The Baboon Congress

The Duck Walk

106 Comments

Today’s guest post is by Jacque.

Tuesday morning I went to the gym at about 7:00am. I was still a little groggy, waiting for the coffee to kick in, as I wandered toward the door of the community center when I heard hissing. To the right next to a bush was a Mama Duck protecting at least 10 little fluff ball chicks. And that Mama was MAD. Clearly I had committed a duck faux pas by thoughtlessly walking too close.

One of the most fascinating things about living in the Twin Cities is the population’s attitude towards these broods of ducks and geese each Spring breeding season. Normally fast moving traffic on the interstate will slow to a crawl, then a full stop, to allow a misdirected Mama and her babies to clear the road. These are drivers who sometimes seem willing to run their own slow Mama off the road.

In the mid-1990’s when I worked at a local Chemical Dependency Treatment Center for teenagers and young adults there was a Mama duck who returned to an interior outdoor courtyard of the facility every single Spring to build a nest and raise her family. The facility custodian would haul out the kiddie pool each spring, install it in the courtyard filled with water then place a plywood ramp up to the pool so the ducklings could learn to swim. These ducklings learned to walk up the ramp then jump into the pool for swimming lessons. Our teenage addicts stood for hours watching this through the window. Soon they would have to learn to swim in life stone sober.

When ducks could swim and walk the facility Executive Director would announce the date of The Duck Walk a week in advance. Each treatment group held Duck Walk Orientation so the kids would know what to do! During the duck walk every juvenile delinquent in the place was responsible for holding his or her piece of large cardboard in just the right place so the Mama and Family could be escorted through the building without escaping, then out the door. These juvenile delinquents and addicts found this event thrilling, often mentioning it as a highlight of the rehab program.

Last year on my way to work a goose family was confused and stuck in the middle of a four way stop. Traffic was carefully edging by them, slowing, stopping. When my turn came at the green light the family was positioned in a place where I would hit them if I proceeded. No one was moving while the panicked Mama tried to get the goslings off the road. But one crazy driver behind me wanted to MOVE NOW and laid on her horn. Not one other car moved to allow that driver through. Did she really want to run down the geese? Apparently so.

However, that lady is the exception. If you want to see living beings treated with compassion, gentleness, great care and loving kindness come to the Twin Cities during the Spring when Fowl run our roads and nest in our yards.

Do you have stories of Families most Fowl?

106 thoughts on “The Duck Walk”

  1. i had a duck moment two days ago where i came over the top of the hill and there was mama with the 7 or 8 little ones behind her crossing the middle of the road fll steam to get to the other side. the spot she chode to cross was a blind spot and i was going 50 when i saw her. i honked and swerved ad the car behind me did the same i saw the duck family all in a tither trying to regroup with the cars flying by. i wonder if the ducks like the ones who raise ducks in the quiet spots like the indoor atrium have a different outlook on life than the ones who build their nest next to the door at the health club and hiss at everyone who goes by. i sometimes feel like i am trying to do a medatative mantra in the midst of rush hour traffic. wouldn’t it be nice if you could signal to the surrounding traffic you need the same treatment as the ducks?

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  2. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    This is intimidating, trying to elicit discussion about fowl families, after Anna’s “knock it out of the park, 105 entries” about libraries and books from yesterday. What a great day on the Trail! I often feel here that I have found “my people.” I also will make it to the library this week to find that old book of my memory, “The 100 Dresses.”

    Our new participants on the Trail were lured out by books. Great bait for the Blog Trap. If I’d known I could have lied and written about Ducks at the Library instead of the gym or CD Treatment Center. At least library ducks would be guaranteed to get some OT conversation about the library.

    Meanwhile, I’m headed out to walk our new pup who seems to be adapting enthusiastically to us and our house. Her new motto: No amount of affection is enough! So far she is a fun dog. But I want to walk before the predicted 95 degrees descend on us. My thermometer already says 77 degrees at 6:48 a.m.

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  3. Hi gang. I’m going to be quiet today. Toward mid-day I will take my old blind dog to the vet’s, and I think I will probably leave with nothing but her collar. My sister is driving in from the west end of Lake Minnetonka to give me moral support. Maybe this will make some of you smile. Remember the short-term baboon, Crystalbay? That is my sister. It is kind of her to help me today.

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    1. I’ll be thinking of you, Steve. We all know how much this hurts, but it’s the last kindness you can show your old blind friend.

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    2. Steve – you will be in my thoughts today. I know how much this dog has been a part of your life, a constant companion in all senses. Glad you will have someone with you.

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    3. sorry man. good memories will have to do. she has been lucky and so have you. you’ve given her a nice place to experience the world from. peace

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    4. Wish I had some advice to give that could make it easier, but there’s nothing that can make it any easier. Best friends comes in all breeds. Sorry, sorry, Steve.

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    5. Steve – be strong today and know you are giving her the best gift you can. I’ll be thinking of you.

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    6. Oh, how awful! Like I said to Jacque earlier, your old friend knows that this is the the right thing to do.

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    8. So sorry Steve; it’s never easy, but the time comes when you know it is the best and kindest thing you can do.

      How is your sister? Isn’t she the esophageal cancer survivor? I hope she is doing well and am glad she is able to be with you on this difficult day.

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      1. Nancy is doing remarkably well. The cancer hasn’t shown its ugly head since her treatment. And I’m not sure how to put this next bit: having had cancer has made my sister a more loving and compassionate person.

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    12. Oh, Steve. I’m just so sorry. I know how hard this is to do, but it’s the right thing. Katie will be in a better place and you have given her many years of love. Peace.

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  4. When we lived in a rural place, part of our menagerie included two ducks who were hybrid domestic and mallard. We named them Frank and Joyce because we were Hill Street Blues fans. They made a nest at the edge of a pond across a road but when heavy rains came it drowned. My husband, in his kindness, decided we should take them to the family cabin, thinking they would provide fun there for kids and be away from the danger of roads. They were big and not really tame and did not enjoy the car ride. When we arrived, they waddled down the beach, jumped right into the lake and were never seen again. Some feared a snapper had got them, but I like to think they are free! Free!

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    1. i have kids like that. put in the backseat and hang on tight. i’d like to take them up north and set them free sometimes too

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    2. I’ll bet there’s a story behind “they did not enjoy the car ride…” 🙂 I tried to travel with 3 cats across country once, but I digress.

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    3. I thought of that book, too.

      I pronounce Ouack as “ooh-ack” but have no idea if that’s close to being right. I often mispronounce words I’ve read but never heard spoken. And not too many people say the word Ouack in their everyday conversations.

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    4. There are also some really great Robert McCloskey charcoal sketches in the children’s section of the Central Library in St Paul. It seems they were done long ago when the author visited the library and were rediscovered during the renovation several years ago. For those without a resident kid to lead you into that section, it is worth the trip, to see the carved wooden puppet theatre and bronzes of Beverly Cleary’s Ramona to be found there.

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      2. The restoration of the downtown Saint Paul Central Library was remarkable. They really did a phenomenal job on the amazing ceilings that had been hidden by accoustical tile for years. One ceiling, I think it’s in the adult fiction room, was cleaned with white bread dipped in just the suds of an Ivory Snow solution. Who thought of that?! Amazing that the restoration only took 18 months; what a treasure of a building that is!

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      4. while you are in the neighborhood, it is also lovely to stroll over to see the Landmark Center (we usually do this trip when we are parked at the Science Museum anyway), I believe you can also check out books with a Hennepin County Library Card from the SPPL system.

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  6. Bold face ducks – I’m all for it, Jacque. My folks had a pair of mallards that would come and graze on the spilled bird seed in their front yard. They lived quite close to Lake Harriet, so they supposed the ducks were nesting there. Never saw the ducklings, only the adult pair. They would swoop onto the lawn in the morning while my folks drank their coffee and read the paper, Mr. would stand guard while Mrs. would eat her fill, when she was done, he would take a few quick bites and then they’d be off again. All summer, every day – as I recall, they came back the next year, too (though it might have been a different pair, hard to tell to the untrained eye). I think my parents named them, but I can’t remember the names (something like George and Martha…).

    Guess I’m glad I have those two pieces of cardboard in my car’s trunk, in case I need to use them to steer ducks from one place to the next. (

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      2. No it’s George and Martha Washing Machine like in the Stupids books or George and Martha the hippo couple also from the children’s section

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    2. Hi Baboons, I’m paying a quick visit while on vacation and am alarmed to see everything so BOLD.
      I’ll do what I can to return our look to something more demure. Thanks for your patience, and many thanks to all the guest bloggers!

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  7. I’ve told this story before…and thanks to modern technology I can tell you exactly when I’ve told this story before. It was last October, when Renee wrote the guest blog titled Puggi Lives! Here’s the whole story, and if you remember it you don’t have to read the whole thing again….

    I was visiting Washington DC and decided to take a walk around the White House area and the monuments one morning. I came across a mother duck and brood of ducklings on the wrong side of Constitution Avenue near the White House. They had probably crossed the street from the park very early in the morning when the traffic was light, and found themselves hemmed in on a triangular block where there was no water or much vegetation. Mom duck was circling and quacking, apparently without a plan, the ducklings milling around her.

    I didn’t have a plan, either, but couldn’t just walk away, so I enlisted the help of a few passersby – two students in Georgetown U T-shirts, and a mom with two kids around 8 to 10 or so. We thought we could get enough of an opening in traffic to get the group across if we timed it when the stoplights down the block were red. But how to get the mother duck to cross was a problem – she didn’t want to be herded. Then I discovered if I picked up a duckling and it made a cheeping noise, the mother duck would make a beeline toward me. So we waited for a break in the traffic. The stoplights were red to the west and to the east at the same time. Student #1 and I each picked up a duckling. Student #2 and the mom took up positions in the middle of the street, hands raised in classic traffic cop “stop” position. Student #1 and I backed across the street holding out the cheeping baby ducks like lures. The mom’s two kids followed the duck grouping across the street to hustle along the stragglers.

    As we were crossing, the lights turned green in both directions, but the drivers appeared inclined to give us a break, and approached slowly. Fortunately mother duck didn’t dawdle. When we reached the other side she took the curb in a leap, and all the babies piled up against the curb, small webbed feet scrabbling against the concrete. The two kids gave each duckling an assist to get over the curb. Then it was over the rise and downhill to the pond and safety.

    I haven’t been back to DC since, but I think I heard that stretch of Constitution near the White House is closed to traffic now. If that’s true, the ducks can probably roam back and forth at will.

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  8. I’m not feeling all that bold, but will post once any way.
    Sorry, indeed, Steve. Greet your sister and wish her well.
    I’m a bike rider. In all this avian sweetness I dare not speak my thoughts about geese on the bike trail (from their point of view, geese on the long, narrow geese house), no actions, just thoughts.

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      3. yup, nice they are not. remember the then 3-year-old being terrified of them at the Milwaukee zoo. That beak at your eye level is a scary thing-bet the beak at pedalling leg level is equally unwelcome.

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  9. Good morning to all:

    I think we usually think of water fowl when fowl are mentioned. Acording to my dictionary, fowl can be any kind of bird so I will tell you about the Mourning Doves that have their nest in the vines on my garage. It looks like they have nearly raised a pair of chicks to maturity, althought the nearly full grown young hadn’t flown from the nest last time I checked.

    I don’t known when the chicks hatched because the parents sat continuously on the nest and hid the chicks when they were young. I did a little research and found out that Mourning Doves are very good at protecting their nests with the male usually sitting on the nest all morning and the female covering the rest of the day. At first I only saw the head of one chick and then I looked on the the other side of the nest and saw that are two chicks that were already fairly large over a week ago. A couple of days ago the two young were out of the nest sitting on vines beside the nest.

    Last year I found the remains of a Dove in my yard which might have been killed by a cat. One of our neighbors had two large cats that they let out and one of them might have killed the Dove. The neighbors’ cats dissappeared this spring and haven’t been found. I hope the cats are found and if they are I hope they will be kept inside. I like cats, but I think the young doves will have better change of surviving if those cats aren’t around.

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    1. I found a small mourning dove in the street in front of my house once. It was alive and didn’t have any visible injuries, but something was obviously wrong because it didn’t fly away when I walked up to it. I picked it up and took it to the Wildlife Rehab Center. They told me it was a juvenile and probably hadn’t been flying very long, and their guess was some sort of head trauma. For a couple of weeks after that there was a mourning dove hanging around my front sidewalk. Every time I came and went from the house I’d hear the rustling twittering sound as up she flew – I thought it was the mother bird watching me and trying to figure out what I’d done with her offspring.

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      1. At the time I found the remains of a mourning dove last year there a dove nearby that seemed distressed which made me think that the dead dove was one that had recently left it’s nest and the distressed dove was a parent of this dove.

        This morning I don’t see any doves in the nest on my garage. I did see full grown doves flying about and I am guessing that the young doves flew from their nest and might be in my yard some place where I can’t see them.

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  10. Just remembered this: I was biking through a very busy intersection last night and almost ran over a tiny, a sparrow fledgling of some sort. I doubt it lased long there.

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  11. My father loves feeding the geese at the gravel pit south of town. There was a pair of geese that returned every year to the pond by the Veterans Nursing home in Luverne, and the female was lame in one leg but managed to raise a brood every year with her spouses help. The geese and ducks are pretty happy in ND this year with all the water and new prairie potholes. A friend of mine made a trip to the eastern part of the state this weekend and said she has rarely seen so many water fowl in all her years here. The muskrats are pretty happy, too, and have been causing havoc my tunneling under already fragile roads.

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  12. When I was an undergrad at St. Kates, a mother duck decided the perfect place to put her nest was by the steps at the science building. She was protected on two sides from dogs and any other theoretical predators, but not from the weather, so during a lengthy downpour some well-meaning student(s) tried protecting the nest with a cardboard box (with a hole cut for mom to come and go). The box first got sodden and then blew away, but Mama Duck stayed put in spite of human interference. I had class in that building once a week IIRC, so I missed the hatching; one day the nest was empty except for a few shell scraps.

    I also had a similar experience as Linda’s early one morning when I was going to sub at Chanhassen Library. The tiny ducklings, too small to scale the curb had gotten trapped on the driveway. I spread my arms out and chased the little ones (very slowly!) until they were inspired to scramble up the curb and onto the grass where they’d be safe from cars. Oddly, the mother just watched me, as if she knew what I was trying to do and why. I’d been expecting an ankle-full of beak, but she stood there and called to them until even the weakest made it, just before I was going to have to pick it up. Probably gave them the frights of their brief lives, but if it taught them to be nervous of humans that’s all to the better.

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    1. We consider the St Kate’s pond to be our personal little wildlife refuge and head over there every Sunday after church to check things out. There are currently 2 families of ducklings (one 9, one 13!) no goslings yet this year and I am certain there is a third hatching somewhere. There is also a resident “patrol” egret, sometimes a blue heron. There also seem to be a lot of waterfowl using that pond as a rest stop, as we will see them there only once. Usually a couple of wood ducks stop by and this year I saw my first ever green heron.

      We feel really lucky to have this little patch of nature so close to home.

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  13. I just saw Steve’s post. I’ve been through that also, and you have my sympathy. We don’t want them to suffer, but we don’t want to lose them, either. Sometimes it’s a comfort to know you’re doing the kindest thing, and that they’d thank us for setting them free if they could.

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  14. Cliff Claven fact of the day–female ducks basically all look the same even different breeds. The guys can’t tell the difference so it is up to the gals to keep things straight by spurning suitors of the wrong breed.

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  15. An observation on the drive from S Mpls to Richfield this morning: while cars may stop completely for water fowl, they only slow down for rabbits and pay no attention to relative speed for squirrels.

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    1. Clarks Grove doesn’t have very much or any duck activity because we don’t have any ponds or streams. We do have plenty of rabbits and squirrels. I know that some people don’t like squirrels because they dig where they shouldn’t, damage bird feeders, and get into trouble in many other ways. I think they are fun to watch and I wish some people would make a bigger effort to not run over them.

      I’ve had a rabbit raise bunnies in a nest right in my garden. The garden suffered very little damage and within a few weeks the the young grew up leaving the nest empty.

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  16. B-A, info like this is one good reason to not miss a day on the blog.

    I use the parkways a lot, and the River Road – we slow or stop for ducks and geese regularly. And when I walk in “our” nature park almost next door, I usually do a loop that gets me up on the railroad tracks that run between to large ponds. One morning I came upon a family with four ducklings that were too little to scale the rail. Mom wasn’t happy, but I nudged a couple of the smallest ones over as she squawked at me, but then they went on their way and I on mine.

    I’ll also expand this to include turtles – the last few mornings, I’ve seen at least one turtle – a couple probably painted turtles maybe 5 inches across. This morning, though, right by where the parking lot intersects with the path, there she was – a great big mama turtle, and loose dirt around her which looks like she’s laying eggs there. If so, she’s not the brightest turtle in the park, and I with the workers would put a protective something around her… I’ll keep you posted if she stays.

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    2. My husband will stop for a turtle and help it finish crossing the street. He has a thing for turtles. They usually pee when he picks them up, so he has learned to hold them at arm’s length.

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  17. One fall evening, in my teenaged youth, I was watching television in the basement when I noticed a female wood duck waddle past the windows. I didn’t think much of it until I watched it go past the windows twice more. I called up to my Dad and he suspected that the duck was tired from a long day’s flying. After a few minutes, Dad came down and announced that we were going outside to catch the duck. His concern was that the duck would wander into traffic and get hit. This seemed like a legitimate concern and I certainly didn’t want the duck to get killed, so off we went.

    I didn’t grow up on a farm, so I had little experience with this. I’m told (by my Mom) that there is very little on this planet as entertaingly hilarious as two grown men trying to corral and pick up a duck. This the same Mom that opened the front door to ask what we were doing. In doing so, she inadvertently let the dog out. Now, Rockford was by no means a mean dog. He was a lover and a player. And, in the gloom, all he saw was Dad and I engaged in some kind of game that he wanted to join in. Rockford, an English Springer from hunting stock (not show dog stock) hit that duck squarely in the chest at full speed. He flipped completely over as the duck squawked her disapproval at being tackled. Rockford righted himself, ears up, eyes (still adjusting to the dark) wide, brakes on full, and a look on his face that said, “What the hell was that????!!!”

    Now, there was three of us all chasing this duck. Rockford, sniffing and snuffling, and Dad and I, cursing and cornering. Finally, we managed to outsmart this duck that was too tired to fly but not too tired to waddle around like a feathered Tilt-A-Whirl going “mwak, mwak.” Dad put her in a box in the garage for the night with some bread and water. The next morning, he let her go and she flew away just fine.

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  18. Husband’s office faces a a small green area, separating his company’s building from an adjacent parking lot. There’s a large ant hill in that green space. Each morning, around 10 A.M., a flock of crows arrive to take their daily ant bath. Each crow in turn, squats down into the ant hill, flaps its wings and squirms around to expose as much of its body as it can to the ants. They’ll stand around, politely waiting to take their turn. We don’t know the reason for this behavior, but are guessing the ants somehow help control mites or some such thing. This has been going on for quite some time, and they’re are very punctual in performing this daily ritual.

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      1. Duh!! Just read about birds and dust baths, such as what chickens do. Not for sure has something to do with keeping control of mites and such in their feathers. The very communal crows would share a place to dust.

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      2. Grand kids here and they use my office/art room as their TV and art room, which is wonderful to share. But typing on my lap is a Mr. Toot no-no I now know. I meant to say, it is not clear to bird folks why some if not most birds dust. Mite-control is one reason but they think their are other benefits. Some birds rub some insects over their feathers too, maybe for anti-bug reasons or preening reasons.

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      4. Remember old TV afternoon kids’ programs? The last one in Duluth was a clown named Mr. Toot. My kids are so old they were once in the audience. Anyway, he used to teach manners with the term Mr. Toot No-No. For a couple years another teacher and I had Mr. Toot No-No’s in our senior high classes, which the kids thought was funny.

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  19. On the farm we had a pair of mallards that nested close to the creek. I remember the first time they hatched, my dad bringing the babies upstairs, waking my sisters and I to see them. We all loved those ducks and they became almost like pets. One day one of Dad’s fishing buddies stopped by with his hunting dog, and that was the end of the mother. I was mad at that guy for a long long time but when he died early in life from a heart attack, I forgave him.

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  23. Afternoon. Hm, new look to the comment box here.

    So, fowl. I’m afraid I’ve got more stories than you want to hear… and some I’ve already told like giving our crazy geese away and the guy putting them in the back of his car. Or the ducks walking around our house ‘quack, quack quack’ at 4:00 AM and my wife out there in her bathrobe chasing them away.

    My latest story is the chicken hen that hatched out a ducking. She didn’t want it and didn’t know what to do with it, she just wanted to “sit”. So I finally took possession of it. Put it a pen with a Sponge Bob doll for a playmate and named the duckling ‘Patrick’ of course (Sponge Bob’s best friend). Then I started trying to find it playmates. As luck would have it another duck outside hatched 7 baby ducks so I snatched three of them to go in the pen with Patrick. Momma duck was not very happy with me but figured she had a better chance with 4 than 7. (And as it were her four outside only lasted about a week before they disappeared to some form of danger; owl, coyote, hole in the ground. I’ve said it before; it’s a tough world out there).
    Meanwhile, Patrick and friends are doing fine.

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  24. I’ve been wracking my brains all day, but all of my wildlife stories involve mammals. There’s the elk story that I’ve told here before. And then there are several bunny stories (thank goodness for the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center). Wonderful to hear everybody’s else’s stories today.

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  25. As tim would say, Bring ’em on! If I can relate about turtles, bunnies don’t seem that far off…

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  26. I have a turkey story. My daughter’s best friend has an older sister who married an Egyptian opera singer and musician. We invited them for Thanksgiving dinner last year, and were informed that Hatem didn’t eat turkey since he considered it unclean. My daughter told her Modern Nations teacher about it, and he has been telling subsequent classses that moslems don’t eat turkey. We have since found out that the real reason Hatem doen’t eat turkey is that when he was a little boy in Cairo, his parents bought a live turkey to butcher and kept it in the bathroom of their apartment until they were ready to dispatch the bird. Hatem was terrorized by the turkey every time he had to use the bathroom, and he has refused to eat turkey ever since. My daughter has yet to tell the Modern Nations teacher that he is misinforming his students about the dietary habits of the Middle East.

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    1. I cannot help but notice that you list the gentleman in question as an opera singer AND a musician, as if they are not necessarily the same thing. I spent several years in the opera fitting room, so I am snickering (but not snorting).

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  27. I’m afraid of the new comment box. I hope this posts okay.

    Like Ben, I’ve got lots of baby animal stories but my most recent favorite is the osprey nest here at our fish hatchery. I’ve enjoyed their presence for the last three years. They are the southwestern-most nesting pair of ospreys in Minnesota. Four years ago they tried to build a nest on a power pole for the fish rearing ponds. Their first nest failed, so DNR Nongame Wildlife built a nest box and Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative helped erect the new, tall pole. They’ve been nesting there for three years now and have had a great success rate.

    The adult pair started incubating eggs this year on April 21. The eggs hatched sometime between May 25 and May 30 and now the adults are making frequent trips to Lake Tetonka to bring back a nice fat bullhead or a largemouth bass. Today they’re sitting on the nest, both female and male, with their wings slightly spread to shade the chicks (sometimes called eyeasses). They both have their mouths slightly open and appear to be panting. The chicks will fledge in July, if all goes well, and I hope to watch their first flights again.

    I’m out of time for today. Fun on the Trail the last couple of days!

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  28. It’s 102 degrees in the Twin Cities. Is there a mama duck who will make sure I get in a nice cool pond?

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    3. Just heard that Saint Paul is the hottest reporting city in the US at the moment! No one can say our weather is boring.

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  31. I just want to thank all of you baboons who expressed concern for Katie and me today. We did what we had to do, and it wasn’t as awful as I had anticipated. Katie really fell apart in the last day. I’m not sure what was wrong with her in addition to old age, arthritis, diabetes and blindness, but she suddenly lost it. That is a gift from her to me, as I can have no ambiguity about whether I needed to act.

    Thanks again. You are wonderful.

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    1. I found the hardest part was the decision then the dread. Once it was over it was a relief. Such a hard responsibility. Glad it is over.

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    3. steve, the only time i have had to do it was with my dog that i had form the time i was 16 until he died at age 16 of failing kidney and miscellaneous other stuff. life was less enjoyable toward the end but we hung in there. the last day i knew it was time and i spent the night with him as he was in his death spiral. just us two in the house , in the basement watching tv. i decided to call the vet at home about 6am and tell him i would be bringing dylan in when the clinic opened and he said he would come in to meet us now. i went back downstairs and dylan had died. he waited for me to leave so he could do it without me there to witness it. it makes me cry no just typing it. that my divorce and my dads death last year are the three inside out crying jags in my life these last 30 or 40 years. it doesn’t make it easy but it is nice to know you hung on as long as was humane. she was ready and so were you. you know it for sure this time. peace.

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  33. This is so timely – back on May 25th I had the honor of escorting mom mallard and 9 chicks down the last quarter mile of Summit Ave. in St. Paul, heading for the river. I was worried about her crossing Mississippi River Blvd. as the traffic is a bit fast there (bottom of a hill) so I stuck with her and luckily a woman on the walking path across the road came to our aid as well. She stopped the SW lane of cars and I stopped the NE lane, mom got her progeny across and with my boost of two chicks who struggled with the curb, all was well.

    I did not get to witness their crossing of Cretin Ave. from the campus of St. Thomas as I was mowing the lawn, but a lovely man jump out of his car to assist the ducks (and they even went with the WALK signal), and I took it the rest of the way.

    I wish I could get pictures in this blog post as I thankfully I had my phone with me and recorded it for my partner Peter to enjoy!

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    1. Hey June – welcome to the trail. Nice to hear the good samaritan stories! Unfortunately (well, maybe depending on your particular point of view), only Dale can post pictures on the trail. The rest of the unwashed masses (us) can embed other sites, but no photos!

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