I know the phrase “Kodak Moment” will sail right over your head unless you’re of a certain age. I’m sure many of you have never had the occasion to use a Kodak camera or film, let alone sent your roll of precious memories to Kodak’s processing plant in Rochester, New York, then checked your mailbox two or three weeks later for your prints and a fresh roll of film. Digital cameras and phone cameras have pretty much obliterated Kodak as King, as well as the phrase “Kodak Moment” which was part of that company’s ad campaign to focus on capturing those special images that might not happen again.
I would estimate that I carry my point-and-shoot camera with me on my daily treks 99.9% of the time. Not every image that crosses my eyes warrants taking a shot and many mornings the camera stays in its pouch on my fanny pack in the Summer, or tucked into a pocket once I’m wearing a coat.
And, then there are days that a glance at the sky, or multiple weather reports on the radio, Twitter and Accuweather’s website suggest rain or snow flurries may happen while I am out walking, so then I leave the camera at home.
It was just that occasion that I should have had my camera and did not a few weeks ago.
Feeding the critters.
I’ve been walking at Council Point Park since May of 2013 and I’ve been feeding the critters at that venue just as long. Yes, it is YOU that makes the decision to continue feeding them once you start (as they are your friends for life), however, should you decide to forego that nicety, chances are the squirrels and birds didn’t get the memo. They view your appearance on the perimeter path as Pavlov’s dog might have – “yay, the Peanut Lady is here” or loosely translated “our meal ticket has arrived!” Over the years, I’ve had female walkers say to me “thank goodness you’re here as YOUR squirrels were pestering me for peanuts and I’m not starting that with them!”
But, let me clarify that squirrels are not the only critters that assume you are their continuous feedbag. A recent trip to Council Point Park affirmed that for me.
November and December were wacky weather months – we ran the gamut of mild and sunny days, to bitter cold and gray days … sometimes even in the course of a 24-hour period. Of late, there had been a young man fishing off the cement ledge. I have walked past him and he was deep in concentration, staring at the water, lest he miss “the big one” as he waited patiently for a nibble on his lines. Close by his fishing gear were a hot drink takeout cup and a plastic container … no, not night crawlers, but cracked corn. He always left after me, so I would have no way of knowing if he had strewn cracked corn on the cement ledge before departing, but that was my guess as a cluster of Mallard ducks always hovered within close range of where he sat on a milk crate. I suspected he wasn’t baiting his lures on his multiple fishing poles with that corn either.
The “Haves” and the “Have Nots” (when you’re a critter).
So, on this particular Wednesday morning, the weather folks said the snow flurries would fly by the 10 o’clock hour. No problem with that, as I’d be home by then, but I left the camera behind since the sky was very gray and I figured I had already taken more than enough photos to last a few months.
Just before I reached the cement landing, I stopped to toss some peanuts for a few gray squirrels who slept in and missed my stops at the other two locales where I have been regularly making peanut drops the last two months. They came scampering over and immediately switched to a begging stance. I chastised them for slacking off and made a production of dumping some peanuts on the ground and pointing to them with my boot toe. I always do this when the side of the pathway is littered with leaves as I don’t want the peanuts sinking into the leaves and grass and meanwhile my little pals’ tummies are growling after I leave. The pair of squirrels merely stared at me. Suddenly gigantic flakes began tumbling from the sky, so I said “I gotta go – they say we’re getting freezing rain tonight, so eat these peanuts as I may not be back for a few days.”
So, whether that warning fizzed on them at all, I really don’t know, but evidently my chatter DID reach some nearby Mallards and at least a dozen of them left the water and came stomping up the Creek bank and planted themselves near the squirrels and me. They surrounded me in anticipation of treats like I was “The Corn Fairy” not “The Peanut Lady”.
I had to smile at the pair of ducks who evidently were the leaders of the pack. They were tall, light-brown colored ducks and were front and center and they began to quack and advance together with the remaining ducks surrounding me quickly … apparently they felt safety in numbers might achieve their goal. I’d never seen these big brown ducks before, but they sure were friendly.
I looked around, no fisherman – hmm, so evidently I was the substitute who was supposed to produce treats just like he did. I had no more peanuts and don’t usually carry duck food on me, so I shrugged and said “sorry – really I am, but I don’t have food or treats and I’m out of peanuts.” The pair up front looked at me dumbfounded and gave a few quacks and within a minute, the whole bunch of them exited stage left and went back into the water. It was a little surreal, as I’ve not had a group of ducks approach me like that. I felt badly and called after them “guys – I’ll bring something for next time … not corn as I’m not going to the store, but some kind of treat, okay?”
Another missed “Kodak Moment” … sigh.
Birds of a feather break bread, er … WASA crackers, together.
I didn’t make it back until that weekend and I brought along WASA whole-grain crackers. No ducks. Three days in a row and no ducks and finally the moon and stars aligned … ducks showed up and this time, I had food AND the camera.
Well unfortunately, this encounter just wasn’t the same – it lacked the pizazz and spontaneity, the feeling like I was somehow Snow White and the ducks were paying me a visit. But, I brought food, just like I promised, so I felt I had redeemed myself in their eyes.
If you bring “critter food” you must bring enough for a crowd or risk hurt feelings. Many years ago, as a newbie to Council Point Park, I brought a bag of bread, after getting a buy-one-loaf-get-one-free deal at Meijer. I broke the loaf all up and figured I’d share it with the waterfowl. But no ducks were there that day, so I scattered the bag of bread for the Canada Geese, who waddled over and enjoyed it as a change from their regular grass diet. Back then I didn’t know bread was not good for waterfowl. So the gaggle of geese gulped down their bread, then their brethren, on the other side of the walking loop, were eager to get some treats of their own and they hurried over to see me. I showed them the empty wrapper and that didn’t go over well. They charged me and I ran like heck! I caught up with about a half-dozen women walkers and wormed my way into their cozy group and said “bear with me, those geese wanted more bread.” The ladies were cool with accepting me into their group, the geese lost track of me (whew) and I learned a valuable lesson that day.
So back to the present time. The ducks saw the crackers, which I hurriedly broke into sections before dashing out the house. I should have made the pieces smaller I guess. The ducks climbed out of the water and were reluctant at first …
… then they were all in and began eating the crackers.
Soon the Canada geese saw the activity on the cement ledge and decided to investigate. I thought “déjà vu with these geese – didn’t I learn anything the first go around?” Those Canada geese climbed out of the water and took command of the food, but the ducks didn’t back off entirely.
Finally, they settled down and broke bread, er … crackers together.
One female Mallard just gave up and said “oh, let ’em at it!” and waddled off in disgust and plopped back into the Creek.
The light brown ducks, which led the parade before, are much larger than the Mallards. Fellow walker Arnie and I think they might be some type of Pekin-Mallard hybrid. They are huge and I believe the leaders of the ducks at this venue. I looked on some duck websites, but I can’t I.D. them. Maybe you can?
Since I took these photos, more people have encountered these ducks who are emboldened to step out of the water, go up the Creek bank and onto the perimeter path in search of food – this has become an almost everyday occurrence, except this past weekend as the Creek was frozen solid. But they never have come up close in my personal space like that day! I’m still smiling at that encounter. Ducks, unlike geese, are pretty friendly.
I’ll have a follow-up story on the fisherman, whose name is Jacob, as we had a long chat about my close encounters of the duck variety. Since I’ve spoken with Jacob, he’s not been back, unless he arrives after my usual departure time. He assured me the ducks are not hungry and they’re full of shad, the feeder fish that live in this Creek. We agreed the ducks just like hanging with humans and squeezing us for food.
The aftermath of the fisherman and the ducks .…
Well, you’ve no doubt heard the expression “lucky duck” and it applies here. Now you often see people bringing food for the ducks and scattering it on the ledge. This week for Wordless Wednesday, you’ll see such a feeding frenzy and I didn’t create it.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I like the line ” Here is our meal ticket”, 🙂 I have never seen a duck like that one, hybrid or mutant duck. 🙂 Wonderful group of photos Linda.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Sandra – I feel like that sometimes, but I have to admit it warms my heart to see them coming over to these two places in the Park. For me, it is almost like having a feeder at the house to give them food and for them, it’s probably like having a kindly neighbor giving them peanuts. So in good weather it’s a sure thing for them. So a win-win and I’m getting more birds straying to the tree these days. The squirrels have figured out how to get to the Safe Haven Tree from trees that are close by and they jump from each tree onto this one and down the trunk. So, they still go out onto the grassy part of the donut (walking loop inside), but not as much as before. Fingers crossed I have not seen any hawks in about a month – maybe they gave up.
LikeLike
I’m thinking of writing to the DNR to see if they can shed some light on this type of duck. The Mallard Hybrids at Elizabeth Park are large like this but have more Mallard features. This was really different and huge. The one photo is a little blurry and the Mallard photo bombed, but gave the best look at how large they were. Also Pekins are very friendly like that – remember the duck with the M&M cookies. Eating right from the palm of the hand without missing a beat.
LikeLike
I love your Kodak moments. I remember going to the little Kiosk in the parking lot of our local shopping center to drop off my film. Such good memories. Gah those orange feet! 🧡🧡🧡 xo, Kim
LikeLiked by 2 people
I always hate it when that Kodak Moment presents itself and I’m not ready or am without camera. It was cold over the weekend and the camera battery was a little slow. I’d take a photo of a bird and delayed reaction – all I got was a tail and the squirrel running away. We had those little Kiosks too – FotoMat. I took my film into a one-hour place after a Panama Canal cruise many years ago and they lost one roll of film – the day of the ship going thru the Canal. You get a free roll of film per the teensy writing on the receipt they give you – grrr!
LikeLike
I have lots of photos of the tail end of something 😳. That’s so sad about that film being lost on such a special trip.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kim, sometimes I go through the photos I take and hit the delete key more than the save key. Yes, I was upset about them losing the film. I wrote to the ship’s photographer and asked if I could buy some of the prints from the passage (it’s an 8-hour passage). He sent them to me for free as he had printed many and no one bought them as they took their own so they were leftovers. He thought it was pretty horrible too.
LikeLike
I love ducks! Once in a while we would have a mallard couple court in our pond. Overall the pond was too small for serious nesting but they would dally for an afternoon.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I always find ducks to be friendly but these two big brown ones up front were downright sociable,so that made me feel badly for not having something for them. So one woman walker said to me “I Googled ‘What do ducks eat?’ so I could bring some.” I said “I Googled the same question.” 🙂 It is hardly a new craze though they are getting lots of treats now. I wrote a post years ago about my parents taking me to High Park in Toronto to feed the ducks there and I remember how fun it was.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, a fantastic batch of pictures, Linda! Close enough to capture their personalities and bright colors, especially the webbed orange feet and bright yellow bills. 🙂 I enjoyed reading about how you finally managed to line things up for this wonderful photo shoot!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Glad you liked the photos Barbara. On Wednesday it will be a guy and a little girl feeding them – it looked like chaos so I called it “Feeding Frenzy” and I got there just after they did and within a minute, they had a following. 🙂 I love those bright orange feet too!
LikeLike
What a duck tale! Although I knew geese could get viscous, I didn’t know ducks were such friendly creatures. We dropped off our Kodak film at the drugstore and they sent it away, and then picked it up when they called and said it was ready. It was always exciting to see how the pictures turned out, except for the duds.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Ducks are usually pretty friendly, especially in a group. That’s why I like going to Heritage Park and Elizabeth Park as people like to feed them there (cracked corn mostly) all the time, so they are always hanging out when humans arrive. Yes, those were the days weren’t they? We sent away to Rochester, New York for a long time, then went to places like FotoMat and once CVS did them right in the store, we used CVS for years and years after that before I got my first digital camera in 2010.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe that’s where the term “Lucky Duck” originated from! What a feast! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you’re right Sabine. These ducks are overly friendly because humans seem to be sharing … sharing is caring and they are reaping the benefits. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool to hear a jug the fisherman Jacob and Linda –I can imagine you running for rescue into the group of walkers – whew
And thanks for reminding be about the Kodak moment – sure shows you lasting branding to have it come up
LikeLiked by 1 person
A jug was “about”
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 I knew.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, there will be a story next week about Jacob the fisherman (who threw all his perch back into the water and was fishing for fun).
I am glad they didn’t freak out and tell me to stay away – the geese were on the rampage.
Yes, I guess you can still have a Kodak Moment, but what a great ad campaign – remember this ad?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I vaguely remembered it! But did and also have an old photography book with Kodak logos on conver
And whew – they were a huge brand
This post was a njce flashback reminder of it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I think Kodak had such a good run – they were tops. I remember you could buy Fuji film, but I only used Kodak. I had a Kodak pocket camera for years and took that camera everywhere. I must have developed 100s of rolls of film, from traveling to family to work events. The camera finally got a loose door cover where you dropped in the film and light was getting in. Glad you liked the post. One day I’m going to write about a neighbor who had one camera with one roll of film (24 exposures) and took pics every year of their kids at Christmas. They didn’t finish the roll of film, but left the Kodak Instamatic camera in the drawer and after they both passed away, the kids found the camera when cleaning out the house to sell it … the film was still good and they had the photos developed and saw themselves as youngsters. Nice story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is a wonderful story and please send me a link when it goes live so I do not miss that post!
And did I ever tell you how the show “aerial America” skipped Buffalo New York and focused more on Kodak and Rochester when they did their episode on the state of New York?
It pissed me off because as awesome as Kodak is / to skip Buffalo was a serious error in covering the state
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll sure send you the link Yvette. I had hoped to do it around a holiday where families gather – last year due to COVID, I decided to table it for 2020 (hopefully I could do it if we are “normal” for the 2021 year-end holidays). I wouldn’t think Rochester would be famous for anything but Kodak – Buffalo has more going for it, even if only their chicken wings which were introduced there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Linda you are so right about Buffalo and the bings
But they have presidential connections – Art Deco buildings – movie connections form earlier to mid 1900s- commerce from the starburst waterfront and used to be a powerful city and a place to go – they still hold their own in some ways – like real estate is not Uber cheap – it is not Colorado or California – but not destitute – and many Buffalonians are quite proud and cultured and classy.
Wings are not the only great food to be found
They also have solid Universities including one of the best medical schools in that area at UB and an advanced cancer center (even tho I disagree with many cancer approaches because they do not help the person repair the immune system or body terrain) Buffalo also has some great art museums
And right now – a Buffalo focus are rebuilding the east side and downtown areas – perks for development there and all that – (side note — did you know Tesla has a big facorty in Buffalo?) And free wifi for businesses in certain areas downtown –
Last thing about Buffalo over the last two decades is Canadians bring a lot if business by shooing there – have heard some retailers gripe about it –
Okay enough Buffalo rambling but my point is they are so much more than wings and egregious to focus on Rochester and skip that city
LikeLiked by 1 person
I only traveled to Buffalo as a young child so I was not aware of all the amenities. It appears there are many – thank you for the information Yvette.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well
I did ramble my friend – and would truly hope to Not live in that area but cannot diss them either
– hope
Your weekend is going well
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did not think you rambled Yvette … any more than I do. 🙂 I am long-winded and admit to it. I think the weekend flew by – one minute it was Friday night and now it is Sunday night. Just like that (snapping fingers). I did get a walk in today, after yesterday’s nasty freezing fog and icy start. It was snowing like crazy when I left though. Hope your weekend was good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi / yeah I meant rambling in a good way and to each of us may we celebrate our own style
And may we celebrate fun connections that give us a fun cause for a ramble 😉
It is a gift – eh?
—
And snap of the finger applies to how it is already almost January 19th whoa …..
📆🗓😲
LikeLiked by 1 person
January has zipped by for sure and I think that’s because it has been fairly good weather for Michigan. I got out almost every day. I can remember times when I didn’t go on a walk for days as I’d be shoveling every morning. So that has helped. Yes, to ramble is good – the gift of gab is better. I can be a real chatterbox sometimes. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
☀️😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear “Lucky Duck”…………………………………all those duck and geese photos look like “Kodak Moments” to me …………………………….you are very good at taking the pictures…………………………not everyone can do that
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wish I had them surrounding me Ann Marie, but I’ll get that photo I hope. I’ve been taking some food (more crackers) with me, but the Ecorse Creek was frozen over all weekend. Brrr – Saturday and Sunday with all the frost on the grass. The ducks were persistent – I’ll tell you that. Thank you for the nice compliment on the duck and geese photos. I was pretty close to them when I took their photos on the cement landing there where Harry the Heron fishes from. You’ll have to tell me if you ever see any of these huge brown ducks at your pond? I think they are as big as the Mallard Hybrids at Elizabeth Park.
LikeLike
This one’s for you, Linda. Thought I’d only watch a few seconds but I was hooked until they all made it. “Ducklings vs. Stairs”! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHy6bBKu0j4
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw, that is so sweet Dave – thank you for sending it to me! I was rallying for those munchkins to make it up the stairs and cringing when each one fell on its back, all the while wondering why Mama Duck didn’t just take a different route?
LikeLike
I AM old enough to remember what a Kodak moment is. You eventually captured some good moments with your camera. Those ducks certainly knew the way to work you over, Linda. They look like they really enjoyed their crackers. I had to laugh at your story of being chased by the Canada geese. You would think they would be friendlier to a fellow native Canadian! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha ha – I thought you might remember that. We did that process for years and then all of a sudden we had FotoMat kiosks and CVS or Rite-Aid promised one-hour prints, even double prints. Woo hoo – almost instant gratification. I think ducks smile – I am convinced of it and they even sound happy when quacking. Yes, here I was apologizing for not reciprocating the love back at them! The Creek’s starting to thaw out and we have 41 for a high tomorrow, and Thursday, so I’m sure they’ll be back for a visit. It was scary being chased by them – they have big feet and can run quickly and they had been denied their share. 🙂
LikeLike
I don’t recognize that duck either. Perhaps they’re escapees from a zoo or animal refuge? Years ago when we lived in South Florida we had a pair of Egyptian geese who began to visit the pond behind our house. They too were living where they didn’t belong, but seemed to thrive. A refuge in the area also had a pair and told me it was thought they had escaped captivity, or perhaps had been intentionally introduced into the wild by someone. Now I understand they are becoming quite common in all of Florida.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are so different, not like any of the Mallards at this park Nancy. Other bigger parks have Mallard-Pekin hybrids, but none in this color combination. It’s a mystery and they were so friendly – Pekin ducks are usually friendly. I just Googled to see the Egyptian geese – they are really different aren’t they? That is interesting how there are so many of them now. We just have the Canada Geese here, plus occasionally I’ve seen Cackling Geese, which look like Canada Geese, with a much shorter neck and smaller head and beak.
LikeLike
Hi Nancy – I wanted to follow up your comments on this post with this info, as it is similar to what you told me. I sent the three brown duck photos to Michigan Duck Rescue and Sanctuary’s Facebook site to ask if they could ID these brown ducks. They wrote me back immediately and said they were domestic Khaki Campbell ducks. They asked if I saw them again if I would text them and let them know the location and a volunteer from the duck rescue group would come and get them. It is sad – they said someone probably just left them there as they didn’t want them anymore. I had described they were so much larger than the Mallards but they were so friendly. I’ve never seen the ducks just go up to the walkers on the path. Yes, if you had food with you and they saw it, on the cement ledge where you could throw corn on the ledge for them, but not “begging” like the squirrels do. While I saw the brown ducks almost daily for a week or so, we had temps in the low 20s last weekend and the Creek froze over and all the ducks left. It got to 44 yesterday and today, but no ducks were there this morning. I wish I had alerted the Duck Rescue group earlier, but I just believed it was another type of “wild” duck.
LikeLike
Boy we sure didn’t take as many photos in those days when we had to pay for each one to get developed. I think I might have some rolls of film in a drawer that I never did get developed. LOL. Missing a photo doesn’t hurt your writing any Linda. You are a great story teller.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know – it was a big deal sending those photos away for processing back in the day. They charged for processing, prints, shipping and handling and most likely the roll of film too. I remember when the disposable cameras hit the market … you just took in the disposable camera and an hour or so later, you could pick up the prints. We were excited for that! Thank you Ruth – I wish I had the camera that day and have now learned they were domestic ducks (Khaki Campbell ducks). I contacted a duck rescue agency here in Michigan and sent the photos. They were willing to come collect those ducks if I could give them the location, but I haven’t seen them for a week, then the Creek froze over last weekend. I hope they will be okay. I’m going to write about making this discovery in Monday’s post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t even think hat they could be domestic but that makes sense. Perhaps, since you haven’t seen them, someone did rescue them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wouldn’t have thought that either Ruth, although remember my post about Elaine who rescued the Pekin ducklings. She found them abandoned and dribbled corn on the boardwalk at Elizabeth Park to get them to follow her to the adults Pekin who ended up mothering them in the end. I know people want to get rid of their pets, but I guess I never thought of ducks being in that category. Sad. I’m too much of a bleeding heart so have a problem with just letting pets go, no matter what type of pets they are.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I couldn’t do that either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know you couldn’t. The Duck Rescue website … they are dedicated to rescuing all ducks, as they have a large piece of property and a big pond (similar to yours). The person who wrote me back said that people “dump off” (their words not mine) domestic ducks all the time. They cannot fend for themselves as they’ve always been provided food and shelter.
LikeLike
I always wondered why you don’t give them corn? You could get much more quantity for your money and it would be healthier. Our duck pond use to have a corn dispenser you put money in and got corn out to feed the ducks. Even the squirrels eat corn. Just curious I’m sure they are very happy with all your goodies and kindness!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Diane – I wanted to take something for the ducks and I didn’t know what to take them. I had canned corn, but didn’t think they’d like that (even though it has no salt), so brought along the crackers which are whole grain (I know white bread gives them angel wing). I never thought about corn until this year … in fact next year I”m going to get more sunflower seeds for them as they seem to be enjoying them as much as the peanuts … but I can only take the seeds (or if I get corn) if it is clear out to spread out on the memorial stone and the tree stump.
Last year in April, I started getting low on peanuts and didn’t need anything for myself at the grocery store, so I ordered some peanuts from Wild Birds Unlimited. Phil is my former HVAC tech and he quit that job and he/wife own a WBU store. I liked Phil so decided since he was hand delivering everything to his customers I’d order seven 7-pound bags of peanuts. The peanuts were not too expensive, but what was expensive for me was there were moth eggs somewhere, likely the larvae were on the bag – the peanuts were okay inside, but within a week I had these little black moths flitting around downstairs. The basement is paneled, except the laundry room and they looked like polka dots on the light green painted walls. I bought some really strong stuff to hang around the basement – finally got rid of the moths. Now, I’m reluctant to get anything from a store that sells seed or feed. I will tell you that I fed the birds for years and never had moths … I had two Rubbermaid containers, one smaller than the other and I opened the bags into the container – no bugs, moths. I was angry and won’t order peanuts from there again. As to the ducks, we have always had ducks there at this Park, but they usually stay in the water. Lately, people have been feeding them and I’ve not seen that happening before. Also, since I wrote this post, I asked a Duck Refuge place that I located on Facebook if they could ID the brown ducks. I was told they were domestic ducks and someone just dropped them there and if I could tell them when I saw them, they’d come rescue them. They were someone’s pets most likely. That’s terrible and now I’ve not seen them for a week. I’m going to write about it in my next post. I think I’ll get some more variety for them next year though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a nightmare that must have been! I had that happen when I bought parakeet seed at a store that sold it in bulk. Drove me nuts until I figured out where they were coming from. That is awful about the ducks. How can people be so cruel. Looking forward to your post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It had to be larvae on the outside of the bags Diane as I saw no moths when I opened those 7-pound bags. I still had some peanuts left, so didn’t open the first bag for a week perhaps. The peanuts were clean, no dirt on them. So wherever they stored them had moths. I never had that happen before with the wild bird food so this made me mad. The moth traps did work well. I still have a few left, I think they came a dozen to a pack. They were sitting on the wall like polka dots until I got the traps and they went to the traps right away. I was at the Park this morning and the ice on the Creek had thawed. There were 20 Mallards, but no brown ducks. I don’t know why people abandon animals – there are shelters for all critters and they often pick them up, like in this case, so just be kind.
LikeLiked by 1 person
People leave animals to fend for themselves all the time. They just don’t get it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No, they don’t … it was bitter cold here today and I’m sure the Creek froze over once again. Poor things. A friend posted a video about an abandoned dog on a busy sidewalk in the City and all but one person walked by. The dog had a sign that it had been left there. A down-on-his-luck man fed it some food he had from his own dog. It was sad watching the video.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re living a risky life Linda! 😉 I do remember Kodak moments, too, but it might actually be a retro thing they used years later in the ads?? Plenty of those moments are in my memory bank, too …
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those ads were fun Jeanine – Kodak had it all at one time but digital cameras brought them down from that pedestal. Yes, you give a critter a treat once or if you look like you have a friendly face, all wildlife will come looking for a handout sooner or later. A year ago, the Canada Geese decided why should the squirrels get peanuts and not them, so they started eating their peanuts while the squirrels would look at me in disbelief, like do something. I wrote a post about them watching the geese … I’ve never seen geese do that before and it was Winter but we had no snow, so there was grass for them to graze on. Ornery!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a bit of a love hate relationship with birds to be honest. Of course, there are flamingos and peacocks and I admire all the eagle like birds (which doesn’t make much sense). Geese, swans, turkeys & Co. are just really, really creepy. Or the Australian Cassowary! Shivers.
Then again, our cat can get pretty wild when she’s hungry 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve had pet birds through the years, so I’m sort of in tune with how they think (most of the time … I didn’t see those geese reacting like that at all). One time I was admiring a pair of Mute Swans paddling in the Creek and next thing I know the male climbed out of the water and came after me. I later discovered that the snorting noises it was making while it was still in the Creek, was not because it had water in its nose, but it was mad at me. 🙂 Who knew? Here’s that big swan’s picture at the end of this post … I had no idea they were that big out of the water as I only saw the body on top of the water. They have massive feet!
https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/03/04/brr-burrs-and-birds/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember the “Kodak Moment!” Retro term. It’s been a while since I used it or heard someone use the term. It was always a mystery wondering how the picture turned out until it got developed. And then the paranoia that you didn’t insert the film properly and your whole roll is gone to waste. Man, we’ve come a long way with digital photos.
Now that “Kodak Moment” is back in my head, I’ll use it and my kids will wonder what the heck I’m saying. They saw an old tape cassette player and fiddled around with it wondering what it was.
Your photo captions are intuitive and witty as always. The brown duck waddling away in disgust made me chuckle. I wish the ducks in our area were friendlier…they come after you and freak us out, especially when they flap their wings and come charging.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, kids today would be mystified at some of our expressions we used from products back in the day. The pair of large brown ducks in that post led a group of Mallard ducks out of the water and onto the walking path – very odd behavior. I had figured it was the fisherman who was there for a few weeks every day – he was gone, so they went looking for him and saw me (any port in a storm). But, in my post tomorrow, I’m doing a postscript – I contacted a duck rescue organization here in Michigan, trying to ID the brown ducks. We only have so many ducks in our state and none of them looked like this. I thought maybe they were Mallard-Hybrids which I see at other parks but that didn’t make sense – no Mallard colors. So I contacted a group and discovered the ducks were domestic, pets and likely someone had abandoned them there at the Park. The person from the duck refuge said people do that all the time and asked me to text them next time I saw the two ducks and they’d come rescue them – they had a volunteer standing by. I never saw them after January 7th or 8th as the Creek froze over. Who abandons ducks that are your pets? We have people abandon dogs and cats all the time, so I guess I should not be surprised. Thank you – yes, that female Mallard looks disgusted with the piggy geese who took THEIR food. 🙂 Our ducks are friendly, but they never come out of the water unless there is food laid out for them, like corn, so now I know they were friendly as they were pets and used to human interaction. What a story!
LikeLike
That was observant of you to notice new ducks and to contact the duck rescue organization. It’s easy to overlook, but you took that extra step. Kudos!!
Lots of pets are abandoned here too or live in horrible conditions. Sad to know. If owners can’t take care of their pets, maybe they can rehome or offer it up for adoption to a shelter? That would be better than just turning them loose. *sighing
LikeLiked by 1 person
I regret I never looked into a duck rescue site before I did Esther. I did Google a little to research what type of ducks they were as they were so large and overly friendly. I thought they were Pekins, like you buy for kids at Easter. They are fuzzy yellow ducks and grow up to be very large white ducks and very friendly. I thought they were some type of Pekin/Mallard hybrid. Boy, was I off base on that thinking. I’ve not seen them since unfortunately, but we’ve had cold weather which has kept the Creek frozen. I never understand why people abandon pets as there are shelters around which would certainly welcome them. *Sigh* indeed.
LikeLike
I didn’t know there was a duck rescue site either until you mentioned it. What a responsible and thoughtful thing for you to do; it’s not easy to take time out of your day to ask about random new ducks near you. Ducks and I applaud your thoughtfulness!! clap clap clap
Recently I found out that rabbit rescue sites exist too. Long story…kids want some kind of fluffy pet and a dog is too much for us. So I was googling dwarf rabbits and rescue sites turned up.
I wonder what happened to those ducks! Since they were pets, I wonder how they are adjusting in the wild; hopefully well and thriving!! Don’t understand either how people abandon pets. Why can’t they bring it to a shelter?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will never understand some people and their attitude to treat pets like they are something to be just cast aside when they tire of them. I wish I’d contacted this place when I first saw them. That was before Christmas, around mid-December maybe. They have been gone now a month and the Creek has been frozen over and covered with ice now for weeks. We had one little thaw, but not enough to completely that – it re-froze again. Not even a mallard there now. I hope they are okay and these foks go everywhere, even out on the frozen waterways to rescue ducks. If they were used to a shelter and food and are without either now, I can only hope they did survive. this particular duck is large and can fly, but does not usually fly. I never see the big Pekin ducks at Elizabeth Park flying either – they are the same size and just waddle around and people feed them corn and seeds – it is a larger park. I hope they are thriving somewhere. I didn’t realize people would abandon rabbits either. I still see this rabbit in the homeowner’s front yard, nearly every day. Poor thing must spend the night there and it is right out in the open. It slicks its ears back and crouches down – I hope the hawk does not see it on the lawn. I worry about the squirrels’ welfare and now I worry about the rabbit’s as well.
LikeLike
Pingback: A Winter’s day … | WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY
Those critters are so lucky to have you around 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoy interacting with them and I feel badly I didn’t get down to the Park today and likely a few more days due to the snow. Hurry Spring!
LikeLike