A busy day in the neighborhood...

Even though we don't have any fish that I know of in the pond, there is still a lot of things going on out there.  This morning our two resident mallards, affectionately known as "Betty and Joe" decided that they would most likely make a nest out by the barn.  I wish them luck as we have a roaming cat in the neighborhood, owls that come and go, and coyotes (although I have not seen or heard of any in the yard or the field just behind the house, I have seen them run through the other side of the corn field) that would probably like to raid their nest when little ones are born.  I assume they know what they are doing and will hide the nest well enough that they will go unseen by these other critters.

But, having said that, there are other animals out there, namely a family of rabbits.  So today when the ducks went to move in, they were greated by momma rabbit.  They all stood there for a while and stared at each other -- about 15 minutes or so, and then the ducks went on toward the back of the barn and the rabbit went back underneath the front of the barn.  It seems some sort of agreement must have been worked out and each staked out its own territory in order to overcome this nesting time.  It's kinda neat how they just managed to settle this.

In the top picture, the male mallard is "working it out" with the rabbit.  The female mallard apparantly isn't real sure of this deal, but, in the bottom picture, seems to be OK with it and started to head back to the area they picked out for nesting. 

And while all that had played out and things settled down, the winds had died and the water was smooth as glass.  Then about noon or so, we got a visit from another duck, this one a Greater Scaup.  These are diving ducks who will swim along the top for a while and then dive to the bottom to get food.  These are very distinctive ducks and really fun to watch.

This one was still here into the dark hours, but I saw it fly off when a real loud Schwans delivery truck pulled up in the neighbor's driveway.  We'll see if it comes back in the morning.  If getting a good day's meal is worth anything, it will return.  That duck spent about a minute or so on the surface between dives.  It sure got a belly full today.

So even though we don't have fish under the water -- at least not yet -- there is plenty of action on top and it sure is nice to sit out in the "Pentagon" sipping my morning coffee as the sunshine inches its way over the fields and yards, turning the frost to glistening water, warming the air, chasing away the fog and welcoming the animals back to another day of "life on McCartyville Road."

I hope all this "nature" is still here the next time our grandsons come to visit.  I think they would really like seeing all of this.

When I first open my eyes upon the morning meadows and look out upon the beautiful world, I thank God I am alive. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Hooah