A Duck? Really? Yes.

Well, it's happened again. Another unlikely creature has adopted us. I think you know what it is, since my title isn't incredibly subtle. Forget you, air-of-mystery, I'm all about getting straight to the point tonight! ;)

We found this ridiculously adorable beastie floating around in our river pool. Like completely rational adults, me and the fiancee scampered, squealing, straight down to the bank to try to feed her. I've taken care of ducks in the past, and some of them can be bloodthirsty man-eaters, so I approached with the caution of a giggling child, expecting to have my eyes ripped out all the same. Lucky for the both of us (and our eyeballs), she turned out to be incredibly tame! Since she is a Muscovy duck, she doesn't "quack", but makes very soft, "mememe" sounds. The power of raw cuteness melted our faces off, and we died. Fortunately, that last part didn't happen.

Lucy seemed the best name in the universe for her, so that's what we call her. All was well, that is, until it began raining.

Living where we do in a tropical jungle, our little peaceful river and its lazy pool can turn into white water rapids in a matter of moments. In severe storms, the river has been known to swallow our driveway and eat up half of our yard. Needless to say, it can become very dangerous for people and pets alike.

Lucy was settled in, sleeping on the rocks in the middle of the river when the rains began. They didn't let up for the duration of the night. When I woke up the following morning, the river was rushing and Lucy was gone. After seeing how clumsy the duck was, I was terribly worried for her. Do heavy, domestic ducks have the sense to get away from the water? Could she hear the flood coming? She didn't reappear all day. I paced and paced.

When the fiancee told me he could see her in the yard, I dropped everything I was doing. She was a little muddy and had a few burrs in her feathers, but Lucy had made it! To my surprise, she followed me away from her usual spot near the trees by the river, trailing me all the way up the yard to our house.

It has been two days, and the river is rushing more powerfully than ever. Until it subsides, we have a very sweet Muscovy duck freely choosing to loiter on our covered, weatherproof deck.

The day we found Lucy in our river pool.

All yours,
~A.R. Ivanovich