Our pony Finney is young and full of energy! My friend Debbie came over the other day to show me how to lunge him...
He really seems to love it, and is very good with "whoa"! :)
Meanwhile, we have yet another new feathered family member...
This is Lenny! He's a, wait for it, 27-year-old blind farm mallard who was surrendered to the OSPCA by his elderly owners because of illness in the family.
We picked him up on Sunday! He was quite a hit with the lovely ladies who work at the shelter.
Right now Lenny is in a cage within the duck coop, but I'd like to try to integrate him, at least for part of the day. I want to make sure the others don't pick on him and that he can get around a bit. He does amazingly well for a blind duck! His owner said he that every day, Lenny got a banana in the morning, layer mash in the day, and some lettuce at night. So I'm obliging the old duck... you can see his banana offering at the bottom of this photo!
I initially found it hard to believe he's 27, but apparently his former owner swore that he was, and I've read that mallards can live 20 years in the wild, so who knows? I would guess that his blindness is caused by cataracts, but it doesn't seem to bother him one bit.
He likes to swim in his water bowl so I suspect outings to our bathtub (which I will video!) are in his immediate future. He's a special duck.
And that makes living being #83 that we're caring for!
A big "Welcome" to Lenny. Another lucky little waif.
ReplyDelete83!! Good grief, I knew the numbers were adding up, but didn't realize how high! But working with Finney looks like a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteWe also never got our cats to figure out the cat door and would have to prop ours open, too.
OMG! Lenny is so pretty duck!
ReplyDeleteI love your blog!
I applaud you for doing that. Another poor animal will live the rest of his live in animal heaven on earth.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for learning how to lunge! It's been decades since I've done it, I loved the long whip (not to touch the horse or pony of course, I just liked to crack it. Ha.)
ReplyDeleteLenny is how old? I had no idea ducks could live that long at all. Seriously, I figured their life span probably was about 5 - 7 years. Amazing. I'm so glad he'll live out the rest of his days being pampered by you!
BTW, I confess that you are living the life (at least from your blog posts) that I wanted to live. Life circumstances and choices (hindsight is 20-20) took me down other paths, but oh, if I could have a do-over....I have a good life, but not one that feel "right" in my soul, if that makes sense.
ReplyDeletePeace.
What a handsome mallard! I had no idea ducks lived so long. We know he'll be happy with the love and devotion in his new home :-)
ReplyDeleteBless Lenny's little duck heart! It sounds like he was loved and well cared for. That will help him to bond with you. Having his regular meals also will do lots to help him feel at home....I think. The only thing I know about ducks is they can be very feisty!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea mallards had that sort of life span. His feathers still look spiffy.
ReplyDeleteHe is still very pretty. We lost our old Muscovy duck about a year ago. He was 10 years old. I thought that was old. 27 is really old! Good for you!
ReplyDelete83 and counting!
ReplyDeleteWhat a handsome dude!
ReplyDelete83? When Gordon counts up as he drives homewards he probably gets to 84.
ReplyDeleteLenny sure is a handsome Duck !
ReplyDeleteMe neither beleives he is 27 !!
Lenny won the duck lottery when he was invited to Natalie's and Gordon's place. Congratulations Lenny!
ReplyDeleteIt's all been said; 27 does seem remarkable.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how long before you reach 100 living beings. Finney looks so happy and Lenny (great name) doesn't know yet how lucky he is.
ReplyDeleteyou live in the most interesting place! I want to come and visit! www.catchatwithcarenandcody.com
ReplyDeleteWhat a lot of love you are surrounded by!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing story of Lenny the 27 year-old Mallard. His previous owners cared enough to give him up when they couldn't care for him any longer. And now you've taken him into the fold. He's fallen with his webbed feet in the butter at your home. Have a great day. Jo
ReplyDelete