Naming

I know it's silly, but I have felt a lot of pressure about naming my little ones. I believe, all of a sudden, I have realized that naming something is very difficult, and very important. Wow - the responsibility of giving someone a name that they will be called for the rest of their lives! How can you even begin? I know that I cannot name them all, partly because I cannot tell them ALL apart, but I can tell a most of them apart. I have decided to name them slowly and get used to those names before I name more. As of now, the yellow runner is named George because he always seemed to be the first one to do something - the most curious. The two crested ducks - not the brightest in the box - are named Tweedle and Dee. I named the chocolate runner, naturally, Hershey. That's all for now, but I'll let you know if I come up with any more creative ideas!

The babies - like most babies - have a very strict schedule and they stick to it. It consists of sleeping, eating, swimming/pecking, gromming and then the cycle begins again. The ducks do a lot of grooming. From what I have observed, and learned, ducks have some sort of an oil duct in their chests. This oil helps protect their fluff and their feathers. In order to spread it around, they rub their heads on their chest, and then rub their heads all over their bodies.

This morning, Romeo slapped one of the little ones, but in all honesty, I don't blame him. Romeo was sitting there, had been for a little while so the babies were used to him. One came up and pecked him on his side. Romeo popped the little one, although just once, and no claws. I think he just wanted the little one to know that he could hurt him. Later on, the babies were running around and ran up around him and several pecked him at the same time. That really scared him - and off he ran!

Last night, at about 4am, I awoke to horrible, shrill cries from outside. It was storming and the babies had not been through a storm yet. I called out of the window to them though, and the screechy sounds turned immediately to the soft cooing, tweeting sounds they make. It's nice to know, that even as a different creature altogether, I can bring them some comfort, for they have certainly brought me comfort!