DUCKLINGS!!

The first weekend in May we brought two Muscovy ducks home. I chose this breed because they are supposed to be excellent bug eaters and the females are said to be wonderful mothers. 34 days ago Belle, the duck pictured here, settled in on a nest of over 20 eggs. She lined the nest with downy feathers from her breast, and then sat there. And sat there. In heat and sun and dark she was there on that nest, her huge flat feet and heavy body delicately covering those porcelain look a like eggs. Once a day she would stand, carefully cover the nest, and leave the coop. Outside she would eat and drink her fill, and eliminate 24 hours worth of waste products. Then she'd head back in and sit some more. I have never seen such patience and dedication. (There are human parents who could take lessons!)

Yesterday her long days of waiting were rewarded. There are ducklings! They are tiny and fuzzy and impossibly cute. Belle is still on the nest, keeping her new charges warm and safe. I suspect there are still eggs hatching under her downy chest. I can hardly wait until she brings her fluffy family out to meet the world.