Oh, those April showers – it sure has been a rainy month. Last weekend we were lucky to escape a soggy Saturday and Sunday, but this weekend, not so much.  I may eke out a walk tomorrow morning, so will keep my fingers crossed for that, but the rest of the weekend looks to be a total washout, and Monday and Tuesday don’t look too swell either.

Thursday started out fine, then suddenly the skies opened up around mid-day and it soon became a torrential rainstorm … in fact, there were a couple of them throughout the day.

That, my friends, is weather for ducks.

It wasn’t the prettiest (or warmest) late April morning when I set out on my walk today, but the sun showed up and tried its best to take the chill off the morning air. I just hurried along faster than usual to make my own heat, as I wended my way down to Council Point Park.

The sun soon warmed me up as I scurried around the perimeter path. I was on the first loop of the trail, pretty darn close to the Creek banks, when I saw some movement in the tall grass.  Though most of the Park has been mowed, this area is quite close to the Creek banks, plus there is an electrical tower nearby, so perhaps it is dangerous to hone in on this grassy area with a riding mower.

That sudden stirring in the grass caused me to stop in my tracks, unzip my coat, reach for the camera and click its power button on … all in one fell swoop.  Yup, I was ready, and would be patient, while hoping for an early morning photo op.

And that photo op was soon heard before it was seen.

A pair of mallard drakes, their teal iridescent heads shimmering in the glimmer of the morning sun, waddled out of the tall grass, walking together companionably, while quacking noisily at no one in particular. In fact, their heads were turned facing toward one other, almost as if they were carrying on a conversation.

But suddenly, one of them began quacking with great gusto, loud noises emanating from that bright yellow bill. With much wing-flapping and no further ado, he suddenly stalked off, that is, if you could describe waddling very fast as “stalking off” … now, there was a male mallard with a colossal attitude!

If there was a thought bubble over the duck that remained, it likely would have read “alright already – so we agree to disagree, but are you really that thin skinned?”

The testy mallard, having separated himself from his pal, simply waddled along, his comrade several paces behind him.

Suddenly, there was more movement in the tall grass and a female mallard exited from those tall grass blades. Evidently, she wanted no part of the fracas, so she waddled along, just taking in the scenery.

The female mallard eventually caught up with the second (and scorned) mallard, and joined him, and they walked side-by-side, with no obvious concern for their friend, who seemingly vanished into thin air.

Hmmm – I wonder if there was originally a trio of ducks and this little scenario certainly gave some credence to the expression “two’s company, three’s a crowd?”

I started to put away the camera and resume walking, when I suddenly spotted The Fractious One as he ambled down a path that parted the tall grass all the way to the water’s edge.

Soon those wide webbed feet were paddling, not walking, and he was bobbing along in the murky waters of the Ecorse Creek.

So, did that cantankerous fellow even miss his friends, or did they care about him?

Hard to tell, but, this little duck tale tells you that our feathered friends are sometimes just as fickle as humans.