"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

Hello Friends!

Friends, Romans, countrymen...y'all. Foodies, gardeners, artists and collectors - let's gather together to share and possibly learn a thing or two in the mix.

Donna Baker

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Haiku Duck


This is what I woke to at the city house last week.  They were all splashing and diving in my little goldfish pond.  I loved the moment.  In the next, the weenies barked and the mother flew over the edge and onto the lower lawn, quacking loudly to her brood to follow her. It is an eight foot drop and I thought, oh no, there wasn't any way, but all nine babies hopped onto the rocks and leapt over the edge in free fall.

If you remember, her eggs were snatched by something in the spirea bush.  Another mother lost her entire brood in one day.  Like the travails of Jemima Puddle-Duck, nature and farm life can be cruel sometimes, a fact Beatrix Potter herself observed.  This mallard mother is a good one and seems to be caring for them.  She brings them back many times a day.  So, I've named her Haiku.  Why? I don't know.

I don't really understand haiku poetry, but do appreciate the ability to be succinct; say what needs to be said in as few words as possible.  

Here are a couple of haikus for you.

In the sharing 
of simple pleasures
we become closer still.


Sitting by the lake
watching the ducks swim about
comfort in nature.

30 comments:

Terra said...

What a good mom duck Haiku is.

RachelD said...

What a lovely family that's adopted you! I have a great big softie heart for mallards, from having raised eighty-something ON OUR LAWN back in the seventies---Daddy got in a hundred to stock the lake out at the lodge, and gave me four little hens and two drakes---just babies. They grew up and by the third year, despite way-out-in-the-country, surrounded by fields and great patches of woods all around, we'd grown to four score---the tale of transporting all those quacky, flappy beings to the lake for their permanent home is a story best not mentioned again.

And up here, in a sorta suburban apartment complex, we became the hosts to an ever-expanding flock. I'd named the first pair Maurice and Velveeta, and so still are all little mallard couples I see about the countryside.

Sweet, beautiful, loud, demanding creatures---and I wish I could feed a whole gaggle of them bites of pancakes off a fork right now.

r

donna baker said...

Yes Terra. I was glad to see that this one seems experienced. There are 3 mallard females at this lake. One lost them all, the second ended up with four little females and this one has nine. I expect more to come over this summer.

donna baker said...

Ha. Mine get dog kibble, cracked corn and bread. All the fowl at the lake come for breakfast. Even the fish and turtles.

ellen abbott said...

so, did you have any goldfish left?

donna baker said...

Had two koi. Put in a tiny amount of algaecide and they floated up that day. Waited for a couple of weeks and put in some goldfish and an algae eater. They disappeared in the depths and green. Don't know if they're there or not. I need to find some kind of algaecide that doesn't kill fish. My goldfish pond at the farm is much larger and has tons of goldfish. Might have to seine a few out.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Lovely - and appropriate - haiku. She certainly is a good mother. I have seen ducklings go into free fall before - I suppose they are so light weight that they have a soft landing.

donna baker said...

That's what I thought Pat when they scurried away after her seemingly unaffected.

Elephant's Child said...

Haiku is obviously a most excellent mama. And what a delightful start to your day she gave you.
Love the literary haikus you gave us too.
Thank you.

angryparsnip said...

What a sweet Mum and love the name and I write haiku.
It is very restful.

cheers, parsnip and thehamish

donna baker said...

If you remember my earlier post about 'I'm turning Japanese', I just love the culture. Butoh dancers and haiku and their writing (Can't think of the word) - just too many things I find interesting. It was a rare surprise to see first thing in the morning.

donna baker said...

Oh that is wonderful as I know your family link to Japan. It would be interesting to study it; I just love the ancient Japanese culture. And I am glad she is an experienced Mom. She must have hatched them in the garden somewhere as she comes around many times a day.

Frances said...

Donna, this is such a lovely post, and the comments add to the beautiful neighborhood you've got here. I particularly liked Parsnip's comment, and am happy to follow.

Earlier today, before i went to tea at some friends' home, I was very absorbed in watching the early test flights of the peregrine falcon chicks on the Norwich Cathedral web cam. I actually got to see three of the four chicks take their first short flights.

Your post and those web cam views will feed my dreams. xo

Doc said...

I need some haiku poetry to calm me, I have had no computer for three weeks. So sad the mortality rate of baby ducks but they do say that it is a cruel world.

donna baker said...

Yes Frances, nature in all its glory is what feeds my soul. I just wish 'thinking' would take a backseat to doing as I have much to do, too much to do. Always happy to hear from you.

donna baker said...

Yes, and the cruelest is trying to teach oldsters (me, not you) to mess with techy things. I too cannot handle the frustration of dealing with it. Yes, I've only had tame fowl at the farm and have not seen how tough it is out there for the wildlings. There is a form for haiku, and I bet you could compose some beautiful ones.

Amanda Summer said...

A perfect name for your little mallard, and darn good poetry to boot!

Sandra Cox said...

Both the duck and word Haikus are beautiful.
I just want to scoop up those babies and cuddle them!

donna baker said...

Can't wait to get back to see them at the city.

donna baker said...

They are so cute. Don't think there is anything cuter with their little curved smiles.

Share my Garden said...

Haiku lines are short
Just five seven five we're taught.
Entire concepts caught.

I love ducks, we used to keep Khaki Campbells.

donna baker said...

Rosemary, I knew there was some kind of form for haiku. It's been a long time since I looked it up. I'm always afraid of getting to close to the farm animals lest a coyote comes along and gets it for dinner. I always do anyway.

Share my Garden said...

We kept the Campbells, all of them females, only for their eggs. My mother made the mistake of giving all her chickens names, then we would sit down to Sunday lunch with her rather mournful voice saying, "Oh dear, we're eating Goldie"!

donna baker said...

I never could eat my animals and it was even hard to choke down the eggs. The fact they were fertilized bothered me. I've always had a thing with those cords on eggs and still can't eat one with runny whites.

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

YOu captured haiku poetry in its essence, Donna, and you named this sweet momma appropriately! To capture the fleeting energy of life in just a few lines is NOT easy, and the Japanese art of haiku is as masterful of an art as any martial art, painting, or other form of expression that requires skill.

I LOVE WHAT YOU DID! And here is a mystery for you: for about a week now, a flock of SEVEN (not eight, not five, not 10), but SEVEN blue jays have been returning every day to sit on our backyard arbor over the water fountain. There, what seems to be the male or males, feed the wide-mouth females. It is such a mysterious sight to see, especially since here in our neighborhood, we never saw blue jays!

Nature takes you by surprise, that's for sure.

KEEP ON PLAYING and thank you for your visit! Anita

donna baker said...

Playing and watching, that's what I do best Anita. If I am anything, I'd say it is observant and curious. The birdie parents frequently feed their fledged babies for a time after they leave the nest. The babies will flap their wings. I watch that quite often at the city house. As for the poetry, I wrote a novel before I wrote a short story and the short story was very hard; having to eliminate so much of the prose. Ran before I learned to walk.

Deborah Nolan said...

Dear Donna I never understood Haiku either but I know your duck is certainly a good mother. How delightful to watch these babies grow. Are you sure you moved to town? Looks like the farm came along. :). Great poem too friend.?

jerilanders said...

Nature can be wicked at times, so I am happy for Haiku and her lovely family to have escaped the predators thus far. I watched a nature show in which the ducklings lept from the nest, at least 50 ft up in the trees, and landed on the crunchy leaves below, none the worse for it! I guess they are pretty resilient little creatures.

donna baker said...

I googled them Deb. Don't remember the form etc. Yes, it is country like in my back yard. I love it here and spend as much time as I can.

donna baker said...

I watched a female duck try to climb a tree out back, I guess trying to find a place to nest but she didn't get very far. I had never seen such a thing.