For my crazy girl in Oregon

who asked, "When you come up to see me....do you think you could bring...a DUCK?"

How many different ways can I possibly say no? No. No. No. NNNNNOOOOO!

This was all part of a very difficult phone conversation where we decided she would not be coming home for Thanksgiving. Our favorite holiday. Full of traditions we do every.single.year, and this being my Tradition Girl. No coming home for Thanksgiving. Sigh. Unhappy sigh. And why is she not coming home? Oh, you had to ask. Sadly, I was supposed to purchase a train ticket to get her back to Oregon, and by the time I did they were sold out. Call me dumb, but it never occurred to me that there were enough people traveling on that huge train for them to run out of seats. I am no longer dumb (in that particular knowledge set.)

We made a rather happy compromise. The mommy and daddy (sans duck) are going to drive up to see her, attend some classes, drink coffee in cool Eugene cafes, and talk as much as we possibly can. She'll have papers due, classes to prep for, but we'll read our pleasure reading while she slaves and enjoy her while we can.

Now I am not here to say that she preyed upon my guilt when she asked me to bring a DUCK when we come north. Let's just say I was not tempted for a second. Not one second.

Instead, crazy person, I offer you pictures:

They are so happy in the water, so happy together, so happy in their stinky, mucky duck coop. And happy there they will stay. And they will be waiting for you when you arrive home in December.


(And, yes, the tickets are purchased.)

Okay, so maybe you've never wondered

what to call a group of animals, but I have. My college daughter and I got talking about this on the phone yesterday and she found a great resource. And since we have a difficult time hanging up from a phone conversation, we got reading the list and laughing.

Some examples for you:

A gulp of cormorants.
A murder of crows.
Ducks in the water are called a raft.
A convocation of eagles.
A stand of flamingos.
For hawks: A cast, a kettle (if flying), a boil (two or more spiraling in flight).
An exultation of larks.
A parliament of owls (remember Narnia?)
An ostentation of peacocks.
A congregation of plovers.
An unkindness of ravens.
A murmuration of starlings.

A tower of giraffes.
A bloat of Hippopatamuses
A barrel of Monkeys (I kid you not)

And my personal favorite:
An intrustion of cockroaches.

From the website:

If you are interested in derivation of some of these names, or if you just want some fun reading, check out James Lipton's book entitled "An Exaltation of Larks". Birders interested in avian nomenclature should see Bruce Campbell and Elizabeth Lack's "A Dictionary of Birds".

Some duck pictures

for a dear girl in Oregon.

The flu has reared its ugly head in the house in Eugene, especially unfortunate during the first week of classes. I hope pictures of these funny creatures bring some cheer and laughs to a girl with aches and a cough and generalized misery.

The duck version of toweling off after a bath.

The Elvis hair style is still poofing and making us laugh.

"Feel better soon, Madelaine!"

Life in list form

It's been a week of highs and lows.

1. Family reunion: a joy to be together.
2. Twenty-two years of marriage on June 28th. Wow. Twenty-two years. Wow.
2. Duck carnage: all nine ducks were killed, tears immeasurable were cried.
3. Duck provision: nine newborn ducklings were discovered by friends in the city and brought here in the wee hours of the morning just a day after the disaster. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.
4. Now I have given in to the coughing, aching misery of a summer chest cold/flu. Not happy. Not fun. I feel really lousy, and show few signs of improvement. I am impatient for health.

Pictures of all but the carnage and the bed-headed blogger will come as soon as I can type without coughing uncontrollably. Family reunion pics. include the now-annual marshmallow catching contest and the world's sweetest great-nephew, and the baby mallards are redefining cute. So small. So adorable.

Happy Fourth of July. Light a sparkler for me.

A glimpse around the place for the far-away girl

Some are still complaining about your absence.

Brothers and hired friends were busy building the new compost corral.

The beans are growing up the teepee.

The feathers are BLUE

and white, of course.


(Hi, Justin!)

The first swim

Warning: duck post. Some people get teary-eyed when thinking about their ducks on the opposite coast; yes, ducks. The same call and beg for pictures. I am your humble servant, dear daughter.

Dolores is the trend setter, happy to try new things. Tilly was a little less excited.


Dolores quickly got happy being in the water.

Eventually everyone figured out that they could get in by themselves, get cooled off, splash the lady with the camera and flap their wings with vigor. With 100 degree temperatures, the water was just what these duckies needed.

A walk around the yard

Ducks - the picture of Group Think

The path in the woods

The bounty of the garden

Missing her

Jemima is asking rather frantically...

Dolce is demanding an explanation ...

Where is the girl we know and love?

Why isn't she in the poofy bed every night when I am ready to go to sleep?

Why isn't she down in the duck house in the morning, talking to us with her beautiful voice?

Sorry guys. She's visiting a couple of horses named Maximus and Minimus, some psychologically challenged dogs and cats, and the beautiful farm land of Virginia. Yes, it was hard to leave you, but she does have other priorities. Shocking, I know, but true.

You'll have to put up with the bubbly little girl who comes to visit each morning and evening, and the middle-aged woman who staggers around the property with a mug of coffee and/or her camera. It's a skeleton crew, but we're determined to keep the shop up and running while your girl is gone.



In the mean time, just keep sunning yourself in the lavender patch and she'll be back before you know it. Or maybe a little longer than that.

Yes, more ducks

Sorry, everyone, but I know that my friend Michaelangelo still wants to see duck pictures.

FYI: These gals came into the house for Greek class (yes, Greek class.)

In two-and-a-half weeks this Greek student will be gone to Virginia, and these ducks will get to embrace the twenty-four-hours-a-day outdoor experience. They're enjoying their desktop living while they can.

Shall we sneak a duck in the car when we come to see you next week, Michaelangelo? With seven people, a harp the size of a large person, plenty of suitcases and a cooler, what difference would a crate with a duck make, right? Well, I think your mom and my husband might disagree, so I will make sure I have all my pictures organized on the computer, ok?

Ducks, ducks, more ducks

To our friend Michaelangelo, and any others who might love ducks:

We bought seven more ducks today.

Three Pekins (the bright yellow ones), two Cayugas (the solid black ones) and two Rouens (the multi-colored ones.)

Our two Khaki Campbells look like they are months older, but they are only a week older. What a difference a week makes in the life of a duck.

But what to name them?

Well, we have nine ducks. What are there nine of? There are nine muses in Greek mythology. There are also nine circles of hell in Dante, but I think the muses are better, don't you?

So little Miss Rouen, would you like to be Calliope? Melpomene?
Miss Pekin, how about Thalia or Terpsichore?

My job will be nicknames; I can see that already.