Delta Dude, Dakota Ducks: This I Gotta See

Have you ever experienced a moment in life where you realize just how beautiful and wonderfully created the world around you is? I had several of these moments last week and at the beginning of this week. I'm talking about moments that absolutely make you drop your jaw and stare in utter amazement at whatever is before you. (I used to think that was just an expression until I caught myself, jaw dropped, and in disbelief, of all things.) These moments often come when one of my favorite country songs is playing on the radio and all of a sudden I behold such a glorious site! It's in these moments that I find myself pulling to the side of the road, casting my previous destination aside, and forgetting whatever issues were pressing my mind.

This is a field of canola. I was driving to one of our sites to conduct nest checks when all of a sudden witnessing this brilliant yellow drew me in like a powerful magnet. I couldn't help but grab my camera and take several pictures, a site such as this is something I can't help but share with other people.

I encountered this fawn while checking some nests this afternoon. I'm not sure if the sound of the approaching ATV startled this baby or if he was just stretching his legs after laying motionless for so long but either way, I took note of his shaky legs with each early step that he took. I imagined the fawn was experiencing the same tingling sensation I feel in my shoulder after Bethany has been using it as a pillow. ;)

I must say that I never imagined that I would ever respect a duck in my lifetime. And I'm not talking about respecting a duck in the sense of enjoying it smothered with cream cheese, coupled with a fresh slice of jalapeno, and deliciously wrapped with a thick cut of bacon. And I'm not even talking about respecting ducks and the wonderful conversation they provide my buddies and I while gathered around my parents' fire pit after a winter day of hunting, enjoying the warmth and comfort of the flames, sipping Single Barrel whiskey out of plastic cups, but smiling and enjoying each other's fellowship nonetheless. No, I'm talking about the Gadwall hen that you see in the picture above and her determination to raise a brood. The vast majority of the time, I mean 99.99% of the time, the hen explodes in a whirl of feathers from her nest, not to return until I have long since been gone from checking her eggs' fetal development. But this hen broke the mold. I'm used to a hen's usual flopping on the ground, dragging her wing in a wounded fashion kind of act in an attempt to draw me away from her nest but this hen went above and beyond. Initially, the hen flushed when I first walked up to the nest, but the phenomenon occurred when she came back! It all started when I noticed her head stretched up tall as she peered through the lush prairie grass in my direction. Maybe she was sizing me up or perhaps, she felt convicted of a motherly crime and decided she was going to fight for her yet unborn babies' lives! (See, if a duck can value a fetus' life instinctively, with a "bird brain", then shame on humans who can't.) Well, she came marching back on a string, quacking, hissing, chest poked out, and fanning her tail feathers all the way. I would push the grass aside to look at her nest and she would immediately pull it back over with her bill. She would snap at my gentle prodding and eventually plopped down on her nest as if I wasn't standing literally a foot away. I managed to remove her for a brief window of time in which I was able to quickly candle two of her eggs. I was so impressed with her perseverance that I walked away briskly so that she would be able to settle back down.

I told my mom this story and she simply replied,"I know just how and what that mama was thinking!" I am so thankful for the wonderful mother that God allowed to raise me.

Here are a couple more "snapshots" from the past couple of weeks.