wildlife | Funny about Money

Yes: Feathers in the pool. Wads of feathers.

But: No dead bird. Whaaa?

Normally, if a bird falls in the water and drowns (which they very rarely do), they get sucked into the strainer basket. But there’s no sign of a Deceased anywhere around, except for a flotilla of feathers swirling around the surface.

So I figure one of two things must have happened:

Possibility the First: A hawk or an owl nailed a dove or a pigeon in flight as it happened to pass over the pool

Possibility the Second: DuckDuck came back for a visit and took up her favorite perch on the coping. Other Daughter’s Accursed Cat somehow came over the wall (there are some places on the eastside where the beast could still get in), pounced DuckDuck, and was beaten back. In the ensuing fight, DuckDuck lost a few feathers, but managed to fly away.

Really, even if you were a cat (maybe especially if you were a cat) you wouldn’t want to do battle with DuckDuck. She has a hooked beak that could, in theory, inflict some noticeable damage.

WhatEVER. I’m reminded that east-side wall does need to be shored up . Yesterday I finished installing fresh cat-repelling tack strips on all the walls around the backyard. But the east side still has a short stretch that needs to be cat-proofed. This morning I strapped up enough to cover one stretch — eight strips of carpet tacks. In about five minutes I have to leave for choir practice. This afternoon it will be too hot to install eccentricities — it’s in the 90s here now. Tomorrow morning I’m out the door at 6:30 a.m. And Sunday, of course, we have the Easter Frenzy, precluding any construction projects in the cool of the day. So it’ll be Monday before the job gets done.

But…done it will be.

M’hijito came by this afternoon with Charley the Golden Retriever. We hiked in the mountain preserve and then came back to the Funny Farm and hung out. While he was here, Ruby and Charley got into the pool area and started frolicking around.

Straightaway, Ruby started snurfling and digging around under the cat’s claw. M’hijito went to inquire and found, lo! THE DUCK’S NEST!

She’s made a nest right next to the pool, in under the tangle of jungle vines that is the aged cat’s claw mound. There were no eggs in it, and so we figured my efforts to chase her away worked. I haven’t seen her for a week or ten days.

Well.

No. Just now I went out there to pick up some of the junk that’s blown into the pool, and what should I see all snuggled under the foliage but DUCK!

Yup. There she is.

She’s so cute and pretty and sweet on her nest. The wind is howling around, junk is flying through the air and crashing into the pool. And I can not bring myself to scare her off or sic the pup on her.

So I guess we have a tame duck out there. Before long, we’ll have about half-a-dozen ducklings, no doubt.

Wonder if there’s some sort of covering I could cut to fit and lay over the KoolDeck alongside her new home, so she doesn’t wreck that porous stuff? It would have to be heavy enough to stay put and not slippery under foot, because I have to go back and forth along that narrow ledge to care for the pool. I probably can secure it with rocks and bricks. Hm.

She’s a very beautiful little bird. And weirdly, she doesn’t seem to be even faintly afraid of humans, even after I’ve squirted her with water and tossed a beach ball at her.

Pet duck. Just what I’ve always needed. 🙄