"The dead duck day"

(It's from a movie, I'm not just being callous)

It all started on a cold, windy, snowy/hailing, spring day. I was busy doing some dishes quickly before my kids got up from naps and we headed out on errands when I looked out my window and there was a cute baby duck waddling across my yard. "How cute!" I thought, until minutes passed and there was no mommy duck. I watched it waddle around a bit and then finally make its' way to the back corner of our fence and nestle down a bit. "Bad mommy duck!" I think. Well, shoot. What am I supposed to do with a baby duck in my backyard. I have tons of errands to run, I need to clean the house a bit because we have friends coming over for dinner and my brother is staying the night. I decide to wait until we get back from errands to do anything in case the mommy duck decides to make an appearance and claim her poor lost little duckling. Mind you, it is a very blustery day. So when the kids get up from naps I let them go outside and take a peak at the duckling and we put a bucket close by, to which he snuggles up next to to block the wind.

We return from about 1 1/2-2 hours worth of errands and the baby duck is still there. I decided to call Zamzows because they sell baby ducks and chics and whatnot. Surely someone there can tell me what to do with this duckling. The Zamzows man told me what to do and told me I only had to take care of this duckling for four weeks, after which it could be returned to the wild and it would know just what to do. "The perfect pet!" I think. I only have to take care of it for four weeks! And this little guy is so stinking cute and my kids are in love. The Zamzow man then asks me how long it's been out there and after I tell him at least a few hours he sounded less than hopeful that this little guy would live because he was sure to be mighty sick.

Well, we were up for the challenge and we brought Kirby inside (named by Carter), made a nice little ducky home out of a box and towel, and placed him by the fire to get him nice and warm (95 degrees). The little guy was not doing well, we could tell, but we held out hope. The Swensens came over for dinner and attempted to nurse him back to health with a dropper full of sugar water. We showered him with lots of love....

And lucky for us, the mom duck returned that night while the kids were sleeping and took Kirby back home with her! The end.

Oddly enough, I am the most devastated about the end of our pet days. I really liked little Kirby and actually find myself glancing in the backyard in hopes of finding another stray duckling. Carter now looks for baby ducks instead of bugs outside. :)