Last week my two older boys were in a daily morning summer camp so it was just Rhett and I on the town. On Wednesday we were meeting some friends at the park so we went a little early with a large bag of old bread to feed the ducks before play commenced.
Quite honestly I was pretty proud of myself for getting us to the park early and not forgetting the bread.
Rhett started tossing the bread to the ducks.
The ducks looked in our direction.
The ducks examined our offering.
The ducks deemed it not good enough.
The ducks walked away.
Great, ducks with an attitude.
Rhett ran around trying to force-feed them for awhile much to their disgust and I ended up taking a nearly full bag of bread back to the car.
The next day after we dropped the older boys off at camp again I looked down on the minivan floor and saw the bread. I decided we would go to a different park where the ducks might be hungrier…and more appreciative.
On the way to park #2 I was driving on a six lane divided road which came to a complete stop.
What?
Make way for ducklings…a mother duck and two ducklings stopped traffic on both sides of the road to cross to the other side.
*insert modified chicken joke here*
Well, to clarify, there was a lady who risked her life to get those ducks across the street.
It was a impromptu duck parade right through the middle of town.
So, we get to the second park and the ducks RAN TO THE CAR TO GREET US.
Finally, some grateful ducks.
Rhett was delighted. He tore small pieces off of pieces of bread, hot dog buns and old toast.
He threw them high.
He threw them low.
He giggled when he hit the duck beak target.
And then the duck mood changed…
What?
The ducks turned and started running AWAY from us.
The ducks were running away from us.
The ducks were running toward a lady who had come to the park with corn kernels.
And we were left holding a nearly empty bag of bread.
Ingrates.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Maybe it had less to do with corn kernels and more to do with Rhett pelting their beaks with stale bread.
I guess they had a more sophisticated palette than you anticipated. Darn picky ducks!
That’s too cute about the ducklings & their Mama!
Maybe y’all need a Duck Crossing sign there?
perhaps you and rhett could have done better with quackers.
*ducks and runs away*
Ducks, eh? It’s never enough. You give and give and give but they just walk away every time.
Wow…the ducks on your side of town have WAY more attitude than over here.
I used to live in a town where there were ducks everywhere…
We were FORBIDDEN to feed bread to the ducks…apparently it swells in their bellies and they don’t get enough “veggies and grain” We were allowed to feed them corn, but mostly they just ate the “duckweed that grew in all the area waterways.
Quack! The funny thing is that everyone in town is out to protect the ducks, when the whole reason the town was known for “Yardley Duckling” was because there was a farm that supplied the east coast RESTAURANTS with duck! Quack, Quack!!!
Apparently Yardley Duckling was at one time as famous as Long Island Duckling along the East Coast of the USA. Hmmmm.
OK, now I’m getting hungry….
Silly moody ducks. Fine and dandy until something ‘better’ comes along.
You need some good Oregonian ducks who take whatever we give ‘em… We’re not into high class corn kernels in this here state.
We had a mama and her little baby ducks do that to us out here too! It was soooo cute
WTD just cracked me up.
We can’t even feed the ducks around here because they are so aggressive. I promise you, they would eat your bread.
Who knew that ducks eat corn kernels? I didn’t know that.
Who gives a duck… corn kernels? Sheesh, don’t they realize that those kernels will never be fully digested and end up on some unsuspecting car out there in the wild world? Probably the lady’s minivan, that saved those ducklings, will be the “victim” in all of this. What a cruel, cruel circle we are spinning on.
This post cracked me up! I’m sorry that the finicky mallards didn’t want your bread….
Feed it to the sparrows at Mc Donalds..?
I will only feign surprise when I see a post from June Cleaver Nirvana in the hospital, because you keep taking pictures while you’re DRIVING!
It took me almost to the end of the post to realize what you meant by “WTD.” You are a genius. A genius, I tell you!