Nature Cont.

*Please censor for kids that may be reading*

I have to tell you what Andy, Lilly, and I witnessed yesterday at the pond by our house. We were walking along watching 9 baby ducklings that have no mother (Andy had noticed they were alone on his visits with Lilly and indeed they were alone). There was another mother duck with her "teen" ducks but she was not paying any attention to these 9 babies. They were hovered together and I felt so sorry for them. As we're sitting there discussing this there was suddenly a bunch of action, water splashing, quacks, squawking, and tons of frantic movement right in front of us. The mother duck of the "teens" was going crazy yelling and flapping and flying and struggling. Of course I had no clue what was going on but Andy (I swear he knows everything there is to know) knew exactly what was happening and shared with me that a snapping turtle had taken and pulled under (killed!) a baby duckling. Lo and behold I count the babies and there are only 8 left! The other mother (that I thought was ignoring the babies) was fighting the turtle to try to save the baby but it was too late. Oh my gosh, is this Candid Camera: Animal Planet version here? This was horrible! I couldn't believe it.

The mother fought for some time then went back to her older ducklings and kept crying and searching for the baby. I was standing on the edge of the bank screaming into the pond, "STOP IT!" like a crazy person while I upset Lilly and while Andy watched in fascination. After the water settled I stood there so devastated! I watched the babies wonder what had just happened and the mother still searching. As a mother I wanted to cry. How could that little baby be swimming along one minute and dead the next? Ok yes, I understand nature and all but this is how I was feeling...

Andy and Lilly had gone ahead to look at frogs when I finally caught up to them (going on and on and on to Andy about how this could happen and how I was going to buy duck food and come back and raise the ducklings myself) when another episode ensued. We look over at all the commotion to see a goose (a big ass goose!!!) being pulled under by this vicious snapping turtle (that we could not see). Thankfully the goose escaped death.

What am I going to do? I am going to call the township up and tell them there's a vicious snapping turtle in the pond killing the ducks!!

Not really.

I am going to dwell on it and try to remember what Andy told me right after it all ended... He said, "You need to think about the turtle and how the turtle just got a meal..." or something along those lines. I'm going to call him Mr. Nature from now on and I'll be Mrs. Hysterical or Mrs. Save the Universe and all the Baby Animals.

For now I will remember the baby bunnies taken from our yard, sniff sniff, the baby duckling drowned to death right before my eyes, sniff, and the baby robin that also didn't make it (2 are fine and growing), sniff sniff.