We had some snow during the night, and the scenery is quite lovely: We thought it would be a good idea to put the horses in the fields. The paddocks are nice and big, and with the snow the horses keep themselves occupied by scraping for grass. They love it! As long as the snow's deep enough the horses don't make a lot of muddy spots either. So we put the horses in the fields. Suddenly I realized that the ponies had to share their paddock with ... a duck! I snuck up very carefully to check her out. She looked fine, and wasn't afraid of me at all. I think she found something edible in the mud. I left her alone for a couple of hours while doing the chores, and then I grabbed some of Truls's bread and went to check on her again. As you can see she enjoyed the bread: I don't know why she chose our field, but I'm glad she did. Who doesn't like a charming guest? The ponies didn't mind her, but they don't know that she got their bread.
Expect a whole raft of ducks as soon as word of this goes viral on the "Duck Internet" Cute pics Droopy
I doubt if she'll leave now that she's had her belly filled. Just watch out as, before you know it, she'll have invited her whole family to your place.
She was still there earlier this evening when I went to put my ponies inside. She got more of Truls's bread. There's nothing left for Truls now but I'll bring more tomorrow. I hope she'll visit us often, and I don't mind if she brings her friends. She should by rights be down by the sea. The brackish zone where the river meets the sea is much loved by ducks and swans. There's no pond near the stables and I worry the fox might get her. Or Tigger the stable cat, huge beast that he is.
Great piccies and commentary. Gosh Droo--I have to say that first foto is remarkable. The darkness of the sky and the whiteness of the trees is just stunning. The duck looked quite happy with the bread...are you making a place for it in the freezer or something? Just kidding. I know that you wouldn't hurt a fly. Hmmmm.......but a fat duck? Hmmmmm....
Ty Sjoerd. I like duck for dinner, that's no secret, but I also like ducks as birds. They're fun to watch and pretty too. Trouble is, I don't think I could eat a duck I know, you know?
Hee,hee,hee....yeah, I know. Well--they say one is what one eats, hè? Speaking of ducks--I saw two pair on the lottie complex the other day when I was walking around looking at the root debris in the canals. I was thinking --"Gosh, it looks like they are looking for a nesting place already". There is something cosy about seeing a pair of ducks being domestic.
This morning our Miss Duck wasn't in the field paddock when we let the horses out. I was disappointed, but hoped that she had gone to stay with her friends and family by the sea. This afternoon I realized that Miss Duck is Mrs. Duck. She had brought Mr. Duck along. They both got bread. As you can see they enjoyed the treat. Poor Truls didn't get any bread today either. I'll bring a lot tomorrow. Here's the cute couple. Sorry for the poor photo quality but it was darkening and the flash didn't want to play:
Haha, we didn't bring any candles for them. They can waddle very fast. The horses tried to say hello, and they both went waddle-waddle-waddle to get out of the way.
