Standoff at City Lake

I went to the lake today to walk like I’ve been doing whenever I can. When I pulled up into a parking place and opened the door, a duck came up and stood there staring at me. I stared back like I normally do with any creature I’m not well acquainted with and waited for any signs of aggression. After a few minutes of staring at each other, I began talking to him. “Mr. Duck, I don’t have anything for you to eat today. I’m sorry.” He just sat there watching me and blinking. I proceeded to change into my walking shoes and watched him at the same time. Soon he was standing there on one foot looking as if he were getting sleepy.

As I walked around the lake I would check on the duck He was in front of my car the each time I walked around. After I was finished, I went to the trunk of my car for my water and bag of chips I’d stashed for post-walk consumption. I didn’t see Mr. Duck. I looked around and saw a woman walking a big black dog. Mr. Duck was in hot pursuit, chasing after the dog, as the dog tried his best to eat Mr. Duck. It was as if they were saying…

“Come on! Come on! I ain’t scared of you! I ain’t scared of no dog!”
“You just let me get off this leash! Let me at him! Let me at him! I’ll have his butt for lunch! “

Soon two children and their adult guardian were out there with sticks trying to chase Mr. Duck away. He was having none of that, and kept trying to get past them to the dog. I watch a while with amusement until I became a little concerned that someone, duck or humans, was about to get hurt, so I went over with my chips and opened the bag, trying to lure him away.

I’ve never been that close to a duck before. And I’ve never fed one, either, so I was a little wary about trying to hand feed him, especially when that large bill would snap down on each chip. I could imagine what it would feel like to have my fingers in there.
I kept him occupied enough until the woman and the dog could get away. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” she was saying.

“Maybe he doesn’t like dogs.” I answered. I do know from experience that most birds are territory and I was willing to bet this duck had had problems with dogs in the past.

“Oh, well,” she replied. “He’ll just have to get over it.”
Wait a minute. Whose home is this? Why do humans always think they have a right to be somewhere just because they’re human? It’s such a typical attitude and it’s responsible for a lot of what’s wrong with the world dating back to the dawn of man.

Maybe Mr. Duck has the right idea. Drive the monsters out of his territory. That’s really all he understands.