Just follow the mallard, girls

The Willow Dale Cemetery is within eyesight of my house and we think of it as a park. The paved paths make a great walking trail and it is quiet…LOL! 
   The pond once beautiful went to ruin and filled in with weeds.  Thanks to an upstanding member of our community it was restored a few years ago to its former glory. On any given day (in nice weather) you can find children feeding the ducks or people enjoying the view.
Yesterday there was even a wedding party taking pictures on the bridge.


The ducks live a happy and contented life until winter when our weather freezes up the pond and leaves them in danger. It is bad enough they have to avoid predators and the nearby road but during the winter it is cold and hard for them to find food and stay warm. They do have small houses but seem to prefer living outside. And so eventually there was only one small mallard surviving. It was taken in by the man who helped renew the pond for the winter but eventually escaped and tried to waddle back to the pond only to be hit by a car on the road. He stilled survived and when spring came again he was put back in pond.  Soon he was joined by other donated ducks and now he has a harem which follow him around the pond. Once more he is living the good life. But there needs to be someone who will take these poor creatures in for the winter.