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Note: The man in this story is not related to either Ruth or me. It is one of those great human stories going around on the internet, and we both thought it worth sharing. :)Something really amazing happened in Downtown Spokane this week and I had to share the story with you.
Some of you may know that my brother, Joel, is a loan officer at Sterling Bank. He works downtown in a second story office building, overlooking busy Riverside Avenue. Several weeks ago he watched a mother duck choose the cement awning outside his window as the uncanny place to build a nest above the sidewalk.
The mallard laid nine eggs in a nest in the corner of the planter that is perched over 10 feet in the air. She dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks and Monday afternoon all of her nine ducklings hatched.
Joel worried all night how the momma duck was going to get those babies safely off their perch in a busy, downtown, urban environment to take to water, which typically happens in the first 48 hours of a duck hatching. Tuesday morning, Joel came to work and watched the mother duck encourage her babies to the edge of the perch with the intent to show them how to jump off!
The mother flew down below and started quacking to her babies above. In his disbelief Joel watched as the first fuzzy newborn toddled to the edge and astonishingly leapt into thin air, crashing onto the cement below.
My brother couldn't watch how this might play out. He dashed out of his office and ran down the stairs the sidewalk where the first obedient duckling was stuporing near its mother from the near fatal fall.
Joel looked up. The second duckling was getting ready to jump! He quickly dodged under the awning while the mother duck quacked at him and the babies above. As the second one took the plunge, Joel jumped forward and caught it with his bare hands before it hit the cement. Safe and sound, he set it by the momma and the other stunned sibling, still recovering from its painful leap.
One by one the babies continued to jump to join their anxious family below. Each time Joel hid under the awning just to reach out in the nick of time as the duckling made its free fall. The downtown sidewalk came to a standstill. Time after time, Joel was able to catch the remaining 7 and set them by their approving mother.
At this point Joel realized the duck family had only made part of its dangerous journey. They had 2 full blocks to walk across traffic, crosswalks, curbs, and pedestrians to get to the closest open water, the Spokane River . The onlooking office secretaries then joined in, and hurriedly brought an empty copy paper box to collect the babies. They carefully corralled them, with the mother's approval, and loaded them up into the white cardboard container. Joel held the box low enough for the mom to see her brood. He then slowly navigated through the downtown streets toward the Spokane River, as the mother waddled behind and kept her babies in sight.
As they reached the river, the mother took over and passed him, jumping into the river and quacking loudly.
At the water's edge, the Sterling Bank office staff then tipped the box and helped shepherd the babies toward the water and to their mother after their adventurous ride.
All nine darling ducklings safely made it into the water and paddled up snugly to momma duck. Joel said the mom swam in circles, looking back toward the beaming bank workers, and proudly quacking as if to say, 'See, we did it! Thanks for all the help!'
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How tender is that? Some of the pictures seem to have ten rather than nine babies, but the story seems to be true as it looks in the pictures in general. Doesn't it make you just smile???
That is the coolest story. You need to tell Ruth that she needs to get her own blog!!!!!
ReplyDeletegreat story we used to have ducks when i was little
ReplyDeleteCaroline, Ruth and I have talked about it, and she doesn't feel up to the challenge at this time. If that changes, she is going to contact me and I'll help her get it off the ground. Yeah, cool story!
ReplyDeleteRedfrog, I like ducks. They are funny little guys!
Lyn thank you for sharing my neat e-mail with your blog friends - what a small world, all the way from Seattle to my nations capital, and back again across the border. I see I'm on the blog block again LOL Will think about it - honest Lyn you dont sit still long enough to get me started lol. Maybe after the summer is over and we both have more time......thx for the offer
ReplyDeleteRuth
Charming story!!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteMy brothers and sisters and I each got a baby duck one year for Easter from our aunt. We lived on a farm and we had a big pond that the ducks LOVED!!!
Ruth, I'm glad you're back! And yes, absolutely, when you are ready, we'll get it done! :)
ReplyDeleteDaisy, isn't it? At least you were on a farm so the ducks made sense!! City kids with ducks or baby chicks ... no way!
Awwww!!!!! It reminds me of the story "Make Way For Duckings" - which I bought the book and saw the statues when in Boston.
ReplyDeleteGreat story Ruth. Kudos to your dear brother!
MQ, there is nothing much cuter than little duckies, is there??
ReplyDeleteYikes, it wasnt my brother but ty anyway. I have no relatives in the US at all lol
ReplyDeleteRuth
I am constantly amazed by the love a person has for animals. You brother deserves an award for going beyond what is expected. Most people would watch in horror but your brother took action. I don't him but from this entry I can safely say he is one of kind.
ReplyDeleteNow for my cute duck story. My parents own a resort on the Lake of the Ozarks. My father found a duck nest and was concerned that an animal would raid it's nest. He watched the nest, he checked on it every chance he got and when the ducks were hatched he gathered them one by one and put them in "cage" he constructed. I don't know why but mama duck was all for this. One day a friend brought his son by to see the baby ducks. His friend's wife had just given birth to a little girl. When dad asked him how he liked his sister, the child replied, "I'd rather have a duck."
Great Story - Give your brother a hug.
IE, I'm betting that lots of little kids would rather have a duck or a puppy or a kitty, or anything other than a new baby in the house!!!
ReplyDeleteRuth I guess I wasn't clear about it, so I put up a disclaimer for us both! Although a brother like "Joel" would be nice to have!