A True Duck Story

This post is dedicated to Sharon, because this story made her so happy.






A True Duck Story From San Antonio . . ...

Something really cute happened in downtown San Antonio this week ...

Michael R . is now an accounting clerk at Frost Bank and works
downtown in a second story office building.

Several weeks ago, he watched a mother duck
choose the concrete awning outside his window
as the unlikely place to build a nest above the sidewalk .

The mallard laid ten eggs in a nest in the corner of
the planter that is perched over 10 feet in the air.

She dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks,
And Monday afternoon all of her ten ducklings hatched .

Michael worried all night how the momma duck was
going to get those babies safely off their perch in a busy,
downtown, urban environment to take to water,
which typically happens in the first 48 hours of a duck hatching .
Tuesday morning, Michael watched the mother
duck encourage her babies to the edge of the perch
with the intent to show them how to jump off!

The mother flew down below
and started quacking to her babies above .

In his disbelief Michael watched as the first fuzzy
newborn toddled to the edge and astonishingly
leapt into thin air, crashing onto the cement below .

Michael couldn't stand to watch this risky effort.
He dashed out of his office and ran down the stairs
to the sidewalk where the first obedient duckling
was stuporing near its mother from the near fatal fall.

As the second one took the plunge, Michael jumped forward and
caught it with his bare hands before it hit the concrete.
Safe and sound, he set it by the momma and the other stunned
sibling, still recovering from its painful leap.


One by one the babies continued to jump.
Each time Michael hid under the awning just
to reach out in the nick of time as the duckling made its free fall.

The downtown sidewalk came to a standstill .

Time after time, Michael was able to catch the
remaining 8 and set them by their approving mother .

At this point Michael realized the duck family had only made part of its dangerous journey .

They had 2 full blocks to walk across traffic, crosswalks, curbs,
and pedestrians to get to the closest open water, the
San Antonio River.

The onlooking office secretaries and several
San Antonio police officers joined in.

They brought an empty copy paper box to collect the babies.
They carefully corralled them, with the mother's approval,
and loaded them in the container.
Michael held the box low enough for the mom to see her brood .

He then slowly navigated through the downtown
streets toward the San Antonio River . .

The mother waddled behind and kept her babies in sight .

As they reached the river,
the mother took over and passed him,
jumping into the river and quacking loudly .

At the water's edge, he tipped the box and helped
shepherd the babies toward the water and to their
mother after their adventurous ride .

All ten darling ducklings safely made it into the water
and paddled up snugly to momma .

Michael said the mom swam in circles, looking back toward
the beaming bank bookkeeper, and proudly quacking.

Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly and leave the rest to God .