Fuzz Lee Uchiha's Big Adventure

Hey! Look at me! I still remember how to blog!

It has been rainy rainy rainy in this part of the world and so every break in the clouds, we try to go outside and soak up some sunlight (even if the sun is hiding behind more clouds).  That's what spring and summer are for, right?  Anyway, today, there was a break in the rain and it was very warm, so we headed over to my parents' condos to swim in their pool.

Only... there were a whole bunch of ducks enjoying the pool when we arrived! Probably twenty of them in the area.  Some were swimming in the pool and others were sunning themselves next to the pool.  There were two ducklings among the group.  They seemed to be a mix of mallards and some other kind of duck, which I cannot seem to identify.  The hens look like female mallards, but the drakes are black-ish with a white collar.  Anyway, as soon as we entered the pool area, the ducks took off running back to the lake.

But one little duckling was left behind.  Later in the story, our kids would name him Fuzz Lee Uchiha (pronounced Ooh-chee-ha), but I will just call him Fuzz Lee for short.  I'll use photos I took during his big adventure to tell the story (read the captions for details).  I hope you enjoy reading his story as much as our kids enjoyed participating in it.

At first, we thought, "What a darling little duckling!" But we soon realized, he was too tiny to hoist himself back up over the edge of the pool to join his family.  All of the other ducks had gone back to the lake and left Fuzz Lee to fend for himself.

Before I had a chance to grab the pool net to try to rescue Fuzz Lee, O had already sprung into action.  He got in the water and approached Fuzz Lee slowly so he would frighten him as little as possible.

Fuzz Lee was very frightened because he didn't know that we were trying to help him.  He was swimming as fast as he could.  He kept diving underwater to make his getaway, but eventually, O had him cornered and lovingly scooped him up from the water.

Ever so gently, O set him down on the concrete.  We hoped he would run after the other ducks and catch up.

Fuzz Lee ran and ran, but his legs were so tiny and his heart must have been beating so fast that he went the wrong way and eventually he just stopped.  He was quacking so quietly and weakly.  We felt sad for Fuzz Lee.  He had been abandoned and now he was lost and afraid.

O scooped him up again.  He wanted so badly to help Fuzz Lee, but couldn't decide what to do next.

J said, "I know what we should do! Here, let me have the little baby ducky."

So they carefully, gently, sweetly passed Fuzz Lee from O's hands to J's.

Tiny Fuzz Lee in O's hands.

Teamwork. I love this photo, by the way.  I could barely see what I was taking pictures of because the sun was so bright, my screen was very dark.  So I just kept taking pictures and hoping for the best.

Making the transfer.  I loved their tenderness.  They worked very cooperatively.

Fuzz Lee in J's hands.

J was so delighted to be holding a baby duck.  There was a time when she might have been too nervous.  But not today.  Today, she was very brave and she put Fuzz Lee's life in front of her own fears.

So J set Fuzz Lee on the grass by where the other ducks had exited the pool area.  But he kept coming back in.  I think he must like the pool area.  He just stood there, calming himself down, shaking a little bit and catching his breath.

I checked and most of the other ducks had gone.  But there were two mallards on the dock quacking.  Fuzz Lee tried quacking, but he was too quiet and weak.  They could not hear him.

Where are your parents, Fuzz Lee?

Soon, my parents came home from running errands and met us by the pool.  We had been texting them about the duckling and they came to see what was happening.  At first, Papa took Fuzz Lee down to the docks.  But he just stood there on the docks wondering what to do.  No big ducks came to claim him.  So eventually, Papa moved Fuzz Lee again.

Papa had seen some Muscovy ducks near the parking garage and they had three ducklings of their own.  "Maybe they'll adopt this duckling," we thought.

We left Fuzz Lee with the Muscovy duck family.  He was much smaller than their ducklings.  We do not know if Fuzz Lee will be accepted into this family, but we hoped so.  Or maybe they will foster him for a little while and eventually his parents will come back for him later.  But one thing is for sure, Fuzz Lee is not alone anymore.  We did our best to give him the best chance for survival.  We prayed for Fuzz Lee on the way home.