herbicides or pesticides. One unique wine estate located in South Africa has been using Ducks to control a local pest that feeds on its grape vines. In fact, its become so successful that people come from all over the world to see these ducks in action!

Duck Video

Want to see the ducks? I think you will enjoy this quick video I put together of my visit. If you are planning a trip to South Africa, I would highly recommend stopping by this estate. It will be fun for all ages!

The Vergenoegd Wine Estate

We got to talk with Simon who is one of the head grounds keepers here at the Vergenoegd vineyards. Currently on the grounds of the estate there are over 1400 ducks with about 900 of them patrolling the vineyards. The others are used as breeding ducks and for some other purposes on the grounds.

You will also see a number of geese at the estate and they help to guard the young ducklings and duck eggs from predators such as snakes and crow who are looking for an easy meal. So the geese will also patrol the estate and especially around the nesting and breeding areas the ducks use and stand guard!

Duck Duck Booze

Located on the estate is a garden, gift shop and more! But the real reason people come to this estate is for the ducks and the wine!

They have a number of wines that visitors can buy and take home. Or you can enjoy their wine tasting outdoors while overlooking the grounds of this amazing estate.

While you are there, you are free to roam out into the garden and estate to see the the vineyards and take pictures. The entire area is pretty and the surrounding scenery makes the visit very enjoyable.

I especially thought the wifi password was creative. Visitors can roam around and take pictures of the ducks and estate and upload them to their favorite social media site. Of course, that would be Steemit.

ENJOY THE VIDEO!

---

Visit Us Online: http://AnAmericanHomestead.com

---

EVERYTHING IN THIS POST POWERED BY SO

Jam Sesh!

moderndayhippie (56) in gratefulvibes •  

One of my all time favorite foods is home made strawberry jam. My mom has been making it for me for as long as I can recall. I remember being as little as 5 or 6 years old, standing on a chair helping her to stir the jam and pour it in the jars. The memories come back everytime I pop a new jar open.
I used to loved this jam so much as a kid that I would just eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon (ok, I still do it sometimes lol). It is truly that delicious though, trust me you would do it too.

We dragged organic strawberries with us (that we picked) all the way from Wisconsin to Arizona just so we could make our favorite jam! I know it sounds like a lot of work but if you ever had this jam then you would know it is well worth all the troubles we went through.

Now that we have finally settled in a bit here in Arizona we figured this was a good day to make the jam we have been waiting months for. So this morning my mother, my fiance and I got to work and made us a few jars of mom's famous jam.

Now comes the worst part, waiting the 24 hours to set before we can eat it :/ this part is almost painful! lol. But I guess it's like the old saying goes

good things come to those who wait.

So I will be patient and wait for tomorrow to pop that jar of jam open, but when I do you better believe I am going to eat about half of a jar right with a spoon right away! lol. Gimme a break, it's been nearly two months since i had my last jar... I'm basically with-drawling at this point! haha.

Anyhow, if you have never had home made jam then I highly suggest you do yourself a favor and do it! You won't be disappointed.

Peace, love and all that hippie shit

gratefulvibesfamilyrecipefoodcooking

3 hours ago by moderndayhippie (56)

$0.72

35 votes

Reply 7 26

•  
•  
•  

Sort Order:  trending

voted 0.035 and resteemed to 430 followers
my friend, my mother was doing the same with all types of fruits and some vegetables yes you read my lips correctly jam from vegetable

the amazing strong Delicious jam with diamond color and glassy theme was the Small eggplant jam - just remove the leaves head, from the Small eggplant and cook it with sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice and do not remove the cover shell totally keep parts of it and do not overcook it

the final product is diamond colorless Small eggplant jam

ilove it

![](

My organic tomatoes!

moderndayhippie (56) in gardening •  

My first organic cherry tomatoes finally started turning red and they are beautiful and delicious! This is my first year having a garden and it is more fulfilling then I ever could have imagined! I wish I could get everyone to try it!

If you enjoy gardening and want to see more or are interested in starting a garden next year then add me, I will be doing a bunch of articles on homesteading and gardening in the spring. I know its a long time to wait, but like a garden, it'll be well worth it!😉 take care.

Peace, love and all that hippie shit!

Growing your own food is awesome!

moderndayhippie (56) in garden •  

This is a picture of one of the first times we ate from the garden this year. Oh yeah, this is also the first garden we have ever had!! It was alot of work to build and plant, but after that it has been pretty easy, just weed and water if need be. We have been eating out of it for months now and I can't even explain how amazingly satisfying it is to grow your own food and provide for yourself! Its crazy to watch little seeds grow into huge plants that provide lots of delicious organic food for basically no cost! Since it was our first year we didnt plant to many different items, so we just started with tomatoes, potatoes, corn, carrots, lettuce, brocolli, onions, greenbeans, herbs, peppers, strawberries, blue berries, and mellons.. next year we will do so much more!!

I know this is a pic from the begining of the year, but this is the only imagine of my garden that i could get to work, I'm having issues with steemimg and tinypic! 😑 ill try to update later..

Anyhow, peace love and all that hippie shit!

The sky is on Fire

moderndayhippie (56) in photo •  

I looked up at the sky tonight as the sun was setting and it almost appeared as if the sky and maybe even like the mountains were on fire. Arizona's sunrises and sunsets have not been letting us down to say the least. We have only been here for a few days and the sunsets have been absolutely mind blowing. It's so nice to be able to enjoy sunrises and sunsets every day now, it truly feels like a gift.

Peace, love and all that hippie shit

Loki.... livin the ruff life! lol moderndayhippie (56) in steepshot

Loki.... livin the ruff life! lol

moderndayhippie (56) in steepshot •  

I think I have a problem... I LOVE SILVER STAKING - REAL SILVER METAL

I think I have a problem...

moderndayhippie (56) in silvergoldsteem • 

Is there a rehab facility that focuses on silver addiction? Um, I'm asking for a friend... lol..

I made my first post about silver when I got my kilo stacker less than a month ago. Since then I have accrued more than 60 oz!

That might seem ridiculous for one month but Im in a unique spot because I am selling off all of my stuff to get ready to travel the country and then the world! Recently I find myself turning a lot of my the money I make from sales of my old stuff into silver. This week i traded my gas grill for this beautiful 10 oz stacker from APMEX.

Last week i sold my bose home theatre and bought this 1lb silver eagle!

I have been slowly selling all my stuff like old snowboards, mountainboards, wakeboards and anything else worth of value that I can't take with me. After I sell it I go right down to the silver store to get silver, like some kind of junkie! Lol.

The truth is, i feel like silver is WAY under priced. I feel like I'm loosing out on a lot of money when i sell my stuff, but when i take that little bit of money to the silver shop and exchange it for silver I feel like i just won the fricken lottery! Am I the only one who realizes this is true money? Not this paper garbage they force us to carry around and use.. There is just something special about silver, when you hold it you know/feel that it is money.

Anyhow, here is the collection of silver I ended up with after all my stuff was sold! It would of been more but my fiance put her foot down lol. She said I had to split it between silver and cryptos, she likes the gains from the cryptos (because she gets to spend that). I'll get her into stacking one day tho!

Not to bad, 69 oz in all. :)

OOPS Almost forgot about this little guy :/ He was hiding next to my dog tags in my safe.

Thanks for checking out my stack :)

Peace, love and all that hippie shit

This Is For You!

marysent (54) in poem •  2 hours ago

This is for you!
Whose eyes grew weary and tired.
God knows every tear you cry.
Dreadful situations are happening again.
He knows your name, He knows the pain.

This is for you!
Whose head always aches,
struggling to break free from past mistakes,
thinking what else is there to do.
Always remember that God is on the move.

This is for you!
Whose ears bleed when you hear lies from people
who knew nothing but disguise.
What other people say doesn't really matter.
For you are perfectly handcrafted by the Master.

This is for you!
Whose hands are tired enough to let go,
holding on to what you believe is true.
There is freedom in surrender.
Give everything to your Creator.

This is for you!
Whose feet got wounded and bruised
from the rocky roads as you cruised.
Remember the faith there is in you.
Remember to glow in the midst of being blue.

This is for you!
Dearest heart struggling to love,
with no answers from the Heavens above.
Continue to hope, continue to pray.
God is just listening, preparing all the right words to say...



Be blessed some more!


-with love-
@marysent! :*