People have been inquiring after the ducks. Yes, I still have ducks. Nine of them. Mama Duck hung around for the first day and then took off, presumable on vacation far away in Palm Beach. And here I am. With ducks. We lost one little one on their first night without mom, but the rest are doing well and living large.
They outgrew the first duck hotel and were comped a better suite. I stressed about duck care and water exposure at first – there is some debate out there in the wilds of the internet on what point orphaned ducklings ought to take the plunge – but after one harrowing experience trying to catch and contain the guests at Chez DeArmond for a cage cleaning, all my ducklings were up to their drumsticks in duck muck and I was not going to be cleaning that off with my beak, thanks so much. I’m only willing to carry this surrogate mom thing so far. So they got any afternoon with a swimming pool. The amenities just keep getting better. Let me tell you though, their room service bill is racking up.
For the record, I’ve gotten better at catching, herding, and corralling the ducks. They’re quite the escape artists as it turns out. I came home from my show late last night and found my flock foraging in the strawberries.
Do not imagine for one moment that I’m so insane as to think I can keep a flock of ducks in my backyard long term. This is Hotel Duck, not Duck Estate. A neighbor hooked us up with a duck conservationist friend of hers who is going to relocate our uninvited guests to a nice appropriate pond when they reach 3 weeks of age.
Until then, I’m maid, chef, and room service.
It’s been an experience, that’s for sure. They’re certainly cute and very sweet. They’re also loud, messy, and quite the handful.
You know, like kids.
