An uncomfortable muggy and warmish walk this morning but I got ‘er done and 2 ½ miles under my belt. When I opened the screen door, this monstrous rabbit jumped out in front of the door and fairly flew under the gate and into the backyard. All I saw was the flash of a white powder puff tail and huge feet after I startled him and then he was gone. Talk about a jackrabbit start!! And no, I will not admit he was more scared of me than I was of him. I think he had been sitting in front of the garden near the stoop, munching grass and contemplating life, when I opened the door and scared both of us. Cwazy wabbit!!

After my heart stopped pounding, I was on my way. It was an unusually tranquil morning and I suspect a lot of kids are already out of school for Summer vacation. I went a different route, seeking a little shade, and turned up a tree-lined street. As I walked up Capitol, I saw two objects on the front lawn of a small house. Since I wear my old eyeglasses from about ten years ago when I walk or exercise, the two objects were a little fuzzy. As I neared the house I kept squinting and straining to see what I thought was a bright yellow duck bill; no, wait – make that two duck bills, two duck heads. Nah, it couldn’t be. Thinking of the old adage “if it looks like a duck …” I kept walking closer and they never moved. By then I figured they were decoys and I could hardly wait to get up close to check them out. Surprise! Two very live mallard ducks – a drake and a female. They were huge and just plopped down on the grass and staring at me as if I didn’t belong there. I stood there mesmerized and then they looked bored and just waddled away to another patch of grass. I wished I had some bread to toss to them. Perhaps they were someone’s pets? I wanted to go scoop them up, tuck one under each arm and take them down to Council Point Park with their brethren, lest any harm come to them. They were so sedate, not quacking like their noisy friends. The male was stunning with his vibrant colored feathers, bright bill and iridescent head and the female’s coloring was drab and a mottled brown. This just made my day.
P.S. I hope Elmer Fudd doesn’t hear about these cwazy wildlife encounters this morning!