Ducking at Stratford Park fishpond

I took pity on Helena this morning, when she was drying her hair after a bath and contemplating the walk to her work under the dreich sky, which she'd mentioned when she gave me a cup of tea in bed.  I was still rather sleepy but decided to get up as well and then drive her to her workplace on the far side of town.

After struggling through the surprisingly heavy traffic, I drove round and up the long drive to the rear of school.  As we said goodbye, Helena suggested I go to Stratford Park to have a look at the pond 'as there is always something happening', which can usually provide blip fodder.

The park was only a couple of hundred yards away, so after parking close by, I walked to the old fishpond which belonged to the Stratford Park estate.  It was built just upstream of the millpond, formed by the damming of the Painswick stream that fed the original estate's mill.  The millpond was filled in many years ago, long before a Tesco superstore was built on the site of the mill and its car park replaced the pond.

The stream still flows beside the fishpond and I spotted these two ducks in the stream below a weir apparently hunting for food on the bed of the river.  Then suddenly the drake decided that spring had sprung and he mounted the duck and proceeded to push her head under water by grabbing the back of her neck with his beak.  I now think I know where the term ducking originated from.

I must go now, as having got home I've just heard of a minor glitch in council communications, which I seem to be tasked with remedying.  Have a good day everyone.