A Micro-Duckling ~ fights through with a teensy bit of help

 

My condo complex is built next to a natural pond with a creek running into and out of it. So, we have ducks. As you approach my building, there is a sign: Slow: Duck Crossing.

So, one of the female ducks had a brood of six, and one of them was teeny, itsy-bitsy. The mom seemed to pick on it. This seems to be so brutal, but these are wild creatures, not tame…and she is a small new mom and may have been very anxious. So, this little one would sorta hide beneath one of his siblings. He touched my heart with such an huge impact that I began seriously praying for his survival. I mean fervently throughout the day. I didn’t see the gaggle for over a week. When I saw next them, this little one had survived the 8 or 9 days or so, and had grown, but was still the micro-duckling of the group. The mom seemed not to be picking on him so much, but he was still attached to the side of his sibling. Wherever the other duckling went, he went. I began think of this little one as he, a generic kind of he. I’ll find out in another month or so what sex he is by his markings.

We also have a colony of stray cats. A vet tech lived in the condo complex before I moved in and she trapped them and had them neutered. Thus, we don’t have kittens…so far. A few of the residents feed the cats and the ducks cat food. Since I knew they were eating cat food, I’d approach the group of ducklings and toss cat food to them, making sure the itsy one got a good portion of the food, but not overly so. Didn’t want him to gorge and become ill. This goes along with my decision to live more intentionally. To do things with purpose and to stick to it. To be mindful.

Well, he’s grown some and I don’t feed them any more because it’s better that they forage for food in the reeds around the pond and in the grass instead of beg for human food or cat food. Actually, the cat food is better for them than the white bread some people feed them. Commercial white bread has no food value for humans or for ducks…but that’s another blog article.

I do chase the males away from this small mom and her brood ~ yeah, intentionally and with purpose on my part. At this time of year the males tussle and it seems to frighten this new mom. We have traffic at the condo complex and it’s best if things are calm when she’s leading her ducklings to and from the pond. Once, after a rainfall, I caught mom and her younguns splashing in a puddle in the middle of the parking lot. Looked like a lot of fun. Still, I took on the role of killjoy and chased them onto the grass and kept chasing them till they were well away from the asphalt. At any rate, I’m happy to report the little guy is growing and doing well.

Meanwhile, at my client’s house on another Florida pond (where because I’m semi-retired but too energetic not to work, I do part-time in-home care) we have another duck scenario going on.

There is a grouping for four ducks at one end of the pond. It seems to be one male and three females. A lone female from the other side of the pond is trying to bring herself and and her fairly large duckling (he’s still got the grayish brown duckling feathers, but he’s about to get his adult feathers) into the group. The adult male in the group of four doesn’t want the large duckling. That’s why I’m thinking this duckling is a male. The mother keeps swimming up to the group and without fail, the large male duck viciously (but with no physical contact) chases the duckling away.

At one point, after one of these chases, the duckling wound up on one side of the pond and his mom was on the other. The duckling frantically rushed back and forth along the bank calling for her. She’s a small, new mom with only one duckling and is no match for the male. So, she made her way slowly around the pond while the duckling cried for her. When she got to him, she led him away to the far end. This went on in duckdom for three days. And each time the male rejected the duckling.

On the fourth day, the mom stopped trying to introduce herself and her duckling into the larger group of ducks. I was so proud of her, she chose her duckling. She set up camp for the two of them at the far end of the pond where they stayed all day. They foraged for food together and they nestled together. At one point she gave me a scare. She began pushing the duckling’s head under water and I thought she was trying to drown him. No, she was showing him how to take a bath in the pond. After pushing his head under a few times, she ducked hers under and when she came up, shook her head and flapped her wings. He immediately imitated her.

Life in the wild can be brutal and scary. I guess that’s why it’s called the wild. Many days when I enter my house, I just have to hug my cats and my little doggie and tell them I love them and that I will protect them. Like that small duck mom who chose her baby over the protection for herself of the group, I choose them. It’s stewardship, yes, and love for all creatures large and small.

 

Mrs. Turtle ~ a day in a life

Every life has value, and God pronounced them all “good.”

While walking my dog, I came upon her one morning. She sat on the sidewalk that surrounded a group of apartment buildings in my condo complex. My neighbor thought she’d walked across our wide asphalt parking lot to lay her eggs in one of the areas our landscapers had planted with all kinds of tropical foliage.

When I approached her, she became afraid, ducked her head in.

The problem was, in the time it had taken to lay her eggs, the sun had risen and this is Florida. We’ve been having record highs. It was very hot and she’d have to get across hot asphalt to get back to the creek…where she had no doubt come from. Not to mention, landscapers were driving their trucks in and residents were going out.

I was born in the wilds of rural New York State, so touching a turtle is no problem for me. I picked her up, carried her across the parking lot, and placed her on bank of the creek at the other side of our condo complex.

A simple thing really. It took no more than five minutes out of my day. An intentional and truly good moment, one that I count as joy. I hope God considers this an act of good stewardship in terms of His creation and a small creature who could not navigate modern existence.

Fire and Thorn, a fantasy by Mary Vee ~ a review

Fantasy, Middle Grade, Juvenile Literature

At the beginning of this novel, just like so many kids today, Gilbert is self-centered. He’s a bit arrogant too, as he’s a prince and heir to the throne. Then his father, the king, is killed by a dragon and his mother is captured and taken away. This forces Gilbert to quickly begin the maturing process. And I loved that about this book. He’s forced to make decisions beyond his ability as he begins the fight to save his kingdom from darkness. He tries, often makes mistakes and tries again.

Mystery and suspense are my jam, and there was no shortage of those.

The author sprinkles wry humor throughout. One bit that made me chuckle happens before Gilbert’s coronation when the heavy, royal robe is placed on his shoulders. Gilbert feels like a coat rack. When the Lord Chancellor asks him if he’s ready, Gilbert replies, “As much as possible, Lord Chancellor Matthias.”

I would recommend this novel for all middle grade, juvenile, and YA readers who have a sense of adventure and a questing spirit. If CHRONICLES OF NARNIA was their thing, this is a good read for them.