An Evening with the Ducks

          (This was written on Monday 20, September 2010 but not posted until after midnight of the 21st)

Despite the unseasonably warm mid-September heat, we have still been able to enjoy many evening hours outdoors. For the past week, Little Bear and I (and oftentimes, Peanut, too) have spent an hour or two tossing the football back and forth or we have visited with neighbors as the kids play in the yard. Tonight, however, instead of playing football or visiting, we chose to do something a bit different. For days now, Peanut has begged us to take him to feed the ducks. So, mom, Little Bear, Peanut, one of the boys' friends and I all took a late-evening walk to the nearby Saluki Lake to feed the geese and the ducks that call this small lake home. With small baggies of Goldfish crackers in hand, we made our way to the lake only to find that most of the geese had already migrated over to the nearby wildlife refuge for the night. Thankfully, we were still able to locate nine brown ducks and one large white duck a few yards away on a nearby embankment.

   

          After the boys threw a few handfuls of crackers, four of the brown ducks and the one white duck seemed to get the idea and swam over to enjoy the proffered snack. Soon, the five smaller brown ducks  who had initially stayed behind decided to join the fun and came running (yes, running) across the grassy bank to get their share of crackers, too. The three boys had so much fun tossing crackers to the ducks, listening to the funny grumbling and splashing sounds the ducks made as they fought over the floating multicolored crackers. After a short amount of time, the lone white Aflac duck became quite friendly to the boys, allowing them to hand-feed her (him?) and gently pet her as she ate. It was at this moment that I realized that, silly me, I forgot my camera at home. Yes, I know. Not having a camera on hand is so unlike me. I missed a couple of really great shots, too. Darn it. Making the best of the situation, though, I pulled out my cell phone camera to at least snap a few pictures, low quality though they will undoubtedly be.  



Peanut watching Little Bear feed the Aflac duck.



  

After watching brother, Peanut had to try and feed the duck, too. So stinkin' cute!

          A few pictures later, the boys ran out of crackers and we decided to head home. As we were leaving, I glanced back to see a beautiful sight; the landscape of trees and houses were nothing more than black silhouettes against an azure sky as the milky white moon shone brightly, its reflection rippling in the gentle lapping of lake water against the grassy bank.

  
  The pictures aren't great but the memories certainly are. The moment wasn't exactly life-changing, but it was laughter-inducing.  And I am reminded, yet again... What beautiful little details God paints into our lives, and what precious memories are made by an impromptu visit to feed the ducks!