Lucky Ducks

It has been fun sharing our neighborhood with a huge community of ducks. I see them every morning on my walk, and my favorite thing is to check on the baby ducklings to see how they are growing. There are several families of Mother, Father, and eight to ten baby ducks. The ducklings are so adorable, and so funny in the water! They look like they are racing each other – their little webbed feet look like little propellers as they jet through the water. They are amazingly fast and they obviously love being in the water. Last week, Papa and I were watching the ducks in a nearby town. It was a beautiful park with lots of green grass – there was also a lovely stream right next to the grass, and a little farther down, there was a small waterfall/dam where the water was running fast under a bridge. We watched a family of about 12 ducklings with a mother and father duck trying to keep the little ones out of the water. The older ducks knew that the water was a dangerous place if the ducklings got in – they would be swept toward the waterfall and to the fast water. The ducklings didn’t know this, and they were determined to go swimming. Pretty soon, a group of adult ducks began to help the parent ducks. It was like a duck “cattle drive” and the adult ducks were dividing up and going after the determined ducklings. It was impressive to see how hard they were working for the safety of the little ones. Papa and I walked around a little bit, and as we were walking over the bridge, we saw that most of the ducks had jumped into the water, slid down the little waterfall and were having the time of their lives riding the fast water. The older ducks were all swimming behind, still keeping a close eye on the ducklings, ready to rescue them if they needed it.

Watching this all unfold, made me think of my children and grandchildren. We “old ducks” love you so much and want you to be careful and safe – we sometimes forget that life is to be experienced and enjoyed. Little ducks grow up fast and once they are ready to experience life and all it’s waterfalls, the older ducks just better hope they have taught the ducklings well and get out of their way!!!!

Enjoy those waterfalls!! We love you, ABBY and PaPa