tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11856692.post-9983007232140047732008-05-19T06:00:00.003-05:002008-08-07T10:13:37.798-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_wxpeqdnAg9k/SDCwp3wsogI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/_XPFl_lo96w/s1600-h/MVC-004S.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_wxpeqdnAg9k/SDCwp3wsogI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/_XPFl_lo96w/s320/MVC-004S.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201851803002249730" /></a>I hope you can see the detail in this picture. The mother duck is swimming with her babies - all 12 of them!<br /><br />I first saw Mommy Duck and her ducklings as they were walking to the water. She was leading the parade with all her little ones waddling behind. I snapped a pic with my cell phone, but it didn't come out very well so I ran for my camera.<br /><br />By the time I returned, they were all in the water with two Mexican whistler ducks on the bank, a heron, and a family of turtles in the water.<br /><br />The funniest thing is that 11 of the ducklings are dun-colored like their mother and blend easily into the environment. The 12th duckling is straight out of Hans Christian Anderson. It's larger than the others and a very pale yellow. It doesn't blend at all, but stands out from the flock like a changeling. You can easily identify it in the picture.<br /><br />I'm pretty sure it's not from the same DNA pool as the other 11. Was Mother Duck fooling around or did someone play a trick on her and insert an extra egg into her nest?<br /><br />Regardless, she and the others accepted it. Guess that's unconditional love in the feathered kingdom.Sling Words aka Joan Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17622809465767116747noreply@blogger.com