EMPS: The Aqueous Adventures of Desperado Duck

For Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #30: Things That Float, I thought immediately of ducks - not just the ones in the duck ponds at Reid Park, but the rubber ducks I have at home. One of them didn't turn up in a quick search, but Desperado Duck, a promotional rubber duck dressed as a caballero, was right where he always is, hanging out near my Madeleine L'Engle books. I took him, along with Cayenne and Pepper, out to Reid Park, to see what trouble we could get into.

When we got to the northern duck pond, other ducks were already demonstrating the fine art of floating, overseen by a black-crowned night heron.

As we know, ducks float because they're made of wood.

From Desperado Duck and Friends

I decided to let Desperado Duck try his luck in the feeder stream between the two ponds. On the first try, he got stuck at the bottom of a tiny waterfall, rolling over and over.

Desperado Duck shoots the rapids -and gets stuck in the waterfall.

On the second try, I might have gotten Desperado close to a pair of the local ducks had not Pepper chosen that moment to lunge into the water herself. The ducks flew away, and Desperado floated rapidly toward the mini-waterfall.

Desperado Duck floats rapidly downstream, and soon falls over.

After this doubtful result, I gathered up Desperado and took a few more pictures of the beautiful and rather unusual heron.

The heron shows little interest in floating. Or ducks.

Then we made out way to where a father and his little boy were feeding the ducks, much to Cayenne's interest. She used Pepper as a step stool to get a better look.

But Cayenne is desperately interested in ducks.

Desperado tried to hang out with the other ducks on land, but I could tell his heart wasn't in it.

Just one of the ducks. Not a very hungry one, though.

Even when I risked putting him in the water near where the heron had been, he stayed next to the dock.

Floating close to home.

But it was all a ruse. Desperado Duck had a greater adventure in mind.

Tomorrow: Part Two - The Getaway!

Karen