Her Life in Pictures :Nine

Bart was now our constant hiking buddy. He and Mabel Lou were two of a kind. While he wasn't as social as Ms. Lou, he took comfort in knowing the Queen Bitch of Everything had his back. She could pick on him, but everyone else better think twice about it!

Mabel was still full of energy and I was forever on her six.

We posted pics are ALL of Mabel Lou's beds as part of her Mango Minster entry. And Mabel's reputation as a kitty killer grew!

And while I was not thrilled, it was hard not to forgive her.

 We had a cold winter. It snowed in the mountains and the river was icy.

 

 Our pack grew... Chloe the dobie moved to town. 

And we had big pack hikes on Friday nights.

Mabel was just full of glee so often! Her body language in this next picture is pure happy!

 

Always Happy:

 

Pedrito made his debut in our extended pack. 

 My Valentine Beauty:

And this was the spring that Mabel became a big sister to a bunch of ducks:

Looking at all these pictures of our beautiful creek and our wonderful friends, I feel so blessed.

That's MY Duck!

I saw Ms. Mallory tonight. I know it's amazing that I can tell her apart from all the other ducks in the pond... but I can. She's loud. She's bitchy. She complains A LOT! And she's smaller than the other she-males.  I feel I know her as well as I know Mabel!

She was complaining and fussing and I walked through the shrubs to see her. The closer I got, the louder she got. Just as I got my camera out, she took flight!  All red arrows point to her and her thrashing wings!

She circled me constantly, fussing the whole time and diving toward me.  Finally she landed:

And kept fussing until Drake landed beside her. His presence seemed to calm her a bit, as did Mabel and I leaving the tall shrubs where I'm certain there are some eggs....

I'm happy my girl has decided the pond is a nice place to live. My pool still hasn't recovered from the last round of babies two summer ago!

As If On Cue...

Mabel Lou had a quiet birthday as I was getting over a tummy flu that simply floored me on Friday and had me sleeping in my car on my breaks from teacher training on Saturday! We met up with Ruby and her mom for some bacon and toast - a senior girl's brunch!

Later we went to our creek and as if on cue... the bunnies were running. Now, I have seen Miss Mabel Lou roll her eyes at a runny babbit mere feet in front of her! Not worth the effort she put into such adventures in her younger days. But not on her birthday! Mabel took off after a rabbit 30 feet down the trail! Not once but TWICE!  This is the end of one of her bunny hunts:

And if that wasn't excitement enough, we heard such a commotion down in Dirty Creek, it startled us both! Turns out, it was just some ducks coming in for a crash landing!  For all we know, Mallory was just begrudgingly wishing her canine sister a Happy Birthday!

 

A bit later, the Rhodies met up with us and we all went on a walkabout. We all ended up at the levy where there was a tiny bit of water in our stream! All the dogs took turns in the jacuzzi:

Mabel:

Hank:

 

 and Sue:

 We're hoping to fit in a hike to the ponds with Mr. Otto Rotto today... I just love seeing my old girl so happy, alert and reasonably healthy!

Ana What?

The Graveyard

I was cutting grass with the weed whacker the other day, trying to clear a spot for Mabel's bathroom needs and to get some of the grass in Mallory's area short enough that we wouldn't lose baby ducks in there. (I can't use the lawn mower as it's too rough on my tennis elbow!)

I discovered a stuffed Panda buried near the pool motor. I danced a jig and sang out to Mabel, "I found your hidey hole!" as I always do. I do this because it pisses her off, which I really enjoy (mean Momma that I am)! She came and got the stuffie and disappeared.

Later as I was trying to pick up the side yard... just a nothing bit of grass and a sweet lemon tree but otherwise used to store my wheelbarrow, compost bin and Mallory's spare floating island... and I noticed a well worn path through the tall grass:

I thought I was imagining it...what would Mabel be doing back there? As we are the only two bodies here... either she was using it or someone was jumping the fence!

 No, there was a definite path. I assumed it was because the grass here was actually shorter than the back yard... I got the pooper scooper and headed in... only to discover this:

I uncovered it:

It was the panda from earlier in the day...

On the other side of the compost bin, I was surprised to find another burial site:

Curious, I dug it up to find:

Our stuffed Mallory! Mallory stuffie has been on our bed since the first year with the ducks. I think since Mabel was alone so much during my recent trip, she took the opportunity to off her nemesis! Or maybe it was to punish me!

I reburied my finds....until I want to piss the princess off again!

She's Back Again

The day before Valentine's, it crossed my mind that I really missed Mallory! I hadn't been able to spot her at Dirty Creek (There are so many ducks there now but sometimes, she does make her presence known!)

Well, I know to be careful what I ask for... Valentine's night, Mabel and I were getting out of the car when I heard a rather distinctive "Quack!" I looked to the sky and was puzzled...no ducks.

We came in the house and just as I sat down for dinner, "QUACK!" This one got Mabel's attention. Her poor face said, "OH NO! NOT HER!"

I went outside and there she was, surveying all the winter mishaps to the pool and deck. Mallory seemed none to happy but then, that is her general demeanor. I chatted with her a bit and left her to her work.

Forgive this photo... my phone was the only thing handy and it was dusk.

I came in and called the hiking buddy. We both are so puzzled by Mallory's schedule.

When she first came, I saw her on May 6th and the ducklings arrived on June 10th.
Last year, Mallory arrived March 20 and her ducklings hatched on May 4th.
This year, her first appearance is Valentine's Day! That would set us up for April Fools Ducklings!

In the morning, I saw that her nest was cleaned out.  Here we go again!

Last Week: Just the Facts

Number of blog posts I wanted to write (for Creekhiker and my Glass Bead Blog): 9
Number actually written: 2
Days I had a fever this past week: 3
Days I had a tummy ache from eating recalled Almond butter: 4
Days I got to swim: 6
Days I HAD to nap: 6
Days Mabel got "the short hike" because I wasn't up to par: 2
Days Mabel distracted me into taking the "long way" home: 2
Parties I attended where I knew no one save for my bestie: 1
Number of beads I sold in a random order that made my spirits soar: 3
Nights I laid awake sneezing: 7
Nights my dog tired of playing with me and gave me "the look" when I tried to continue our game: 2

 Baby is always ready to play; Mabel, not so much!

Weirdest question of the week: Do you play the ukelele?
Number of strange critters behind my house heard in the night: 3
Number of times I'm certain I had a Mallory flyover: 2
The last time I heard Mallory: 5:30 a.m.
Days notice I had to ship 8 last minute packages to my restaurant chain customer: 1/24
Hours early that I finished said order because my brain fog told me that overnights left my town at 2 pm: 1.5
Gratitude for that extra time on a scale of 1 - 10: 11

You Know We Love Ducks 'round Here!

...so we just had to share:

The Last Duck Lunch

I'm not sure why I've put off sharing this duck video for so long. Maybe it was my fear of becoming a "duck blogger" or just my reluctance to admit I'm a serious duck lover. Or maybe it was withdrawals. I don't miss their mess and feeling like I need to supervise Mabel but... I do miss them! This was our last lunch... 7/03/12.

 

On a funny side note... over on YouTube they have an automatic transcription service. Click that button and read along... it's hilarious what it gets wrong and even more amazing what it get's right! Cad = Quack; I'm I'm seat a = Mamasita...You'll enjoy!

I'm certain Mallory still does flyovers and checks in. At first, I thought I must be hallucinating upon hearing an odd quack in the middle of the afternoon. But one day, I was working in the shop and Mabel was snoopervising. I know she heard it too!

It would appear, this relationship is only just getting started...

Not My Duck

OMD! Mabel Lou is right... this HAS become a dang duck blog!

Yesterday, the bestie and I went out to Westlake to visit her mother-in-law on the island. I noticed some large Canadian honkers were fleeing the canal behind grandma's house, crossing the road through a  vacant lot to get to the other part of the lake. And then I saw her... a mamma mallard was also coming out of the water and climbing the hill to the road.

It seems there was a large motor-barge skimming the lake. Normally only electric vehicles are allowed on the lake - but work boats are the exception. The loud motor was scaring the birds.  The mallard came close to me. I kept telling her it would all be fine; that she was safe. Just then a neighbor across the street opened his door to get his mail and his dog started barking. The mallard freaked! Again, I told her she would be fine, that the dog could not get her.

Just as she calmed again, the barge started to our side of the canal.  I told her she should go back to where she was fishing. "Come, let's go this way." And she followed me!

At that point, Grandma emerged with several slices of bread and the duck was no longer afraid of the barge!  Grandma tossed the duck a few morsels and went and got on her boat to feed a mother swan and her three HUGE babies.

I took a piece of bread and this is what happened next.




Don't tell Mallory, OK???

This Sucks!

Mabel Lou here. It seems my mom has turned this into a stupid duck blog! Mallory Shamallory! She needs to be writing some more posts about ME! And if that's not bad enough, just look at what happens to ME when she goes to feed the ducks:

Yeah, THIS SUCKS! Momma won't let me go in cause there's now leash laws even though nobody is there AND Momma thinks I'M gonna scare Mallory and those viscous dinosaur descendants of hers! AS IF!

We see a momma duck with SEVEN babies on our new hiking trail and I don't bother them at all. Not me! I keep a VERY respectful distance!! Momma ducks are MEAN and I myself have witnessed  those nasty little duckings attack little birds in our own pool!  This rottweiler mix is no match for ducks!

Momma tells me we are "almost" done with ducks... whatever that means... I just hope she means it!

Coyote in the Duck Pond!

The other day, as I popped in to feed the ducks, I startled this guy heading into the duck pond!

I gave chase to make certain he was scared off before calling the ducks.  They all came but several would remain in the water while others ate... each taking a turn. The whole flock seemed very nervous the whole time and I stayed there keeping watch until they all had their fill.

Now that I have ducks I love... I'm so glad our state, California banned foie gras!!

Header Facelift

I realized I threw up the new header with a rather strange post yesterday and thought I should instead give it a little more fan fare.

I've been longing for a header for quite a while and had a folder where I stashed some pics... and I used absolutely none of them! Instead, I was scrolling through my phone looking for a duck video when I found the last sunset pic I took at the creek before we moved on to other trails...ones without rangers. This shot is of a tree at the end of our levee and I will miss the amazing sunsets that we watched from that vista...so it's a bit melancholy for me:

As I kept scrolling through the phone, I found this pic of Mabel Lou and KNEW it had to be my new header. Seeing her smiling and alert is what makes creek hiking so joyful to me!

The picture just feels magical to me. It wasn't until I saw it up as part of the logo that I realized Bart is in the background too. How appropriate... even though he is not mine, he's our daily hiking buddy. Where we hike now...we see NO one! (The way I like it!) So I don't have to leave him home on "busy" nights.

That particular shot was also taken on the levee. Often, we would walk to where the water curves and I would lie down on the levee while the dogs took off on their own upstream for a bit.  Eventually, Mabel would return and she always parks on my left. Bart favors my right... they love to come drip on me after a swim! The photo was shot as I was lying there looking at the sunset. I managed to get one of Bart earlier, looking the opposite direction:

Very cute, but not magical. No, Bart is the court jester of our pack and the photo of his Alien Butt Face is far more appropriate for the header. And since it appears that Mallory is going to be a permanent fixture here, it only seemed right to include her too. I've grown to love that silly duck!

Add in my favorite photo of me with a missing lens to my glasses and there you have it... all of the family in a header. Hope you like it!

Not Warning Enough

Our hiking buddy, Chloe the Dobie's dad is a smoker. He got some European cigarettes and was amazed at the stern warnings that cover the majority of the packaging:

And my favorite (because I'm actually allergic to smoke):

I truly hate being around smoke... my eyes start to water and my throat is suddenly very sore after breathing in someone else's smoke. But I wonder if these are aggressive warnings are enough to make someone stop. I wish everyone could see someone like my sister ( a former 26 year smoker), struggling for every breath that goes into her body... but nicotine is a strong and powerful drug and I know the tobacco lobby in this country is also strong and powerful.  I wonder, are they investing in tobacco's future??? Are they looking for other better uses for the crap for when they've killed off everyone?

Sorry for the Debby Downer post today... I guess I'm in the angry stage of grief. Now, maybe you understand why it's easier to talk about ducks. Ducks make me happy and I need a whole lot of happy right now!

Talking with Mallards

Just in case you don't believe me when I say that I call my duck and she answers... I have video proof. Watching it again just now... I realized I missed a few of her quacks on the subtitles!



That duck is really something!

Lone Duck

Sometimes, it pays to separate yourself from the rest of the pack! ;-)

Where's Momma?

One afternoon, I found the duck babies sitting in the shade on the far end of the pool... no Momma Mallory in sight!

I had started moving their food farther and farther from the pool... both for exercise and for making it easier for the duck trapper to catch them when the time came. So Mallory had gone looking for food.

In short order, I heard her quacking and flying up the canal behind the house (great land mark for flying, eh?). The babies all starting running to the back of the deck to get closer to Mom. To their surprise, she made a sharp turn and came into the pool from the side and there was much excitement when they realized they were going the wrong way!

They quickly regrouped on the side of the cement pond and were soon in the water with Mom.

Topsy Turvy

 My world feels a little upside down at the moment! Hope yours is right side up!

Nickname Confusion

 One day when the duck babies were just a few days old, I realized I was missing one! I searched and searched and prepared myself to find a dead duck. Suddenly I heard pecking underneath the pool cover. It seems one of them had gone under exploring and couldn't get out! I quickly lifted it and out he swam!

Only I made the cover worse...with more folds where little ducks could swim! As I struggled to straighten it, Mallory got SO mad at me! She started dive bombing me to make me stop!

Well, I'm the Alpha in this house (or I try to be!)...so I kept at it and Mallory kept diving at me and flapping and squawking! So I yelled at her:

"Allright! That's quite enough Miss Piss!  You're a bad momma for letting him get trapped under there!  I'm just trying to HELP YOU!  KNOCK IT OFF MISS PISS!"

I gave up and left the cover but I was very shocked to see Mabel, who had been curled up on the porch:

She was standing on the edge of the porch with a rather sheepish look on her face. I realized that Miss Piss is my nickname for her when she's being ornery and fussy! Poor baby thought I was mad at HER!

Fishing Lessons

The day after giving the duck babies diving lessons in the jacuzzi, Mallory (Mama Duck) started showing them how to dive in the much deep pool. So the hiking buddy brought over a bag of goldfish and minnows! We tossed a few fish on the pool liner and dumped the rest in the pool. The presence of the fish caused much excitement in the pool. I could be inside the house and suddenly hear them all zooming about!