We were walking by the Pebble Ridge pond last night when we came across a nice surprise: a cute little family of Mallards!  The protective parents watched over the flock of energetic little babies.  So tonight I went back with The Beast.  The little family was right up in the grass near the sidewalk (how convenient!)  I moved so that the sun was as far behind me as possible, then crouched down to get a birds-eye view.  The parents weren’t too sure about me for a minute, but I kept still, and they forgot about me.

The little babies were so active!  They poked their little beaks into absolutely everything that they possibly could.  They are such fun to watch as they scurry around.  They are not too stable on their feet still — they stumbled a lot!

These little guys have already learned one of life’s lessons: always take time to stop and smell the flowers!

The mother stood by watching the babies, which the father stood a little further off.  When it was time to go, he hopped into the water and swam a few yards, then waited for his family to join him.  I don’t think he’s a very old father — his head color isn’t complete yet, making me wonder if he’s about a year old.

Mama and her little crowd joined him after a minute.  I wished they would swim at me instead of away from me!  The light was behind the birds at this point…

After a little swim, the babies made their way to shore.

Then it was a mad dash up to the shelter of the bushes.  That’s where they went last night, too.  I wonder if they sleep there.