Things I’ve learned this summer:

• There will always be some form of poultry living in a part of my house where I didn’t expect poultry to be. The first round of ducklings was planned for; the second round was not. The random chick that managed to hatch under a broody hen from an egg I missed collecting while the kids were in France was most definitely unexpected.

While I’m not entirely sure how long the little one survived, under the watchful eye of Mama Hen, it was not a tenable situation for long, due to our grumpy rooster, LD, and the fact that the water source was a little too far for the chick to travel.

So, now Mama and the aptly named Chaos have moved into the basement for a few weeks. Thankfully, the Dirty Dozen ducks had recently relocated to the outside pen.

Now, every morning starts with a ginger poking of the broody hens, alternatively worrying and hoping that there might be another one on its way.

• You can make great progress with a bathroom renovation that has been taking years. However, don’t forget that you’ve hooked up modern equipment to antiquated pipes, and sometimes, if you let the water run too long in the sink, and the project isn’t quite finished, water is going to do water, and follow the path of least resistance, and make its way to the bathtub drain, which isn’t connected to the bathtub. The resulting flood, in both the bathroom and the TV room downstairs, will also inevitably occur about 20 minutes before you’re expecting a crowd to celebrate a graduation.

The good news is that the bowl of the light fixture below helped trap some of the liquid, and the rug pad’s rubber lining prevented any damage to the hardwood floor. PPL will also be pleased as every single fan we own has been running on high speed for days, trying to make sure we have everything dried out before anyone flips any switches.

• “I have to run to Lowe’s” actually translates to “I needed an excuse to buy more plants.” All the plants that G planted over the last two years really took off this year, both because the weather has been favorable, and because of the amount of time G has invested in them. He’s also grown impatient with the gaps between them and has gotten more confident in his green thumb, so it’s not uncommon for him to return home with a truck bed full of discounted, practically dead plants that he has thriving within a few days.

• Even when major things happen, the best, most memorable times are usually the simplest ones. Going to movies together, grabbing takeout on a late night and eating it, standing up in the kitchen, working on projects together. One evening in particular stands out: We were all sitting on the porch, playing around with the bird identifying app. They were trying to mimic bird calls, seeing who could confuse the app. Not surprisingly, it was G, but the rest of us had fun both trying to do it and laughing at each other’s attempts.

• The animals nature provides for us are just as interesting as the ones we’ve provided for ourselves. While they haven’t always been welcome (looking at you, Mr. Fox!), the skunks, raccoon, turtles, deer, including three fawns, bears, rabbits, squirrels and endless parade of chipmunks that have shown up around the house this summer have kept us all entertained, and on our toes.

The rabbits took advantage of my no-mow strategy to basically infest one entire corner of the yard with their offspring. On more than one occasion, bored teenage boys decided to have a toad rodeo (toadeo?) and round up all the critters they could find. The boredom didn’t last long, and neither did I. They remain one of my biggest irrational fears.

• By most of our metrics, this summer was one for the record books. It wasn’t restful for any of us, but it was the good kind of busy.

The kids all had summer jobs that were interesting and fulfilling.

G adjusted to life after high school sports practices. A managed a remote internship that gave us one more precious summer together, although navigating that line between independent adult and adult child under his parents’ roof was challenging. E started her own little enterprise, teaching swim lessons, and she also had a “real job,” lifeguarding.

Mainly, I feel like it was the fastest summer of my life, and for that, I am a little grateful, because life is easier to live when it’s moving quickly, and you don’t have as much time to dwell on the people who are missing from it, although they are never truly far from your thoughts.

Liz Pinkey’s column appears on Saturdays in the Times News