DUCKS IN THE GARDEN !

Today has not been at all usual. To begin with we celebrated my sons twenty ninth birthday today even though his actual birthday is next Tuesday, when he will be on holiday on Sark. The birthday celebrations included the cooking of his favourite chicken and tomato pasta and the biggest gooiest cream and fruit stuffed Pavlova you ever saw. This was crowned with a candle which played happy birthday which was fun.

Breakfast was also special in honour of the great day and I made lots of waffles with hot strawberry jam sauce, we ate three each. I had planned to have the whole day to prepare dinner and do a little gardening while my son went off to town but it was not to be.

First I received a number on e mails needed urgent replies, I shall not bore you with the details but it seems that we have stopped the erection of high railings around a lovely old grade one listed building, stopped the building of the stables and prevented the building of a car park next to our home. Although this last may be only temporary at least now there will be consultation about any future plans. I answered the mail and was about to begin cooking when Pa camee in to the kitchen and said. Come and see what we have in the garden.” I went. Bold as brass and quite beautiful a Mallard duck with five tiny ducklings was sitting under the ferns in the garden.

This is not the first time we have had ducks nesting here as we are close to the river, this time the poor duck seemed unable to work out how to get her little ones down to the water. You see our cottage is and its gardens are surrounded by a very high wall and the only way out is through a small gate on to the road and to reach this gate a large garden and another gate must be negotiated.

We left them for a while in the hope that they would find there way out but it became evident that they would need a little help. The duckings were exhausted and as we have a pair of foxes with several cubs living in the garden it was certainly not a healthy place for a duck to spend the night.
I went in to the house to collect the large net we often use for purposes such as these and on my return to the garden observed the cat watching the little family in amazement, the mother , a feisty little soul would I am sure have given Twiggy a good buffeting had she been rash enough to take liberties.

Trying to encourage a duck with young to go anywhere is difficult and it took an absolute age to steer her through the two gates, the gardens and across the road to safety. By the time she waddled off to the water I imagine that we were every bit as relived as she.

Naturally all this had put me behind with my preparations for dinner and I had to rush round the kitchen like a blue tailed fly to catch up. Thankfully all went well and we sat down to our special meal only an hour late. We toasted our wonderful son in sarsaparilla, I am so proud of the man that my dear little boy has become.

Now we are all getting ready for another early night as last night no one slept much due to a peculiar deep humming sound the origin of which is a mystery, tonight I am taking no chances, I have found a pair of earplugs so the hum can do its worst.