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.

♥