Snack Time

I feel like I'm still recovering from yesterday. It got cold again today, and the wind returned. The crest point (or whatever it's called) for the river, which is supposed to happen tomorrow, is now supposed to be lower than the record by a good two feet. We didn't get as much rain as they predicted, I guess; at least not as constantly as it was looking. We did get some snow today. Well, a freezing mixture.

I worked a couple hours this morning/afternoon, and then Mom and I were out and about. And round-about, due to closed roads. We were hunting for a place to buy bulk chick feed.

And yes. I'm going to talk about the chicks again.

Man, I need to take some pictures! Presley, one of the Polish, has a mop head right now. The oldest keep perching on everything possible. Mom built them a better coop. Now they're on the floor, in the open. They have staring contests with Sasha when she comes through headed for the back door. They're mostly friendly, crowding around when someone talks to them. ('Cept for Glinda and Galadriel. Stuck up snobs, those two.)

The ducks are another story. They're nervous and loud and easily agitated. They only respond in a relatively calm manner to Heather, and I think it's more of grudging acceptance. Unless by some strange quirk of nature they prefer the loud mimic-squawking and purposefully off-key singing.

I've been trying to coax them out of their constant state of nerves, but most days I don't have the patience for it. I've already tried giving them chopped apples once, Heather having read they like chopped fruits and veggies, but they cowered in a corner. Today I tried again.

I spent a little time petting them. They shivered like chihuahuas, but they didn't run circles in blind panic. Then I got some apples.

Neither responded to me. You'd think I was some wicked abuser back to torment them. I held the apples as close as I could manage, but they kept pulling their heads back like it was poison. And then one of them got a whiff of the treat.
The next thing I know, a little duck bill and pecking at my hand, and then the duckling's whole head is vibrating as it - gummed? - the snack into mush and swallowed. And it repeated the action over and over. It still wouldn't pull its body out of the corner. If I held my hand just out of reach, it wouldn't move. And the second duckling was still refusing to accept my offering.
Meanwhile I'm about to collapse in a fit of giggles because the way the duckling was eating was so cute and funny. I finally managed to coax the second to get a bite, but he wasn't as enthusiastic.
Now I know why ducks are often portrayed as, well, feather-brained.
Well, the chicks are all tucking in for bedtime and the brownies are cooling, so I'm off.