As the Pond Turns

We pause the regular blog entries for a little duck therapy.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
It was spring...
..at the pond by my house.
Year after year I know how this story will end, and year after year I make myself go back and live it all over again.
Spring, well...springs.
The winter washes away, and I remember there is a world outdoors.
Despite the fact that I'm allergic to spring, summer, fall, and winter....I head out to the pond by my house, and I start walking...for the two weeks between the time it is 30 degrees, and 103 degrees, I walk.

And then there are....

baby ducks!
Oh, I love them.

I love them so much.

I want to hold them.

I want to squeeze them...in gentle ways.

I want to take them to a party and introduce them to all my friends.
I want them to come swim in my bath tub.
I want them to come sleep in a duck pile in my bed with the rest of my menagerie.
In the spring, they pop up in little duck rows of 8...9...12.
They make my soul sing.
....and then....I return a few days later, and there are fewer.
I begin to worry.
Where did the others go?
Maybe they are just hanging out in the grassy banks?
Some unusual things start happening.
Some moms have 3 ducks, some moms have 12 ducks, their row of ducks may be of of varying sizes (ages).

But no, each time I return, no matter who has what ducks (Do ducks babysit,or just steal each others babies? You'd think they'd notice if they had a few new kiddos join their line? Or a few missing?).
No matter how many each Mom has, there are still fewer total number of baby ducks than the time before.
I saw a large snake at this pond once. I do not want to connect the dots.
I understand there is this circle of life. I accidentally watched an episode of Planet Earth once and I learned about it.
I just don't want my ducks to be part of the circle.
Spring stresses me out year after year. I just don't think these Mamas are taking their job seriously enough.

You just can't turn your back on newborns!
...and don't even get me started on the baby turtles.

I need to stick to the treadmill at the gym. I can't handle this sort of stress.