Monday, August 18, 2008

Duckling mayhem and bats

Last evening, my youngest and I were out in the garden. He was supposed to put the ducks and hens to bed and I was closing up the greenhouse. The nights are drawing in and so two bats were circling the house.
I am hopeful that this means that the bat box we put up a few years ago is in use.
The mother duck had gone into the middle duck house, the one without steps. Her attitude appears to be -- if you do not follow me, and run into difficulties, you are on your own. The 3 ducklings were running around the pen peeping and calling.
My youngest demanded help.
Eventually I caught all three ducklings and put them in the oldest duck house -- but not before falling into thick mud. Chasing duckings and wearing too large sandals do not mix, particularly after torrential rain.
Then as the mother duck refused to leave the middle duck house, I retrieved the fishing net from the basement and a torch. Holding the torch between my teeth, so I could see into the middle duck house, I managed to capture the mother duck. she was then deposited into the old house. Much happy peeping from the ducklings at having their mother restored. The mother duck merely opened her wings for the ducklings to shelter under.
The bats remained flying about the house, much to my youngest's delight. He has now named one Stellaluna after a picture book that he loved as a little boy. The other one is called Gabriel.

I have reached the last one hundred pages of my current wip. It will get there.

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