May 14, 2013

Our pet ducks.

This year, a duck couple has found our backyard to be the appropriate place for mallarditudinous doings:

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33 comments:

MadisonMan said...

Why you need a dog.

Oso Negro said...

Soon there will be little baby ducks, which always remind me of Tom T. Hall.

rhhardin said...

He only wants her for her body. Ducks are the worst philanderers.

jacksonjay said...


"... and watermelon wine."

"I like beer"

Freeman Hunt said...

Duck pics > Dog pics

Ducking.

edutcher said...

Watch your step as you walk amongst their "mallarditudinous doings".

And, if you want to tick off the Lefties, name the guy, Fillmore.

bleh said...

That's not a couple. She's just a comfort duck helping the drake get some rest.

Palladian said...

Quack, damn you!

Sorun said...

I wonder if Zeus will respect their personal space.

Cody Jarrett said...

Ducks are great tick eaters. Almost as good as guineas.


Can I say guineas or is that one of the verboten words now?

rhhardin said...

The person repertoire of ducks is very limited, but with patience you can discover some interactions.

Baby robins recognize you at two weeks, for example, and change from just being poop machines to showing a personality.

Adult robins have food-related begging techniques that respond to what you do, once you give them a finger to step onto to get them off your hair, where they have landed, hoping for a blueberry.

traditionalguy said...

So get Amazon to post a hot deal on duck food ordered through Althouse with all proceeds going to Ducks Unlimited ...all three dollars of them.

DADvocate said...

You think they're cute now, but wait till you get the bill.

Shanna said...

Duck pics > Dog pics

+1

Anonymous said...

Robot Surveillance Duck Units activated.

AllenS said...

How far do you live from water? After the hatch, mother and babies will have to walk to where there is water. A very dangerous walk. I have ducks every once in a while nesting in an area that used to be pasture. Where I cut down a bunch box elders. It's about 3/4 of a mile to the Apple River. Hard to say how many make it that far.

rhhardin said...

My dropped-off roosters lasted a few years with the Doberman, who was impressed early with the house rule about not chasing the roosters.

The neighbor's rooster hating dog eventually finished them off, a rooster at a time, when he got loose for one reason or another.

Roosters are suicidally stupid about escape strategies. Like they'll jump out of a tree to make a dash for it on the ground.

Patrick said...

"Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey. A family favorite. Order now, through the Althouse Amazon Portal.

furious_a said...

Better them than Canadian Geese with those incredibly large and extensive piles of droppings and once they find a pond they like they never migrate/leave and one can't shoot them as nuisance animals because they're a protected migratory species.

Titus said...

You could shoot them and have some Duck Soup.

tits.

Sofa King said...

Quack, damn you!
/8€

furious_a said...

For those of you familiar with the south Bay Area, about fifteen years ago there were a series of mother ducks leading their chicks who would bring traffic on Lawrence Expwy at Arques in Sunnyvale to a standstill leading them across six lanes of traffic between the watercourses near AMD's HQ and the ponds next to the Hilton.

test said...

LOPEZ: What is the most underappreciated fact about this case?

MULLANE: That nine of the twelve jurors told the judge during jury selection that they are pro-choice on abortion.


Interesting factoid.

Dante said...

Is that a take off from Multitudinous from Shakespeare (Macbeth)?

"The Multitudinous Seas Incarnadine."

I remember that from my high school English class as the English teacher showed how the words made waves when drawn on the chalkboard.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I got some quack tales... im working for a chalenger at an election.... emotions run high... people on edge... mostly black and hispanic women. Im going to post a pic .. click on Lem

Shanna said...

Better them than Canadian Geese

I know! I saw some the other day. When do they go back to Canada?

(our mayor tried to have a day to shoot the canadian geese hanging out in the park but all the I love animals folks stopped it).

virgil xenophon said...

Careful, Ann, we don't want to see you become like New Orleans' French Quarter long-time institutional fixture, the homeless alcoholic denizen/character extraordinaire "Ruthie the Duck Lady" (lately deceased) who always had a pet Duck who followed her around everywhere--into bars, restaurants, etc. "Annie the Duck Lady," LOL!

Tibore said...

Why is it that whenever I see a mallard I feel the need to talk to it in Donald Duck's voice?

ndspinelli said...

Tony Soprano-ish.

rhhardin said...

Robin unrelated to me in the garage this morning.

He's still young enough so that he'd gape if you tapped on his bill.

The Robin baby peevish wet squawk alerts caregivers (one could stupidly write cargivers) to his location.

Methadras said...

Awww, so sweet. They are cute. We are seeing the southern migration out here in San Diego. It's nice.

traditionalguy said...

The theme for today seemed to be U of Wisconsin Rose bowl opponents: so far thepost have the Cardinals of Stanford and the Ducks of Oregon ...but we await Horned Frogs of TCU. Maybe that loss caused traumatic amnesia.

Palladian said...

Sofa King said... /8€