Another duck?

Remember how yesterday when I woke up I saw this mallard out my window?



It was a little spooky then, when I woke up this morning to see this mallard in the backyard. Now, just finding a toy that I don't recognize in the yard is not all that unusual. Leo seems to always charm our next door neighbors. In Washington, when I rented a room from a couple from my church after my ex and I separated (This is actually something that I have in common with Rudy Gulliani. After he separated from his second wife, Rudy moved in with a gay couple. I guess that probably ruins my chance to run for president as a Republican), Leo made the woman who lived next door fall in love with him. She did not own a dog, but kept doggie treats in the entryway to her house. Leo could always count on her to stop and play ball with him whenever she left or entered her house.

Here, the next door neighbor, Barb, does have her own dog, but she still spends time just about every day to throw Leo a tennis ball. She walks her dog by the neighborhood tennis courts most days, and even though her dog does not like to play fetch, she often will pick up the stray balls she find to bring home. There usually 12-16 tennis balls in the backyard at any one time. When I leave him outside while I'm at work, Leo arranges the balls in two neat stacks for when I return. The first stack is right by the backdoor, and the second is at fence where Barb stands when she throws the tennis ball to him.

Anyway, having new toys show up for Leo is nothing new. But for the particular toy to not only be a stuffed bird, not only a stuffed bird but a duck, and not only a duck but a mallard, feels a little spooky to me. I hope that Barb is responsible for the appearance of this toy, and that nothing tragic happened to duck I saw yesterday!

Leo's favorite activity in the world!