Meet Ping

what is cuter than a soft downy baby duck?

a sweet little girl who loves him (or her?).

we went to the park this afternoon for a picnic in our car.

we were nearly done when someone desperately had to go potty.

we started the drive to the potty.

that's when we found ping.

 he was alone and being pecked at by big ugly crows.

 we were driving by, but in a split second i had pulled the car to the wrong side of the road, stopped and got out, shooing away the crows, who looked as if they could hardly believe i'd dared.

baby duck scampered bewilderedly about.

scanning the area quickly and seeing no mama duck nearby, in another quick decision, i scooped him up.

i had no idea what to do next. i walked with him across the road to nearby pond and examined the shore. but there was no sign of a nest, worried bird couple, or interested birds at all, except crows, who eyed us hungrily. 

so i brought him back to the car and tucked him in the hood of yosi's discarded raincoat, in the backseat.

yosi was nearly exploding with curiosity and concern.

i drove around the park looking for a mother duck and her brood that may be missing the little fella.

we got out, walked around and finally came upon a mother duck with just one duckling.

this must be her!

relieved, we trotted back to the car and brought the baby duck back to the pond where we'd found the mama (and papa)duck.

it was an exciting reunion.

mama duck quacked, calling him to her, and baby duck paddled as quick as his short little legs would go.

they greeted one another with seeming elation.

on the shore, we joyously basked in the glow of a good deed, done.

yosi nearly wanted to jump in after him, probably longing to initiate a big group hug.

however, as i watched, after a few minutes mama duck seemed to be scolding baby duck.

she poked at him, and he would scoot away a little as if ashamed.

but kept following her and sidling up to her. she kept doing poking at him.

i felt worried. it didn't seem quite right...

but i had my "little duck" to worry about: she needed to go potty.

 we rushed across the road and up the hill.

i promised myself we'd check on the little duck as we passed by on our way back to the car.

probably everything would be fine.

alas, when we returned my fears were confirmed, and my heart broke- again.

even from a distance, i could see the mama duck was not welcoming home her prodigal son.

maybe she didn't like my scent on him. i shouldn't have picked him up.

i wasn't a heroine, i was a homewrecker.

then i wondered, was he indeed a prodigal?

why had i found him a large green lawn, a wide road, and another large green lawn's distance being pecked by crows, far, far away from his mama's sheltering wing?

would such a tiny baby duck, who now seemed to be so desperately vying for his mama's love and cuddles, have had the courage to run away that far, without being driven?

i had my doubts.

no matter why, i could not stand by and watch him be drowned- because that's what it appeared "mama" duck was attempting to do (later, research confirmed this was a sordid likelihood).

soon enough, exhausted by the repeated head dunkings as reward for his attempts to get close to her, he gave up and paddled away from her to the edge of the pond.

i picked up my pace, as bigger male ducks were paddling determinedly toward him,

 a malicious glint in their eyes.

i plucked him up from the water.

cradling him against me, grabbed yosi's hand (she was by this point too far amazed to even consider getting near the water- and she'd had strict instructions to stand next to a nearby tree until i came to get her) and high-tailed it for the car.

i think i might've done something illegal.

i don't really care.

baby ping is safe in my home.

he has water from a special feeder, is eating chick feed, has a cozy nest box, a flannel blanket and a faux-sibling (toy duck), and a heat light, tucked in a roomy (for him) plastic storage bin (for now).

he loves to be held, by me in particular, and nuzzles up against me for warmth, and cheeps for me when he's feeling lonely (like now- again).

he's even had his first poop.

he has me feeling especially tender (though that could fade quickly if he wakes me or Yosi up in the middle of the night with his peeping for attention).

like a puppy, that ping.

yosi is pretty impressed with her new "sibling", as you can see above.

but this has brought up all kinds of awkward, difficult discussions about why baby ping is now part of our family, and not with his mommy and daddy, as we had originally hoped.

wisdom and sensitivity are going to be in high demand in the coming weeks.