A Quiet Spot in the Garden

Twenty (20) months ago a mother duck nested in our backyard. We experienced a great deal of trouble trapping her brood (they couldn't fly over the fence) and moving them to the lagoon.

We prevented a repeat of the experience last year by keeping a watchful eye on the shrubbery.

Alas, we let our guard down this winter. A mother duck had found a hidden spot to nest. A cacophony of quacks awoke us this morning.

The hatchlings were signaling that it was time to leave (and we didn't even have a chance to get acquainted).

A very intelligent person in our household (you may be surprised to learn it wasn't me, dear reader) figured out that he only needed to capture a few of them---three in this case---and slowly walk around the corner to the gate. The mother followed the quacks-in-the-box, and the rest of the brood trailed the mother. Within a few minutes all were paddling merrily in the lagoon.

Ducks reach adulthood in about a year. Perhaps we'll see one of them again when it's her turn to find a quiet spot in the garden.