Chasing Ducks

Little Sammy, like his sisters, is an animal lover. Little Sammy, unlike his sisters, has no fear of animals. Dogs, cats, tortoises, no matter the beast or the size, the animal will get more than its fair share of Sammy if we let him have too much rein. Such was the case when we recently took the family to the UCD arboretum to feed the ducks.

Sammy ventured far and wide in his quest to corner a duck. He chased this poor hen up a hill...



















...and then right back down. It turns out that ducks have a knack for avoiding toddlers moving at 1 mph without evening having to take to the wing. Unfortunately, not simply flying away encouraged Sam to continue the chase, long after said chase had become a variant on the wild goose theme.



















The lady duck eventually made good her escape, so Sam turned his attention to two mallards, much to the ducks' dismay. He chased them across the field...



















...and then chased another pair of ducks back across the field.



















Sam's quest for ducks only reached an end when he had chased the last of them into the water. He was philosophical about it, just standing there for a moment to watch his prey escape onto the murky-green surface of the duck pond. He then ambled his way back to mommy, who was seated at a nearby bench.



















As he turned away, though, I second guessed myself. Maybe it wasn't his intention at all to catch one. Maybe he was instead something of a duck herder, and he didn't see his task complete until all of his charges had been driven to the safety of the water.

Well done, little duck herder.