Duck Redux

The ducks are back.

For those who saw my earlier post, “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” you already know that my husband and I raised five mallard ducks a few years ago.  It was a bit daunting at the start – we knew little about hatching duck eggs, much less what to do once they hatched – but as new parents do, we figured it out as we went along.

Every spring since then, the ducks return.  They land with a great flapping of wings in the front yard and waddle across the grass to the sidewalk, or the front door, or wait at the end of the driveway, quacking for food – corn, to be precise.

"Did someone say 'corn'?"

Bigmouth, the smallest duck and my favorite of the lot, is back as well.  This time, she’s brought along a mate.  He guards her, watching me warily as she hoovers up her corn, and he waits with great patience alongside her until she’s had her fill.

"Be advised. I'm watching you."

We see them every day, morning and afternoon, and the visits start in early April and last until about mid-June.  Once the ducks eat their fill, they launch themselves back into the sky, where they wheel away…

… up over the roof and trees and off to the river, until the next time.

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