Love A Duck

What a change in the weather! We had a lovely dogwalk in bright, warm sunshine. Frankie dog loved greeting the friendly Pekin ducks with her special wildfowl bark. She was named after the French Franc when my son-in-law was working in foreign exchange. She is half poodle. The French name for poodle, Caniche, comes from the word cane (the female of the duck) since this type of breed was used as a water retriever mainly for duck hunting thanks to its swimming ability. Frankie is a wonderful swimmer but we rarely let her into the lake as we don't want her to frighten the wildlife.

I've been researching the Pekin ducks and was interested to read that these stout birds were bred for meat and that they became more popular for the purpose than the formerly favoured Cayugas as they have white plumage which makes them easier to prepare for that table than the dark Cayugas. I'd never heard of a Cayuga until I read Chamaeleo's journal. :)