Quack-Quack

Some of you may know by comments I’ve left that I’m quite fond of mallards. I’m happy they’re so common because it means I get to see them often. I find them amusing by the way they waddle on land and dabble in the water. You may think they all look alike but that’s actually not true, each one is unique. I know this because we had up to 40 mallards when I was a kid • My father inherited his father’s cottage on Scott Pond and after adding three bedrooms and a living room the family drove from Texas to NH and moved in • Dad was an animal lover so it wasn’t long before mallards were introduced to the pond. They swam free during three seasons of the year but once freezing temperatures settled in my Dad and older brother paddled the pond in a canoe catching ducks one by one. A wooden Duck House with an attached pen not far from our own house served as their winter home • I was their caretaker responsible for feeding and watering them, cleaning their house and retrieving duck eggs. I knew each one by name and they followed me around like the Pied Piper :) • Waddle-Waddle!