In 2003, my daughter was just turning three years old in the spring when our mama duck started to hatch out a nest of eggs.
The bad part about hatching eggs in the spring is our unpredictable weather and strong snow storms. You guessed it, there was 8 inches of snow on the ground that morning. The first two babies to hatch were pushed out into the snow while mama was working on hatching out another egg. They died.
My husband and I couldn't stand the thought of losing more babies, so he risked the wrath of mama duck to grab the third baby away from her before the baby froze. Gary didn't make it through the gate before mama duck was on his back trying to defend her baby. Mama ducks can be vicious.
My daughter was so happy to have this cute little yellow ducky in the house. She practically slept with it, well not really. She named it Lucky, as he sure was. As he got older he followed her everywhere. She would ride her bike and he'd be right behind her. She would run around the backyard and there he was.
He finally got old enough to be put in the duck pen with the three other ducks. Papa duck didn't like him. He would chase him into the corner; he wouldn't let him by mama duck or the other girl duck. I was starting to think Lucky may be a boy and papa didn't want him encroaching on his territory. A few days passed, and we found Lucky pinned between the pool and the plywood: dead. This was very traumatic for my daughter and she still will tell the story and be emotional about it.
Lucky Duck was not so lucky.
Good news: My husband stopped in the feed store yesterday and picked up two baby ducks for my daughter to train, hallelujah!
n Pinion Hills Elementary School: Friday, May 19, 5-8 p.m. is the 10th annual ice cream social. It is a wonderful benefit for the school where they hope to raise enough money to fund the purchase of Smart Boards.
Smart Boards are an interactive white board when hooked to a computer. There is a raffle for two round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines to anywhere Southwest flies with no restrictions and no blackout dates. I'd like to win that, how about you? The tickets for that raffle are $5 each and you must be present to win. They will have games like sack races, face stamps, ice cream toss, tattoos, and a prize wall. The sixth grade will entertain us with a talent show and there will be food, basket raffles and of course, ice cream. Everyone is invited. Please come join us for a great event.
n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.
