Mildred and Milton

Mildred and Milton Mallard appeared in our yard one afternoon several weeks ago to our delight and that of our 3year old grandson who is staying with us. There’s a pond, but it must be hard to see from above, hemmed in as it is by the house and a bunch of large cedars and maples. I don’t recall any visits by wild ducks in the 40 years we’ve been here. It was around 4:00 PM and we called off whatever it was we were doing outside to leave them undisturbed. Later it became clear that such respect was entirely unnecessary. Walking within a few feet did not trouble them in the least. They stayed into the evening and over that first night, alternating between feeding and floating on the pond and preening and resting on the ground nearby. After a couple of days they flew off taking in their bellies the 20 small gold fish I had put in the pond just a few days before. But they came back. And then they came and went nearly every day as it pleased them. We put some straw near the water’s edge and they slept on it, but never really formed a nest. We never saw any conjugal relations unlike various domestic ducks who have lived with us from time to time. The domestics made a habit of going at it night and day. Millie and Milt got on fine with the chickens who free range in the same space, sometimes even going into the chickens’ pen, but they had a bit more feisty relationship with the pair of crows that seem to be nesting somewhere nearby. For a while they came for the night and were off to work before we were up in the morning. Then their schedule got very random. They’d drop out of the sky like rocks and could take off with an equally sharp flight path. I was very surprised to see it. Then one afternoon, after several weeks, Millie appeared alone. We can only speculate on what happened to Milt. Did he get hurt? Did Millie send him off. Did he find another girl friend and dump her? She certainly seemed forlorn there alone on the water. And now Millie has stopped coming too. I think it was just too painful to go alone to their old familiar places.


As the old song says,



I’ll be seeing you in all the old familiar places,

That this heart of mine embraces all day through

…

In everything that’s bright and gay,

I’ll always think of you that way.

I’ll see you in the morning sun,

And when the night is new,

I’ll be looking at the moon,

But I’ll be seeing you.