Duckie Dynasty: Donald’s Duckings

A couple of years ago, we were adopted by a large group of ducks that waddled up the creek to set up home under the bridge near our house. Now, they own the neighborhood.

Because the ducks were so young when they first 'moved in', Perry decided he was better equipped at incubating their eggs than they were. Seeing him run across the drive with his arms loaded down with duck eggs became the norm. He devised an elaborate incubation system and several months later, we were the proud parents of 21 ducklings.

We gave some away and moved several over to our Pond House but learned the hard way that Nature has a better idea of what she's doing than we do. Because the ducks weren't raised in the wild, they became 'sitting ducks' for dogs, coyotes, and hawks. We have one duck left from our first clutch.

In a burst of creativity, we decided to name him Donald. He paddles along the water in lonely solitude waiting for a group to be apart of.

Ducks are social creatures and don't do well by themselves. It's a fact that has bothered me throughout the fall and winter when I would see him resting on the banks of the pond alone.

Thankfully, there's people like Lisa who sent me a text not too long ago to tell me that she had something for Donald: