Good morning! I need that extra cuppa now. There was a Tornado Watch that didn't expire until 11pm last night. Of course I can't sleep during those. After it expired the severe thunderstorm hit around midnight and lasted until 3am. I was already jittery about tornados, so the last thing I needed was to hear the wind whipping around the house.
This is the only thing I don't like about warmer weather. There was a Tornado Warning on Friday evening as my oldest was leaving for Boy Scout canoe camp and I was as nervous as a cat in a roomful of rockers. But they made it west of the storm okay (storm was moving east) so it was just me and the young one to stay and worry about the animals while the sirens were wailing.
On Saturday, a wild duck hatched 13 babies at my mother's house so the little one and I went over to check them out before the sun went down. There were no one on the nest so we started walking down the street towards the pond a couple of blocks away. On the way we ran into a neighbor (wearing big sunglasses which I thought odd at the time; only later realized she was hiding tears from her kids) clutching a baby duckling. Her kids had reported that another kid was using ducklings for throwing practice so she and her husband had run out to stop it. She grabbed the only chick that hadn't been harmed. Meanwhile her husband had taken the delinquent to the delinquent's house to speak to the parents but there was only a big sister home who responded like a typical apathetic teenager (according to him). Then he found one chick still alive among the others and brought it to me. Several neighbors were out helping by that point, trying to find either the mother or other living babies but no luck. So now I have two mallard ducklings in my brooder. The injured one seems to have recovered nicely and is almost as active as its sibling. Both are eating and drinking well. During last night's tornado alert, as we discussed our plan of action, my oldest announced that he would grab the ducklings on his way to the shelter (his priority is to get his baby brother and himself to the shelter...I take all responsibility for the animals...if there is time). So he's getting attached but I'll keep reminding him that mallards usually leave when grown.
What a weekend! Now I need to rest...
Krista: I hope that all is going well with you! You are in my thoughts and prayers!
That's horrible! Kids/people can be so heartless sometimes!
