THIS month, our office in city hall was disinfected twice. Me and my staff were in city hall last month that City Council staff started to be Covid-19 positive, and so it was like a scene in exodus of "tuck your cloak and leave" for me as we quickly left for La Union for self-quarantine. My two staff were also placed on a 14-day on self-quarantine and swabbed. The remaining two staff I had were alternately manning the office when it was not locked down for disinfecting.
That 14-day self-quarantine in our retirement home has made me more observant of the new family of ducks or a paddling. They were hatched in July and my husband placed them in a separate cage for 24 chicks, the mother duck never strayed away but remains close moving around the cage. That were there for two weeks of July, so by the time I was there they were ready to be released from their cage and roam around.
I observed the mother as a teacher and protector of her ducklings. We have a fence off place around the house so the other ducks no longer invade our porch and front yard. The new family have the front yard, co existing with our five dogs. We watching closely so that dogs don't bother them, but I observed that the mother takes a fighting stand once a dog goes near her brood and the dog usually goes away without a fight. Even sometimes when I get near the ducklings, the mother "clack clack" and calls her brood away. At one time another duck flew over the fence and came looking at the duckling, the mother shooed the duck away.
As a teacher, the mother Duckie is a perfect example. The first week, I observed her calling them to the shade when it is hot, calls them to feed on the grass, calls them away from the dogs, calls them when feeding time is ready (even when my husband is still going to the storeroom to get the meal) and brings them to the doorstep and follows my husband around "begging for food." We brought a little basin and filled with water, and she brings them there for a dip.
But on the second week, we opened a space in the fence so they can move to the flooded field. Still the mother control and teach the ducklings. She will bring them to the edge of the field for shade when the day is too hot, she will bring them to where the grasses grown and bits on the grass and soon enough the ducklings follow her example. She teaches them to get swim, walk on water, somersault, skid on water and feed on the fish meal. She is amazing as I watch while cleaning the yard or planting some flowers. I am equally fascinated watching her from out of my window in between work on the computer.
We also moved them to the duck yard joining the 100 ducks. But the mother still has a big influence on the brood, I will find them on top of the compost pit, Mother Duckie teaching them to peck for worms or leaves. At the heat of the day, I found the brood separated from the flock and resting under the miracle fruit tree, as I approached, she "clacked clacked" them away to the edge of the pond under the mallungay tree. She them guided them back to the edge of the flooded field which was shaded by the trees. The ducklings are ready to be mingling with the others, but still the mother can call them away to a place where she wants them to go.
Many lessons we can learn by just watching them. It's a continuing topic.