Why did our resident Black Ducks decide that Autumn was the right time to hatch and raise another clutch of ducklings? Are they early, or late? Spring, or late Winter, is the more usual time. Still, there they were, grazing on a lawn that should have been mowed, but thankfully had been left in favour of jobs higher up the list. Next time I feel driven to mow I will consider first who else might prefer it lush and green.
I tried not to disturb them, but even a prolonged gaze from me was enough to make Daphne usher her clutch back to the safety of the stream....
.... and then to the snug solitude of the far bank....
Hours later, having allowed myself a quiet moment in the front garden, I was fortunate to see Daphne lead her little flock out the gate, across the road, and into the creek beyond - intent, it seemed, of moving to the larger waters and deeper reed beds of the lake upstream......
They made it to the lake ok, but chose the wrong day to seek peace and privacy on the broader waters. That evening crowds such as I have not seen before descended upon the shores to celebrate Lanterns on the Lake....
The sunset was lovely, but the crowds too much for a mother duck seeking solitude and safety - by the next morning she and her little flotilla were back in the waterholes beside our garden, slipping out of the shelter of the overhanging ferns and branches to graze the lawn when morning and evening shadows were long, and silence reigned. I hope Autumn stays long enough for the little ones to grow large enough to survive the Winter that their kind do not normally face.
Though the leaves are turning red and gold, the roses bloom still, the camellias are flourshing and spreading carpets of pink and white, while the leaves of next season's daffodils, narcissus, and irises, are all bursting upwards.
Even the rosemary is flowering again, just in time for Anzac Day, and remembrance of deeds long ago, whose ripples still disturb our reflections, a century on.
