As they face a setting sun, these mallards appear content with their survival instincts in a big city. Ducklings know how to swim and feed as soon as they are hatched. They stay close to their mother for about the first ten days. Mallards live about five to 10 years in the wild, according to the usual sources.
As a kid raised in the countryside, I always wanted a duck pond to be nearby. Only recently did I realize that one of my earliest desires had been fulfilled even though I live in a city. This delayed realization is a product of paying attention to my surroundings and being thankful for them…a human instinct that is in short supply these days. Peace.
