October 31, 2010

At the Ducks-in-Duckweed Café...



... I guess that's the way you like it...



... there is open water over there you know...



... and here you are, lining up in the shadow of a tree.

32 comments:

jayne_cobb said...

The zombie ducks are going to rise from the muck and devour the living, or at least nip the fingertips of children who attempt to feed them.

Michael said...

Love the top picture where the suzie and drake appear to be on solid terrain.

David said...

Voters to Obama: DUCK!!!!

David said...

"a clown, a ketchup bottle, and a witch" came to get treats at Meadehouse.

Are you sure?

Where were Obama, Kerry and O'Donnell at that very moment?

traditionalguy said...

These pictures have me really worried. Do the Madisonians give these little ducks a winter house and some food and water when it freezes over soon? They don't seem interested in flying south. You could ship them to the U. of Oregon.

Gabriel Hanna said...

My god do I hate duckweed. Get some puffers in there stat.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@traditionalguy:

They don't seem interested in flying south. You could ship them to the U. of Oregon.

Madison and Eugene are about the same latitude.

I'm moving to Wisconsin pretty soon. The weathers will be much more sever than in Pullman--though I will be moving sixty miles south.

It's also weird to think that the French Riviera is about the same latitude.

Sprezzatura said...

It is gorgeous when the leaves turn.

But then?

Yuck!

chickelit said...

Talk about "ducks in a row."

traditionalguy said...

Gabriel...There is this a little matter of the Siberian Express in Wisconsin. Doesn't Eugene keep its Pacific Ocean influence that moderates temperatures? But Wisconsin is still better than Alaska where a furnace going out during a storm means death. I also believe that you can only see Canada from Wisconsin.

Meade said...

I don't think so, tradguy. I could be wrong but I believe Lake Gichigami keeps Canada visually at bay.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@traditionalguy:

There is this a little matter of the Siberian Express in Wisconsin.

Pullman is far enough from the ocean that we get it too, but we also get Chinook winds to make up for it.

Imagine a normal year with four seasons. Take ten days out of each season and distribute them randomly through the year. That is the climate in Pullman.

I have seen snow in every month but August. I have seen 70 and sunny in every month.

But Wisconsin is still better than Alaska where a furnace going out during a storm means death.

Actually, Southeast Alaska is like Seattle but a little cooler, 40 degrees and raining rather than 50 degrees and raining. Even Dutch Harbor tends to be around 30.

Sprezzatura said...

"...keeps Canada visually at bay."

Too bad, this will sink Tommy Thompson's foreign policy credentials, re POTUS 2012.

Penny said...

"... I guess that's the way you like it..."

Come see me when you know EXACTLY how I like it.

Unknown said...

Presumably the ducks got their Halloween goodies in the duckweed.

traditionalguy said...

These pictures have me really worried. Do the Madisonians give these little ducks a winter house and some food and water when it freezes over soon?

Our avians in NE OH are taking their time booking their flights and getting everything through security, also.

Maybe they know something.

Anonymous said...

Hella useful election night guide from Nate Silver at the NYT. It'll give America's Pollyanna something to read while he waits for the Steiner attack to hurl the Stalinist hordes clear back to Moscow.

Issob Morocco said...

Mmmmm....thick pea soup with duck meat. What wonderful dish for a cold fall afternoon.

Opus One Media said...

shadow keeps the sun out of their eyes

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Love the top picture where the suzie and drake appear to be on solid terrain.

My first impression was that they were on a golf green.

ndspinelli said...

I first thought that was the Chicago River on St. Pats Day, but I didn't see the Wrigley Building or any drunken Irishmen.

MDIJim said...

It's like Sarah Palin and the media. They are trying to trap her in slime. She just stands out and feeds on it.

I know, there is actually a great media conspiracy to get Palin elected president in 2012. The more they attack her and the candidates she favors, the better for her. Obama doesn't even count anymore.

Once they get Palin elected, the media will point out how she is even worse than O, even as they now point out that O is worse than W, who, they said, was worse than Clinton.

Clinton is now presented as the greatest president since Lincoln or maybe Washington. If you want him back, vote for our gal Hilary.

Calypso Facto said...

I didn't know they had put astroturf in at Tenney Park...

Fred4Pres said...

They are in the shadow because they do not have sun glasses.

Fred4Pres said...

A female duck is called a suzie?

Opus One Media said...

.....In case you are running out of insult material for republicans....

MadisonMan said...

at Tenney Park...

I think that's Olbrich. The bridge at Tenney park is being replaced.

FedkaTheConvict said...

Robert Samuelson's take on high-speed trains:

High-Speed Pork

"WASHINGTON -- Somehow, it's become fashionable to think that high-speed trains connecting major cities will help "save the planet." They won't. They're a perfect example of wasteful spending masquerading as a respectable social cause. They would further burden already overburdened governments and drain dollars from worthier programs -- schools, defense, research.

Let's suppose that the Obama administration gets its wish to build high-speed rail systems in 13 urban corridors. The administration has already committed $10.5 billion, and that's just a token down payment. California wants about $19 billion for an 800-mile track from Anaheim to San Francisco. Constructing all 13 corridors could easily approach $200 billion. Most (or all) of that would have to come from government at some level. What would we get for this huge investment?

Not much. Here's what we wouldn't get: any meaningful reduction in traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, air travel, oil consumption or imports. Nada, zip. If you can do fourth-grade math, you can understand why."

The Dude said...

hdhouse keeps posting because he thought the title was "Dickweed".

Big Mike said...

Robert Samuelson agrees with me about high speed rail.

Meade said...

No high-speed rail. Do the fourth-grade math!

jungatheart said...

Happy All Soul's Day!

Was anyone tricked last night?


I'm thinking the ducks are in the shadow to hide their presence from the minnows below.

Calypso Facto said...

MM: Olbrich would jive better with the Professor's normal stomping grounds too. Rode my bike over Starkweather Creek on my way around the lake just yesterday...