We have a guest blog writer! My friend Kathie emailed this extraordinary story to me. She and her husband were simply enjoying life by the pond in their backyard one day when a little duck came waddling by. Here’s the tale told by Kathie … photos are from Kathie and Gary.
The pond behind Kathie & Gary’s home.
Notice the border around the large tree on the left.
Dear Ann —
We thought you might enjoy a new friend at our house at Indian Summer. A couple weeks ago Gary and I and our neighbor were in our backyard when this little female waddled up from the pond. She was struggling to quack and appeared in real trauma. We could only get within about 3 ft of her, but if we moved backwards she would keep moving towards us. I was afraid that she was choking so I ran into the garage and poured out a plateful of black oil Sunflower seeds and wild bird seed. Placing the plate as close to her as I could, she walked right up to it and scooped her bill along the plate. She ate ravenously and it became apparent that nothing was stuck in her throat. After she ate her fill, she attempted to quack several times and then walked back into the pond for a drink and a swim.
Thus began a routine of offering “Daisy” breakfast and dinner, daily. I’ve added rolled oats to her plate and also some cut-up grapes when I have some. She loves it.
Daisy the duck is on her tummy enjoying a plateful of seeds.
After watching her movement patterns closely (she always plops down on her tummy to eat) as well as her lack of response to noises, we are quite sure she is deaf.
This explains why she quacks silently–she has no idea what quacking sounds like but the impulse to perform the function is inborn. She has been shunned by the other ducks but in the last 2 days she has been allowed to swim with a group who come by daily. We hope they will eventually take her “under their wing”.
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Over the next few days, I asked Kathie about the status of Daisy the duck. All seems well! I asked about the reaction of Shadow, their cat, to Daisy … and the reaction of Daisy to Shadow. All seems well there too.
Shadow the cat, whose shadow is always substantial even when he is lying down.
Here is more information shared by Kathie:
Daisy came up to the patio a few minutes ago asking for breakfast. She came within 2 ft and waited until I grabbed the feed container and then she followed me to her plate.
Shadow has learned to ignore Daisy after a few stern warnings from me!
I wish I’d had my camera when Daisy walked up to me on the patio today. She was so quiet, I didn’t even know she was there as I was reading a book. I happened to look up while turning the page and there she was looking me right in the eye!
* * * * * * *
Thanks to Kathie and Gary, their new neighbor Daisy has found a safe place to live with people who care about her and who keep her belly full.
Interestingly, Deaf Awareness Week is celebrated internationally during the last full week of September, so this year 2021 it is celebrated September 20 through September 26 … this week!
I used to know a few people who were deaf and communicated using sign language. They taught me some of that language. Years later, I taught some sign language to my dog, Alex. She picked up sign language much faster than I did! Daisy the duck sure figured out in a nano-second how to communicate with Kathie to get plates filled with food. Smart Daisy!
Kathie, thank you for this … for paying attention, for feeding Daisy, for the story/email. You are terrific! Please give our very warmest wishes to Daisy … sending her a very quiet little quack quack.
