THE BEST LAID PLANS PT. 2

     It turned out I was rather good with ducks. It also turned out that I had checked out two volumes of the same book on duck care. One was returned immediately, one was read from cover to cover, save for the chapter about butchering them, which was worth only a glance and a grimace. There would be no butchering of these little creatures, thank you very much and, who knew there were so many duck breeds? Huh.    

     Junior and Jellybean quickly imprinted on me and would follow me about the yard. If I would pause, they would immediately stop waddling and lay down. As soon as I would resume walking, so would they. I was their mama and they trusted me implicitly. It was a good feeling. I figured if they were willing to put such great faith in me, I must be doing something right. Seeing them swim for the first time, replete with diving beneath the water’s surface, a nod to their Mallard half, was enough to make my chest swell with maternal pride. When they moved from their nursery in a small animal pen in the shop to the little yard we constructed replete with a house just big enough for the two of them, I worried about them spending the night outdoors. Would they be safe? Would they be warm enough? Would they remember to brush their teeth and say their prayers? My babies had grown up. I had managed to raise them to the point that they could start to become independent of me and I was rather proud of myself, considering how little I knew at the time. 

     In keeping with their having become teenagers, Junior and Jellybean no longer wanted to follow me with the complete adoration they had once bestowed me with. Rather, I seemed to just be someone who was there to feed them and clean up after them and, at times, even a nuisance with my seemingly constant fussing and worrying. I opted not to take it personally. After all, I was once a teenager myself.

    A few months after their arrival, Junior and Jellybean were joined by Jacob, a full-blooded Indian Runner drake with black plumage that glistened green in the sunlight and a small white patch on his chest that could have passed for a clerical collar. Then came Monty, Midge, and Myrtle, three of Jacob’s relatives, and I had myself a small flock. With four ducks, the proper term for a female of the species, I also had eggs and I would dutifully collect them every morning while thinking, “Wow! I’m practically a farm girl!”  But, things were only getting started.