Bye-bye, Hello Again??

First of all, let me just say that it is totally ridiculous how much these ducks have consumed my blog.  I really and truly thought that this would be my very last post about them.  Mmm... we shall see.

We deemed Saturday to be the day of  liberation for our feathered friends.  It took a village to get 6 full size ducks to the pond.  We first tried to load them into a wheelbarrow/garden cart.  Uh... that didn't work.  Then we decided to carry them down the path, through the woods to the pond.  We wrapped them in towels for protection from scratches and transport poop.
The path we take to the pond from their pen is just under 1/2 mile.  Far enough to give them a new place to live.  Close enough to go visit when we want.
As you can see, it is a beautiful, secluded pond.  The perfect haven for 6 ducks.

It was a hard day for our animal girl.  She was sad, shed a few tears, but very brave.  We took our time to say goodbye.  We slowly backed away, one by one so the birds wouldn't follow us.

Sunday afternoon my dad did a reconnaissance mission to make sure the 6 made it through the night.  After an a-okay from him, we took little miss down to see for herself that Doodle and friends were enjoying their new home.  Although sad, she did great in saying goodbye. 

And then Tuesday night happened.  

Around 7 pm my daughter and I were working in the bonus room when hubby came upstairs and said, "you wanna see something funny?"

He pointed out the window and ...

THERE WERE OUR 6 DUCKS enjoying a feast of homegrown grass and clover.

Ya'll.  Let me say it again.

Ya'll!!!

I couldn't believe it.  Those ducks walked all the way back to our house (they can't fly yet) after being gone 3 days!  How did they find their way home?!  We carried them to the pond.  It's not like they walked there and left some kind of scent on the path.  Seriously!!! What are we going to do now?!  

We had already cleaned out their pen and planted a garden.  (Manly man doesn't waste any time on a new project, you know)  We offered them some water to drink.  But the stinky kiddy pool had been put away.  So with no pen, no pool what do I have now? Yard ducks?  

Little animal girl doing a happy dance in her pajamas on Tuesday night.  "I knew they would come back!" she screamed.

So much for my "perfect temporary pet" theory.