Ducks in Joyland

The ducks went outside for the first time this week - and now that's the only place they want to be. They woke me up at 5:30 AM with their insistent cheeping, sure that it was time to get out there and stretch their little duck legs. I assured them they were mistaken. They respectfully disagreed, and upped the volume of their complaints considerably.

I get it. I feel pretty bad about them being cooped up in a big Rubbermaid container after seeing them romp around so joyfully outside. And the weather here in Albuquerque is gorgeous right now. I've spent the last few days on duck duty, getting all my garden seeds started out on the front porch, and then working on a duck fence, so they can be outside without such constant supervision. Patience, patience, little ducks!

I've also introduced them to water by commandeering the birdbath and turning it into a duck water park. All the duck books say they should not be in water until they are fully feathered (another few weeks) but they are doing just fine. They especially like to eat chopped up greens from the water. Fortunately, I have some arugula, cress, kale and turnips that have overwintered and are now going to seed. They can chomp on all that while we wait for the new greens to grow.

Naming them has proved a challenge - the names have changed several times in the last two weeks, but I feel like we've finally arrived (much sooner than the 4 months it took Murphy Brown to name her kid...). My daughter Sophie was inspired by her favorite book characters: Maisy, Panda and Tallulah. And I picked Annabelle for the last and littlest duck.

The ducks are Indian Runners, which is a small breed of duck known best for its upright walking habit - they look more like penguins than ducks. And they are FAST. They will all be outside, relaxed and snagging greens from the water, when one of them will sound some sort of alarm. They all jump up, fully upright, and buzz around in circles for a minute, then go right back to lazing around by the pool. Hilarious.