Woodrow the Wood Duck

Woodrow is wandering over our page because we actually raised a little wood duck that we found in Mama's tiger lilies in front of the gray house one Easter week. He was so tiny he still had his "egg tooth", which is what they use to peck out of the egg.

We found out that Woodrow was a girl as time went on--she was the absolutely cutest thing and we learned a lot from her--we had her one whole summer till she flew down to the creek one early afternoon. She came back that night. The next morning found her winging her way to the creek again to return that evening and chirp her way thru some grain and june bugs, her favorite treat. I don't know when I saw anything more beautiful than that duck, wings outstretched, wheeling over the tops of the trees toward me to land at my feet that last time. She left the next morning and we never saw her again, though we filled her little pool every morning for a long time, in case she felt like visiting.

Robert was her person. She pecked strawberries from his chin as a baby and followed him around in the yard like a puppy. He taught her to swim in the ditch when the rains came hard that late spring, and nestled in his arms at night to watch Andy Griffith on TV. He caught her June bugs on the Rose of Sharon bush out back and she would jump at the flies living in the mint bed for hours. Watching her dive in the yellow pool in the back yard was hilarious.

Woodrow wanted to cuddle and be with us when she was a baby duck. Later on she only wanted to be with us when there were no June bugs. As she got older she would sit on the car and waddle away when we tried to get her to shut down for the night. After a while, we only got about an hour a day of her total attention.She would fuss and nibble at our hand when we picked her up. Gradually, she asserted her independence and eventually left of her own accord, well-fed and happy and full-grown.

Having raised our children through the teen-age years we were struck by the similarities--especially having struggled at that time with our youngest leaving the "nest."Woodrow was a little gift to us to teach us that letting go is inevitable--and with people it doesn't have to be final. We were made ever grateful that the children all come back--and bring children with them!