june 4th: just ducky

You saw that one coming a mile away, didn't you?
I know it's not clever, but as our day has been filled with ducks....

Well.
First was a call to our trusty Aviary.
I didn't see their mama flyin' about this morning, and I was worried.
I had some questions... how long will Mama look for them? What should I feed them, as domestic ducks do not fly, and wild ducks need to be able to fly, and we don't wanna get their hearts fatty... can they drown? (my research told me that mallards can swim practically from birth, but I wanted to check just the same...) will we ruin them for the wild by helping them?
Thank heavens for the helpful person with whom I spoke.
She was awesome.
I had the option of contacting the DWR and maybe they could sponsor them somewhere until they could fly... but it seems that it's quite possible that they'll be just fine should we choose to host them for a few weeks until their feathers come in.
They won't drown... depending upon her experience she'll either not look more or be done by this evening...we can protect them at night from owls and raccoons and other animals... they should be warm enough (we'll be bringing them in anyway)... and if we feed them waterfowl food they'll be just fine and will fly away when they are able.

Well, then.
No worries.

To the pool!
Cutest damned thing. I layed the chaise in there so they could swim about and climb up to dry land at will... where there was also fresh water and food.

We thought we'd try to set one on the grass to forage for insects.
He (she?) made a b-line for the fence.
Gasp!
Two pitbulls next door -though they're sweet dogs- was enough to send Auntie into a frenzie.
Eric knocked on the door, and we spoke to our neighbors about our escapees and thankfully the dogs werena outside and we were able to bring them back safely.

Phew, back to the pool they go.

And then they escaped again.
And again!

Around this time we got smart -rolls eyes- and let all but four inches of the water out of the pool.
That did the trick.

What next?
Build a Duck tractor, of course.
Garage style.
Which of course means a tractor made of Things Lying About In The Garage.

First we tried a cagey cage.
Just let one try it out to see if they could squeeze through.
'Could. Of course.
Hmmm... what next?
Ah, this might do...

Check.
So it appears we have it covered...
a pond for swimmin' in the afternoon (the pool)
a warm place to sleep
and a tractor for outdoor play and bug catchin'.

* * *

Well, we lost one.
One of them got caught under the little fence of the tractor (not sure if Annabelle had anything to do with this) and hurt its neck. Things weren't looking good, and I gave my babes a heads up...
and then about an hour later he was done.

So,
we got to talk (with tear-filled eyes) about life and death and Trev got his first view of eyes and the lack of spirit.
I don't mean to bother anyone, but have you looked into someone or some thing's eyes that has left?
It's an amazing experience.
The best way I can describe it is flat. Beings lose their dimension.
You can easily detect the lack of animation.
I won't go on any further, but I've always been amazed by this discovery.

So my babes (can't just say the babes right now) got to hold little sweet friend and say their goodbyes and we gave him back to our Mother Earth and his Maker.
Surprisingly I'm actually doing okay with it, usually these things upset me greatly... but maybe it's because I'm being sensible, or maybe it's because they had really no chance in the first place - and anything I can offer is a bonus, or maybe I'm feeling it's just Fate or The Way of Things.


So now we've circled 'round again,
and dinner is cooking
and I'm watching the hummingbirds fly about
am listening to the many birds whirring around me
and watching the insects flitting and glowing against the evening sun.

Here we are.
Here we rest.
And from here we go on.