Tuesday, June 29, 2010

duck dynamics

i watch lots of duck drama
unfold in and around our ponds.
ducks are complex creatures.
with ducks, the simple stuff ain't so simple.

you might imagine that
two sweet mama ducks
with two sets of fuzzy ducklings
could get along peaceably.

well, you would be wrong.

each mama duck wants her own ducklings
to have exclusive rights to our toast crusts.
they don't share.

i am not a duck expert,
but it seems to me that with ducks
it's survival of the fittest and meanest.

knowing this, it comes as no surprise that
on the few times i have tried to introduce them,
pip would like to peck the stuffing out of patito.

they hatched less than one week apart,
but in that week, pip has quadrupled in size.

pip is still a baby,
but compared to patito,
he is a bigger, stronger, smarter (meaner) baby.

therefore, they are bunking separately.
each snuggled up to their own teddy bear.



but tonight, marian & i took them outside
and tried something new...

we walked around the backyard
(in somewhat of a thunderstorm)
with them following us in
perfect duck formation.

no pecking,
no heckling,
no unnecessary roughness.

just one duck following the other.

this little thing gives me hope.

5 comments:

Emily said...

How sweet is that! You got your little ducklings in a row! Love their little separate apartments!

Anonymous said...

Love your tale of two ducklings...precious!

Dianne said...

Marching in a row following the most lovely of mothers in this world!

Vava (aka Virginia) said...

THAT must be where the saying started! Got your ducks in a row? Well, you do! Fo sho! Love that visual....

MA said...

No way!
Way!
That is a lovely, reassuring tale for mothers everywhere.
You are tops! :)

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