Tales from the Farm - A boy and his duck

While Brent was in Philly last week, B and I moved out to the farm for four days of farm fun. I had to work WAY more than I wanted to to get the Drexel things done. We did find plenty of time for farm fun with the grandparents and uncle Able. I'll toss out some of the pics and vignettes in coming days, but have to start with B and this duck even though it was toward the end of our stay.

On Saturday, B was kind of melancholy and quiet. I think it was a mix of missing his Daddy and not sleeping well the night before during the storm. His favorite activity of the morning was taking this wooden duck on a long rambling walk around the homestead. This duck is one of those pull-toy types. My Dad made it for us when we were little. It is simple, rough hewn, and pulled by a string attached to an empty thread spool. Apparently, the duck is a fun and a great companion.

First, B was walking around on the porch with him while I read my magazine. Then, I realized he had disappeared. I found him and the duck out on the back patio. Their walk continued through my mom's flowers, out to the carport and through the grass. My mom and I followed off and on to see what transpired.

At one point, he appeared sans duck. When we queried the ducks location, he had apparently parked it in the carport between the vehicles. Very cute:) The walk continued out to the oil well road, they visited the wheat and B added some to the spool. They also visited the lawn mower (aka tractor) and wandered all along the paths to the house between the hedges and trees. Finally, the duck was left on the brick walk as it was time for the little guy to come in and cool off. He immediately needed the duck to come in after him so Grandma kindly fetched it.

B was getting increasingly crabby so we tried the old "put a little crab in water" trick. B, of course, insisted that the duck needed a bath too, and in he went. B helped me bath the duck (a little worse for the wear as one eye slid a bit). They played and then B completely melted down and had to go take an early nap. Nonetheless, the morning was with the duck was so cute and contemplative. B would right the duck when he fell over and keep him moving along. He didn't really seem to talk to it, but was very intent on their adventure. Just completely adorable. I've included some pictures here for you to follow along. Hope you find some simple pleasures to enjoy this Thursday.