Since I’ve been doing early morning walks around Verona for several years now, nothing much SHOULD surprise me. I still do get startled by deer when they suddenly pop into view. (This morning one suddenly crossed Elmwood Road right in front of me. I had to wait for the second one to cross before I felt comfortable continuing on.) There are sometimes raccoons ratting through knocked over garbage cans. (Tip: If you’re going to put your trash out without a can, tie the bag TIGHTLY or wait until daylight the morning of trash collection. We have some seriously determined crows and squirrels in our town. I live near a local bagel shop and I am not kidding when I say I have seen both species carrying full sized bagels in their mouths.) While rare, it is not unusual for me to see a fox and I know warm weather is on the way when I see the chipmunks scurrying around. I avoid skunks whenever I see them. (Which brings me to an off topic question: When is the dead skunk on Bloomfield Avenue going to be removed? After two weeks on the far right of the westbound side of the street it no longer reeks. Nor does it much resemble any animal. The only reason I know that it was a one point a skunk is because I’ve walked past it so many times and have had the “privilege” of seeing it slowly decompose.)
I don’t usually walk much in Verona Park. It is a beautiful place, but I’ve had several run-ins with Canada geese poop. Of course one would expect ducks and geese in the park. There’s the lake, the “waterfall” which leads to the Peckman River. It’s the perfect place for waterfowl to hang out.
Which is why I was surprised to see two mallards hanging out in the town square at least twice over the past couple of weeks. Nothing against the square, it’s a great place to hang out. (I hope lots of you will visit it this Saturday SUNDAY for the Green Fair). I’m just surprised to see ducks hanging out there.
I was even more surprised to see a lone duck this morning on Hamilton Road. She looked at me, I looked at her, and I kept walking. But I couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing there, alone.
So what is going on? What are ducks doing on our front lawns and not in the wetlands of our park? As a lifelong duck fan/duck lover, should I be worried? (Let’s face it, if it were a Canada goose that I saw I would have been annoyed, not concerned.) Has anyone else seen any ducks “out of place” in Verona?
Even if there is no reason for concern, let this be a reminder (again) to watch where you walk and especially drive. You never know what you might run into. (Hopefully not literally!)
Beth Shorten is a life-long resident of Verona. For more than three years, she has been chronicling life here on her personal site, Bfth’s Boring Blog.
