The Duck Whisperer

Yesterday, between my morning and evening walk I managed to go shopping for cards and a purse to match my new dress. That brought my total steps to 10, 060, and 4.7 miles according to my phone. I'm really pleased with that, but it isn't my norm by a long shot. Today I walked 8, 398 steps in 79 minutes. That is more normal for me.

But . . . there are fringe benefits. I'm learning more about the people who live around me.

Today I met a man whose house backs up to our compound. He was very friendly, but it was a sad story. His house is under siege. Our owners want to buy it and he's lived there for 25 years. He said he put a six pound catfish in our lake when it was first dug and that was years ago.

I've met a woman and dog who are afraid of the geese. I tried to put her mind at ease. If you leave them alone and don't corner them they are harmless and even if you do provoke them they can really only pinch bare skin. Geese have no teeth and they are much smaller than even most children.

Probably the most interesting man I've met is the Duck Whisperer. I've seen him putting food out in the dead of winter and most of the fowl who live here know that when he has a cup, he is bringing food to them. Yesterday I saw him trying to get an errant pair of mallards to follow him back to the lake, away from the street.

Tonight I saw two groups of ducklings without parents around them, which is unusual. Without guidance they are at risk of being eaten by the fish in the lake and dying from cold with no mother to share her wing span and body heat. I don't know what can be done about that, but maybe the Duck Whisperer does.

The rest of the residents here are only nodding acquaintances, in the truest sense. We nod as we pass each other! But, on the whole, I'd say this is becoming home, in every sense.