Out on a Limb Redux (Reducks?)

  

When last we left our duckish cast of characters, only one of the eight ducks in the oldest brood was able to navigate up to a perch on the pine tree branch.  And then, Sunday...Ta da - the white duck made it up!!!

Once again, the other ducks (including the successful tree duck from the other day) stood around in a grumpy group below, glancing upwards enviously. This time, though, it was white duck's turn to look down her orange bill and bob her head at the low-class rabble below.

Actually, the duck who'd made it up last time tried to get up again too.  But, in a deja vu performance, this time it was she overshooting the mark and clinging desperately to the side of the tree while it was her white-feathered sister's turn to look on and laugh.  In a flurry of flapping wings, it was proved yet again that a duck (no matter how motivated or talented) simply isn't designed to stick to a vertical surface.

And then that white duck,
silhouetted alone
      and victorious
               against the sky,

proved herself to be a true Olympian as she added yet another level of difficulty to the Frogpond balance beam routine.

She took a few minutes to study the top of the nearby dog kennel...












...and then stunned the audience by hurtling across space for about ten feet and absolutely sticking her landing on the top bar.  Barely a bobble!  The judges all gave her 10's.  {thunderous applause}  Let's hear it for big webbed feet.

As entertaining as these duck acrobatics are, I'm hoping that they leave it at this.  The roof of the house is close to and just a little higher than where all of the arial action has been taking place.  And I can say with absolute certainty that I don't want a bunch of ducks hanging out up there.      





"Study of Blackberries and Poison Oak"

Completely unrelated, but very much on my mind, I now have a nice collection of poison oak welts on my left leg.  Yup, I went out blackberry picking at the patch up on the dam that is laced with poison oak.  In the evening.  As it was getting dark.

           What was I thinking?????