Is there anything that inspires tranquil feelings more than watching ducks calmly paddling in a pond? I thoroughly appreciate their gentle bobbing, and delight in their duck dives--their undercarriages suddenly on view as their tail feathers point heavenward, and webbed feet scale the water's surface upside down.
Nature at its most serene--or so I've always thought. Yet when we arrived last week at our modest lake house upstate, intent upon tidying the yard for the summer season, the ducks (pictured above) greeting me was a shock. Why? I don't have a pond on my property. Up until that weekend, I had an extra--grassy--lot in that space.
Needless to say, I didn't get the grass cleared of leaves, now that it was a pond. In the 16 years we've owned the place I've never seen it flood like that. Funny how every year is different. We had a relatively mild winter this year, until March hit. During that month we got a season's worth of snow and cold temperatures. It was followed by a few weeks of drenching April rains and, voila, we now have a pond!
It didn't take long to embrace the transformation. As I stood by my new water feature, watching the ducks' antics, I felt a familiar enjoyment wash over me. Sure, my yard probably won't recover for another month or two. I'll be clearing away leaves in late May or even early June, after the water evaporates, but that's okay. I realize the yard isn't the only thing that changed. Sometimes the best thing about nature is its unpredictability.
Think about Mother Nature's everyday surprises: the robin's nest under your eaves; daffodils popping up through the snow; a family of tree frogs suddenly taking up residence in your yard. Little marvels that are anything but mundane.
You know what? I'm really gonna miss that pond.
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