Perhaps there’s something we can learn from the duck; so diverse in coloring, so gentle in the air, on water and land; seemingly impervious to discomfort from scorching heat or ice-cold. I remember learning about “cross-current blood flow” in college which is how ducks’ feet don’t freeze when walking on ice. Didn’t seem like it should work. But like all things ducky, it’s what you DON’T see that’s the trick. A special coating on their feathers is nearly waterproof. The frantic movement of webbed feet under water allows them to smoothly maneuver perfectly away from boats, corralling foundlings close and away from harm.
I think Daffy Duck did more harm to the image of ducks than anything good he might have done for the childhoods of humans. Of course, a Warner Brothers cartoon character of a smooth moving duck doing everything perfectly doesn’t sound that funny. In any event, I’m happy for the duck, glad for the sayings, games and other things. And I kind of feel bad for mostly ignoring ducks throughout the majority of my life. But then, I don’t think they care if I ignore them. In fact, even if they did care, they’d never let on. It’s not their style to complain or raise issue. They would just act all calm and smooth and just glide on by ignoring me as I peer above my camera, the falling sunset silhouetting iridescent green heads, oblivious to my unthreatening distance.
