Just Ducky Shabbat

Juvenile Mallard Ducks

We love Shabbat. Today was so nice.  This is a short post because sometimes pictures really are worth a thousand words.  It was gorgeous. Barely some cirrus clouds way out on the horizon.  Warm water, cool breeze, but not too much wind.

The bluegill and shad were waiting for us to show up. Nearly a hundred.  Then after a while the ducks spotted us and quickly made their way to us.  There is a mother and her five young'uns.  You can spot mamma duck because her bill is darker and shows more wear and she's a lot more cautious and seems to be constantly warning the kids about things.

I also managed to shoot a little bit of video of Twyla feeding them. You can even see some of the fish swimming around below.

A little bit after this was taken, quite a few people started showing up. Little kids just rush ahead and start chasing the ducks and fish and so we just put the goodies away and wait for things to calm down.  Once the kids get bored from realizing they're not going to catch a duck or a fish, they move on to their other games and then the fish and ducks move back in and surround us.

Twyla got on her raft to get some sun on her back. and when my raft had leaked too much air, I went back to my chair and started feeding the fish again.
Then it didn't take long for the ducks to notice that I was putting stuff in the water again and so they worked their way back over to me.  Since this was about the 5th or 6th time we've done this, the ducks have gotten comfortable with us, so when I couldn't get the Ritz crackers out of the sleeve fast enough, one of the ducks climbed into my lap so it could get the advantage over its siblings. What a surprise. And because Twyla was on her raft, we have no pictures of that.

Twyla paddled back over to the chairs close enough to enjoy watching a couple of them chasing each other out of my lap. But their little webbed feet have little scratchy nails so I decided to direct their attention elsewhere. I started putting pieces of cracker on Twyla's arm so the ducks would come up and nibble them off.  Then I put a piece of cracker in Twyla's mouth to see if they would take it.  No problem.  Time to get the camera.  So now you understand the next two shots.

What is amazing is that it only took about 4 crackers and 8 attempts to get that last shot.

Twyla's cousin said that we have a very interesting life up here in the North Georgia mountains.  We do indeed.

I am so grateful that we have been given the Fourth Commandment to remember and keep the Sabbath holy.  Taking that commandment seriously is what provides for moments like this.  Because had I done things my way, I would have been home "taking advantage" of perfect weather to weed an area and plant more seedlings and put up some more wood for winter or a dozen other things that were "productive."  Our Abba gives us this loving commandment to just cease from the business, the "busyness" of life and just enjoy His creation for the purpose of focusing on Him and worshiping Him.  He is faithful to reward our obedience.