Before... Above, summer shot of
Dartha... Below, winter shot of
Dartha... Love that winter coat, girlfriend!
If you read my blog this summer, you met this duck. I call her
Dartha because her face is a lot like Darth Maul (Star Wars and maybe not spelled like that??). I just love her because she's unique, she's a tail-
wagger, and she makes Darth Vader noises all the time with kind of a wheezy thing going on... She's also the first to the car for her bread. Every time.
She's not alone. There are literally hundreds of geese on the lake this time of year. Part of them are on the frozen edges. The skies filled with wild geese at sunset, and I was just too enthralled to take a picture of them in flight.
But
Dartha is mean. I mean, really, really mean. These guys don't like her, and she has no friends. I always thought she was lucky to be there time after time because she's so slow, and she is so laborious with everything she does. But let one little
quacker take her bread or move into her quadrant....
She gives that
quacker the stink eye... Moves in for the kill, and she bites and twists her beak with a mouth full of "feathery ruff." I saw one duck get the big bite on his neck, and he turned and ran from her. He was honestly getting out of there, but...
She rushed after him and bit him once more, twisting a bit of flesh from his side in her mean little beak. There. That's for next time if you think about coming in my quadrant. Ow...
Dartha,
Dartha,
Dartha... What a mean little thing... But so beautiful this time of year. Look at her photo from the summer and see how the feathers have grown in all
glisteny... but oh, so mean.
Before... Above, summer shot of Dartha... Below, winter shot of Dartha... Love that winter coat, girlfriend!
If you read my blog this summer, you met this duck. I call her Dartha because her face is a lot like Darth Maul (Star Wars and maybe not spelled like that??). I just love her because she's unique, she's a tail-wagger, and she makes Darth Vader noises all the time with kind of a wheezy thing going on... She's also the first to the car for her bread. Every time.
She's not alone. There are literally hundreds of geese on the lake this time of year. Part of them are on the frozen edges. The skies filled with wild geese at sunset, and I was just too enthralled to take a picture of them in flight.
But Dartha is mean. I mean, really, really mean. These guys don't like her, and she has no friends. I always thought she was lucky to be there time after time because she's so slow, and she is so laborious with everything she does. But let one little quacker take her bread or move into her quadrant....
She gives that quacker the stink eye... Moves in for the kill, and she bites and twists her beak with a mouth full of "feathery ruff." I saw one duck get the big bite on his neck, and he turned and ran from her. He was honestly getting out of there, but...
She rushed after him and bit him once more, twisting a bit of flesh from his side in her mean little beak. There. That's for next time if you think about coming in my quadrant. Ow... Dartha, Dartha, Dartha... What a mean little thing... But so beautiful this time of year. Look at her photo from the summer and see how the feathers have grown in all glisteny... but oh, so mean. 
Comments