(no subject)
The family that I babysit for every week currently lives in a huge house on the western prom owned by another family. They have their quarters on the top floor, and share a kitchen downstairs with the other family. A couple weeks ago, the other family got a shipment of ducklings, with the plan to raise them to adulthood I guess, and then they will go live at the grandparents' inn, on a lake somewhere. I don't really understand but, there was a large plastic tote with ten ducklings in it, in the kitchen. (I posted an instagram video because the peeping noises they made was so. goddamn. cute.)
The next week they had been upgraded to a larger tote in the kitchen. By this week, the mom (of the family, not of the ducklings) relocated them to a shed out back. The shed is in the back yard, set a few steps down. Monday morning, she left the shed doors open so the ducklings could get some fresh air, observing that they were still too small to make it up the steps and into the yard.
While eating lunch with my 4-year-old charge M, the mom (again, of the other family) came home and announced that she was going out to feed the ducklings. Naturally, M wanted to be involved in this so we followed her out.
Shocker of shockers: all ten ducklings were gone.
I assumed something had eaten them, but there were no feathers or other indicators of a ruckus in the shed or yard. We wondered if they may have gotten out, but the mom insisted that even if 9 of them learned the steps that morning, the 10th duckling was "handicapped" and has a bum leg.
THE CASE OF THE MISSING DUCKLINGS!!!
A few hours later, M and I were walking to school to pick up her older sister. Other Mom passes us and says "GUESS WHAT! I found them! All ten of them! They had gotten out under the fence and into the bushes and were making their way toward the road!" She just shooed them back up the hill and into the yard, where they were (hopefully) re-secured in the shed. I can't believe not a single fox or cat found them first, but, gee whiz if this isn't the plot of a children's book I don't know what is.
The next week they had been upgraded to a larger tote in the kitchen. By this week, the mom (of the family, not of the ducklings) relocated them to a shed out back. The shed is in the back yard, set a few steps down. Monday morning, she left the shed doors open so the ducklings could get some fresh air, observing that they were still too small to make it up the steps and into the yard.
While eating lunch with my 4-year-old charge M, the mom (again, of the other family) came home and announced that she was going out to feed the ducklings. Naturally, M wanted to be involved in this so we followed her out.
Shocker of shockers: all ten ducklings were gone.
I assumed something had eaten them, but there were no feathers or other indicators of a ruckus in the shed or yard. We wondered if they may have gotten out, but the mom insisted that even if 9 of them learned the steps that morning, the 10th duckling was "handicapped" and has a bum leg.
THE CASE OF THE MISSING DUCKLINGS!!!
A few hours later, M and I were walking to school to pick up her older sister. Other Mom passes us and says "GUESS WHAT! I found them! All ten of them! They had gotten out under the fence and into the bushes and were making their way toward the road!" She just shooed them back up the hill and into the yard, where they were (hopefully) re-secured in the shed. I can't believe not a single fox or cat found them first, but, gee whiz if this isn't the plot of a children's book I don't know what is.