June 08, 2003 - 7:11 am
Keyyyyyyrist.
Yesterday Hubby wakes me up. Momzilla (that's his mother, for those who haven't heard my 'Zilla stories in the past...) found a duckling in her pool in her backyard. Will I come doooooooooooo something with it?
Uhm, okay.
Turns out to be a Wood Duckling and is tres cute. Couldn't be more than 5 days old, perhaps, and is damn lucky to have Zilla (and not one of her zillion cats) find it.
So, knowing that there's not a snowball's chance in hell that I can give this lil ducklett what it needs to survive properly, I call Wildlife Rescue.
I tell them where the duckling was, that we've got a nest of Woodies on our pond (gee, I can see the google hits coming now!) - which is about 1500 yards from where they found this duckling - and that I'd like to bring it in. Sure, they say, come on over.
So, Hubby and I trek over to the rescue joint. They tell us it's too small for them to deal with, and for us to try to put it in the nest across our pond. RRRRRRIIIIIIGGGGHHHHT.
They try to tell me that this duckling probably came from this nest. There's no way. That little baby duck would have had to go up a huge hill, across 2 horse pastures, through a patch of woods, across someone's yard, past another pond, and into her pool. Hrm.
So, DH and 'Zilla head out with babyduck in a box, and a huge extension ladder.
I resign myself to the deck to watch the folly unfold.
DH props the ladder up on the tree. There's NO WAY that thing is going to reach the duck nest. See? The nest is in the bottom of the 3 holes near the top. Now that I see it in a photo, it's even more hilarious.
Mama duck is sticking her head out and laughing, I'm sure, at what's going on.
Finally, DH and 'Zilla resign themselves to the fact that there's NO WAY that duckling is going back into that nest (which I'm certain wouldn't have been such a great idea anyway...MamaDuck would have probably rejected it AND her babies due to all this Human Commotion).
After much convincing that BabyDuck has best odds at the rescue operation, and that he still may die, and no, the duckling shouldn't have the right to die at home (*Snort* She really thought at least it could die at her home with someone loving it and holding it...sweet, but terror to the poor duckling!), said BabyDuck went back to the rescue place.
I'm hoping he survives and is released here.
Whew.
Hey, Grousie, can you give me any scoop on Snapping Turtles? We've got a big, icky one in our pond. I don't mind the other turtles we've got, but this guy creeps me out. Is he eating my fish? Should I shedule him for turtle-removal? Either via offing him or moving him somehow?
Ahhhh, country livin'. *giggle* And, to think that I grew up in suburban Chicago!
~L
