Welcome to your Weekend Update for Monday, September 30th. It was supposed to be a big weekend at the Germantown Pretzel Festival—our favorite fall craft fair where we gather revenue before the Ohio winter hits. But, well, Hurricane Helene had other plans.
On Friday, I took the day off to prep for the festival, but instead, we were hit by high winds, power outages, and a flooded barn. By 7 p.m., we made the tough call to skip the festival and stay home to handle the storm damage. It was not how we expected to spend our weekend—fighting floods and downed trees was a bit more stressful than pretending to be a spice dealer.
Despite the chaos, there were some silver linings! Our Muscovy ducks decided it was time for a hatch party, and six little ducklings made their grand debut in the Not Duck Coop (The No Quack Shack). Since the power was out, we enlisted a Silkie chicken to become an honorary duck mom. The new family is now living happily ever after in the mini-chicken coop—until the next storm, of course!
The storm also brought us a couple more adventures—our boy pigs escaped and decided to help with cleanup, munching on fallen tree limbs and crabapples. And our newest security recruit, Josie Wales, had to be relocated to the main barnyard because, let’s face it, his kennel wasn’t going to survive those winds. (Fingers crossed his GPS collar did the trick.)
Sunday was spent cleaning up—grooming rabbits, fixing run lines, and making sure everyone stayed dry. While we didn’t hit our revenue goals this weekend, we’re not giving up! We’re planning to make up for it with other fall events, and we’re updating our website so our non-local fans can still enjoy our farm-grown spices from Drunken Duck Farm.
A huge thank you to the Germantown Pretzel Festival organizers, vendors, and attendees who braved the rain and mud! Despite the weather, you all made it happen, and we salute your dedication. We can’t wait to be back next year—hopefully with less rain!
Thanks for your support, and here’s to brighter days ahead! Stay tuned for next week’s update, and until then—stay dry, and keep an eye out for any surprise ducklings!