Duck Stop, Part 2

The Duck Stop is back open for business! Yep, the flying critters have returned to my backyard. I think it was late November when the geese stopped coming by for their daily handout and I figured they had finally decided to fly off to somewhere warmer. It was kind of odd though, because they stayed around all last winter, but who knows - maybe they got a package deal from Priceline.com. Sometime in early December, the ducks took off too. I thought that was kind of strange, but I didn't think much about it...until the snow started.

December was pretty rough here. We got 31 inches of snow in about 2 weeks. Usually we're lucky to have a dusting of snow in time for Christmas. As I watched our driveway disappear as fast as my husband could plow it, I was glad I didn't have to schlep corn down the hill and out to the riverbank. It was bad enough getting to the birdfeeders! Guess who doesn't own snow boots? Well, I've got a pair somewhere but I haven't needed them in years, so of course right when I need them they go AWOL. Sure I could have bought new ones, but finding women's snow boots, size 6 ½ during blizzards is like trying to find a designated driver during Marti Gras.

Luckily I knew where to find my ski pants (and even better, I still fit in them), so every day I'd pull on my ski pants, put on my coat, lace up my work boots, put on my mittens and ski mask and head out. Did I mention that the wind chill at the time was usually -30 to -50? For about two weeks? In the middle of the day? I questioned my sanity on a daily basis as I struggled through knee-deep snow to get at the bird and squirrel feeders, but I'm too much of a softie to even think of letting the critters fend for themselves. I know, they managed to eat for years before we move here, but those are my animals.

The local TV stations weren't helping either. They ran several stories on the poor wildlife and their struggle for survival and urged people to feed the birds. Even though I already had three birdfeeders and a squirrel feeder, I felt like a slacker. That's when I whipped up the feeders I wrote about in previous columns. By George, no birdie was going to starve while I was around! Maybe it was cabin fever, but I became possessed with making sure all the animals around our house were being taken care of. I surfed the Internet on a daily basis, hoping to stumble across feeder and house plans that anybody with a glue gun could build (hammers and my fingers don't get along). Even though the trips to the bird feeders meant that my feet were soaked by the time I got inside (no snow boots, remember?) I still made my daily trips, sometimes twice a day. Hey, that meant that I got hot chocolate when I came back in!

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