Singing in the Rain: Walking With Ducks

Anyone who knows me will know that I'm very fond of ducks of any kind, but there's a special place in my heart for mallards, which are very common around here.  Mallards have a hidden beauty-at first glance, they're rather plain, especially the females.  Look more closely and you'll see the range of stunning colours as the birds' feathers catch the light. Ducks seem stoic to me, wandering about in sunshine and rain, never complaining about the weather (at least as far as we know), accepting of the human and canine presence near their nests, as long as those creatures don't get too close.  If you do venture near their nests or ducklings, watch out-both male and female ducks will have something to say about that. They're also smart-years ago, I worked at a local arts centre where, each spring, the same Mama duck would nest in the enclosed courtyard.  As soon as her eggs hatched, she'd lead her ducklings to the courtyard door, waiting for us to prop open the inside and outside doors.  She'd usher her babies through them and march them off to the nearby creek for their first swim.  She knew a good thing when she saw one.

Ducks from another day.

We had two days of warm, almost normal spring temperatures last week before the weather turned cold and damp once again.  The last two days brought hide-in-the-house rain and winds; the problem is that, if we stayed in for all these days of watery cold, we might never get outside.  After a long walk with Morris and Mr. DD through the park and around the lake this week, I discovered I was so out of shape from reducing my jaunts this winter that I had to hit the couch as soon as I arrived home.  Enough is enough-I resolved to resume my usual strolls no matter what was going on outside.  If ducks can withstand a little rain without much complaint, surely I can do the same.

I made a date today to deliver a book to a friend at the Art Market at the Cathedral Arts Centre, so that I would have to venture out into a gray day of 3C, rain mixed with snow.  I wasn't thrilled about the prospect, especially since I was forced to bundle up in a winter hat and layers of clothing.  A strange thing happened as I set my pace-rather than bemoaning the cold, wind and rain soaking through everything, I began to enjoy the experience.  I was dressed warmly enough; it wasn't bitterly cold.  What could have been a time for complaining turned into such a pleasant walk that I found myself humming and then singing in the rain. (The streets were fairly quiet, thank goodness.  My apologies to anyone who might have had to suffer through my squawks, er, songs.)

Jess was at the Art Market.  We made a date to meet after class tomorrow, as we used to during yoga teacher training.  Lindsay R., the recipient of the book, brought me a gorgeous blue glazed pot she had made as thanks for the pottery text I had found at a book sale. That pot now holds my aloe plant. During a brief stop at a drug store on the way home, I was greeted by the sound of Pharrell Williams's "Happy" over the loudspeaker-guess which song stuck in my head on the way home?  The final treat of the journey was an encounter with a neighbourhood rabbit, hopping from yard to yard and, yes, duck sightings in the park.

If I had followed my first instinct and stayed home, warm and dry, the day would have been a fine one. I would have read, worked on an art project or two, chatted with Mr. DD about this and that.  By deciding instead to venture out in weather that refuses to relax into spring, I had a wonderful day filled with friends, art, song, wild life and, yes, ducks, things that make my heart sing. Maybe those ducks stroll about in the rain for a reason.

Namaste.