Anas Platyrhynchos: a common, almost cosmopolitian wild duck

So it happened: Martin started walking. Life as we know it has changed forever. But then again… life as we knew it had changed at least 3 times before - when the other brothers started walking. Collectively that is enough times that it has had an addictive effect on us. So now we eagerly grab every opportunity to “change the way we know life”. That is why we adopted 4 ducklings. (Susan Lucky Duck Whitehead had so many children she knew not what to do…and since they would not all fit in a shoe… we joyfully accepted a few.)

Leaving them outside would not have had a tremendous impact on our lives, so we brought them inside to experience the changed life more fully. (You remember the camping opportunity I mentioned in the previous post? It’s getting all the more authentic! Nature’s sounds, nature’s aroma – it’s all yours to experience comfortably inside our house. Better sign up!)

The boys have all named their ducks: Peeper (Devan’s), ZZ (Neels’), HooHaa (Pieter’s) and Aabie (Martin’s). Now I know that it is not nice to slaughter named live stock (and unless the economy drives us to that extreme, we won’t) but surely it is acceptable/desireable to return them to nature. Our (Mx&Scott’s) plan is to release the little qaucklings onto a pond in about 8 weeks. Unfortunately the boys (especially Devan) have brighter visions for them: a happy duck family taking up residence “for ever and ever” in our yard. Martin is attached too –he takes them for “walks” on sunny days by pushing their container like a stroller through the yard. Pieter shares his stuffed animals with them and Neels guards the backdoor with a sword in case the neighbor’s cat should sneak in.

Though we are not fundamentally against their desire, the last couple of cold rainy INSIDE days have not helped to promote the idea to us. But these little men are passionate about their ducks! I fear they may just blame their entire future psychological disturbances on this single event to come: the release of their beloved ducklings. Are we as responsible, loving parents willing to take the risk of having socially and emotionally maladjusted children due to the heartless action of duck liberation? Absolutely. Friends, Romans, Countrymen: lend me thine nose and thine sympathies will be ours!