Baby Ducks

Although I am cursed with terrible allergies that cause the roof of my mouth to itch, my eyes to water, and my nose to drip, I love this time of year because of the baby ducks that begin to appear all over campus. When I was just a young lass, my dad would buy me a baby duck or two every spring. There was nothing like cuddling up to the little yellow and black balls of fluff. They would follow me all around the house and we would be best friends. At one time we had over twenty full size ducks at my house. Seeing these little baby ducks in all of the ponds throughout my lovely campus reminds me of my childhood and my little ducklings that have since passed away. So, make sure you enjoy this time of year. Go grab a bag of bread, find a pond with little chirping baby ducks, and give them some bite size pieces of bread, even if there are glaring signs not to do so.

Some of My Favorite Things

These last couple of weeks I have been going out for early morning runs. I spend about 20 minutes running from my apartment to the gym on campus and back. It is a beautiful path to run on. With the time change, I am running when it is still dark. The lovely lanterns are turned on to light my path. Along the way I pass two ponds filled with ducks and other water fowl. It is interesting to see these beautiful birds begin their day and wake up from a good nights sleep in the cold pond or the freshly cut grass that grows around their home. It is refreshing to be awake and out running while most people are still in their warm beds, sound asleep. On campus there is only the ducks, the janitors, and me. Lately I have found that the entire experience of running so early in the morning, when the world is just beginning to rise is made much more magical by listening to the Amelie soundtrack. The whimsical instrumental music goes perfectly with the setting and makes my morning runs one of my favorite things.