part two
PART TWO
The next day there was more breeding. And the next day and the next day…. Next thing you know; she was sitting on a secret clutch of eggs on OUR farm. HUH, well we let the neighbors know where she was and we knew she would be there for a little more than a month. We agreed to Duck sit while she sat and would give her and her babies back when they hatched.
Like every farm must endure, our beloved animals sometimes fall prey to predators flying by. Our lovely drake Dice was attacked by an eagle. My wife tried to stop it from happening, but Dice ended up with a partially broken neck. He was still alive but only long enough to say good bye. I still can’t believe how much I ended up loving that drake. Our hearts were broken and my wife was traumatized.
Our focus changed quickly when Sharon came out of hiding with her three little baby ducklings. Baby ducks are so tiny; their bill is no bigger than the width of a women’s’ pinky finger. And cute. Oh my god, now we have to give them back. Catching them was one thing but handing them over broke our hearts all over again. How on earth can one duck change my opinion of them with such fierce emotion?
Farm chores and working full time jobs kept us busy and we soon lost those traumatic feelings of loss. However, there was still a hole in the fence and every now and then we would see Sharon enjoying our seasonal pond. We learned that her babies were safely locked away from predators but they were also locked away from Sharon, so she began visiting us more and more. Soon we saw her every day and everywhere. Sharon was sporting an angel wing which is when the last knuckle on the wing tip is not yet formed thoroughly and the huge wing feathers start to grow in. The wing tilts outward and prevents them from flying but not from enjoying life. She visited us in our blueberries, market garden and even way out in the pasture hanging with the goats and cows.
Her ability to make us smile was impressive. She captivated us every single time she had a bath in her kiddie pool. The flapping wings would splash and soak anyone watching. Sharon definitely contributed to our curiosity to learn more about ducks and her. Little did we know she had her secrets. Secret love affairs that occurred at night or when we were working. It did not take long for her to create a secret nest and stimulate the need to sit. When we found her, marked it on the calendar, we realized she was going to hatch them out a couple of days after we left for Europe. We were going to miss it. We now know how fast ducks grow because one of Sharon’s babies decided to make her way through the fence and was now hanging out near the pond. We called her Pegasus because she could fly. Sharon was really ticked off to see Peggy hanging around. She would have nothing to do with her.
Well Peggy started a parade of duck action. A large drake, a Pekin and Peggy all decide to leave the neighbors and live on our farm. Our neighbors confirmed this was ok with them and we said we will do our best to protect them.
How many ducks do we have now and we are leaving for Europe soon? Four! Sharon, Poppa Duck, Peggy and Pekin. Four beautiful ducks, or did we ……………
Return next week for the continued adventures in :
The Chronicles of Sharon..........
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