Last week Will and Bogdan went out to run some errands, and they saw a duck waddling down our street! When the rest of us ran out, it was still there. We tried to feed it some bread, but ended up just scaring it up onto a nearby roof. So, our little duck catchers decided to wait for it to come down. They patiently waited for quite a while, and they out-waited it. Then they took off after it. That part was hilarious: running after the duck with a box, jumping forward and trying to land with the box over it. Each time they came down just short of their target.
Bogdan and I went back inside. (It was cold out!) However, after quite a while, I started to wonder where the older ones were. So, he and I went back out to find them. Because he moves rather slowly, I got to watch the ongoing hunt from a distance for a while. They were actually a few blocks away from home. Babushki were out laughing and cheering them on. And then they disappeared around a corner. We caught up and found them triumphant! But unsure of the next step. They had the duck under their box and were carefully holding it down, but they didn't know what to do beyond that. I tipped it up, scooped the duck in, and closed the box.
The whole procession marched back YELLING that they had caught the duck. Our funny neighbor babushka was just coming out on her bicycle, and she advised us to kill it and make soup as fast as we could, before someone claimed it. Other neighbors had suggested that it lived on the next street, though, so Jaan and Raia took a note to that house, since no one was home there. It turned out that this duck doesn't belong to them. So, we put up posters all around, but no one has called.
The title here comes from something my dear online friend said, when we were discussing the stresses of the past weeks: "Thank God for the duck!" Really, when the national news was at its very worst, the duck has been a great distraction for us. Not to bury our heads in the sand* and ignore it, but just to think about something else at times.
*Oh! I almost forgot. I was considering buying a few friends for this duck, and when I started searching online, I found this:
Can you imagine...?!?!
Bogdan and I went back inside. (It was cold out!) However, after quite a while, I started to wonder where the older ones were. So, he and I went back out to find them. Because he moves rather slowly, I got to watch the ongoing hunt from a distance for a while. They were actually a few blocks away from home. Babushki were out laughing and cheering them on. And then they disappeared around a corner. We caught up and found them triumphant! But unsure of the next step. They had the duck under their box and were carefully holding it down, but they didn't know what to do beyond that. I tipped it up, scooped the duck in, and closed the box.
The whole procession marched back YELLING that they had caught the duck. Our funny neighbor babushka was just coming out on her bicycle, and she advised us to kill it and make soup as fast as we could, before someone claimed it. Other neighbors had suggested that it lived on the next street, though, so Jaan and Raia took a note to that house, since no one was home there. It turned out that this duck doesn't belong to them. So, we put up posters all around, but no one has called.
The title here comes from something my dear online friend said, when we were discussing the stresses of the past weeks: "Thank God for the duck!" Really, when the national news was at its very worst, the duck has been a great distraction for us. Not to bury our heads in the sand* and ignore it, but just to think about something else at times.
*Oh! I almost forgot. I was considering buying a few friends for this duck, and when I started searching online, I found this:
 |
| In Kherson!!! |
2 comments:
Great story!! LOVE it!! I LOVE the babushki laughing and cheering them on and Baba Olga saying to kill it very fast and eat it!! It looks to be a fine duck and a dandy catch!! Love y'all!
hahahaha!!! Yes, I vote ostrich or emu or whatever. THAT would a fabulous addition to your backyard. Haha...imagine indeed.
This is such a great story! The beautiful memories you are creating!!
Post a Comment