sunday walk

ned & i saw the very first spring ducklings!

gorgeous, fragrant flowering trees everywhere

ned thought this tree would be the perfect

spot to make a little house

♥

art-paper-scissors :: recycled paper award ribbon

do you know someone who is

awe~some?

head on over to everythingeagle.com

and let them know how you feel

with my new

:: recycled paper award ribbon ::

bestow the award of awesome

☼right here☼

note:

the award ribbon pictured was made by me

for a teacher at ned's school.

on her way to work yesterday,

she stopped her car to let several ducks cross safely.

she and her kids {and her car} are fine,

but she was rear-ended by someone

who surely would have run over the ducks 

{since the driver didn't even notice a stopped car, right?}

thank you, mrs. cox!

you are awesome!

♥

:: hello, pippa ::

do you see how she looks at me?

do you see how big her babies are?

see the look?

i love that she now has her own tribe.

like birds of a feather, they stick together

god bless this sweet family

♥

return to duckville

it's good to be back.

i am thrilled about these,

{there are two, one for each direction}

and i'm so happy to see pippa again.

can you believe how big her babies are?

this one is her look-alike

pip is behind her baby in this photo.

like a fingerprint, every duck's markings are different.

pip has an extra bright eye stripe that helps me find her in a crowd. 

i might be doing double-takes with a couple of her babies

who have very similar markings.

thank you, mary-matt-molly,

for taking such good care of pip & co.

while i was away.

♥

leaving for california in the morning

up late packing.

we are heading west tomorrow.
said a sweet
merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again
to my favorite ducks

♥

concerned eagle residents install signs for safety

ada county highway district (achd)

is in the process of installing signs

alerting drivers to wildlife crossing

on floating feather road.

the area of greatest concern

is a section where large ponds

within the subdivisions of both

lexington hills and eagle pointe

sit directly on either side of the busy road.

because of the location of the ponds,
with the road running right between them,

ducks and geese attempt to cross the road,

from one pond to the other,

at all times of day and night.

they are hit and killed disturbingly often.

achd has recognized the problem

and is working to implement signage.

in the interim, concerned residents 

have taken matters into their own hands

by making and installing temporary signs.

{pretty snazzy temporary signs, at that}

and not a moment too soon

do you see who is trying to cross?

♥

p.s.

go concerned residents!
you deserve this

{extraordinary mallard medal}


p.s.s.
if you drive on floating feather
PLEASE SLOW DOWN.
keep it safe for ducks and geese
and people, too.

:: pippa today ::

she seems stronger and more alert

her babies are getting really big 

she is so special to me

♥

pip & co.

the male next to her is her mild-mannered mate.

he does a mediocre job of running off the riff-raff.

do you see them swarming and heckling,

edging closer and closer to her sweet family?

she is getting ready to set them straight...

she does not mince words.

then, very gracefully unruffling her feathers.

i love her so.

♥

extraordinary

although i have known pip for her entire 2 years

and have come to expect this behavior,

it never fails to amaze me.

today was extra, extra sweet.

she was asleep with her babies

way across the pond.

hard to see, but she is just above the rocks, slightly left of center.

she's sleeping with her head tucked under her wing.

her babies are in a pile almost squarely in the center.

pippa! ............pippa!

still asleep.

c'mon, pippa!

then, she stretched her legs and wings,

stepped into the water,

and swam her babies over to my shore.

yes, my heart leaps out of my chest

every. single. time.

hello, pippa!

hello, babies!

she eats the whole corn i bring,

then settles down next to me.

her ducklings eat the same baby food

{chick starter} i fed pip as a baby.

she's teaching them to forage,

i'm just giving them a little nutritional bump.

the ducklings eat, drink, swim,

eat, drink, swim, and so on.

my sweet girl rests next to me

when i look at this photo, my eyes tear up.

she is extraordinary.

some duck

i want to spell in spider webs above her.

and her sweet babies...

i love them so much.

♥

~extra special thanks~

thank you,

mary, matt, and molly,

for keeping watch over pip & her pipsqueaks,

and feeding them breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

i know you love them as much as i do.

none cuter

an upended duckling

is one of my all-time favorite things.

♥

pippa

her sweetness just cracks my heart

w i d e    o p e n

 after a verrrrrry long day

i headed out to check on my favorite family.

 pip came right to me and let me feed her, 

which i know she really needed.

i sat with her and she settled right down.

i stayed for a long time,

and she seemed to rest easy,

knowing i was on the lookout for danger.

i get choked up several times a day

thinking of her, out on the pond,

minding her precious babies.

it's all i can do to not pitch a tent

and keep watch over her, day and night.

♥

not just any ducklings

they are hers.

yes, that is my sweet pippa girl.

look how she swam her babies

across the pond to meet me.

ten babies.

they are my grand-ducklings.

i spied her with them on sunday night,

but it was dusk and she was way across the pond.

i needed to make 100% sure it was her.

yesterday i spent a long time out there,

but she seemed agitated and wouldn't leave

her side of the pond.

my guess is that she was completely

exhausted with ten brand new hatchlings.

today, she came when i called her

and i got to feed her some corn

and admire her babies for more than an hour.

oh, i love this sweet ducka
and her little baby duckas
so, SO much.


please say a little prayer for pip
and for her babies.


♥

p.s.
do you know the story of how i became a duck mother?  
click here and here to read about pippa when she first hatched.