Ducky update...

 Yesterday afternoon, the ducklings started to wander from the nest.

 The kids each got a chance to hold them.

 We left for the afternoon and came home to 16 ducklings swimming in our pond.

6 eggs were abandoned in the nest. So Elena make a quick phone call to our local "duck expert" and then she brought the eggs in and set up a heat lamp in a box in the house.

 Again, we left for a couple of hours and came home to see them all still swimming in the pond.

Then we watched mama and the boys lead them to the back of the house to get food.

 Some of them ate, some of them just pecked at each other's beaks. They were just delightful to watch.

We went to bed and Elena woke up extra early to check on the eggs in the house and the ducklings outside, only to discover that no eggs had hatched and that 14 ducklings were gone and mama was injured. It was a sad morning at the Lundby Hive. Mama's not looking very good so Erik and the kids caught the two remaining ducklings and brought them inside. The kids went to school late as we dealt with the duckling situation. Elena and Deacon are sad, but are handling it surprisingly well. And they're really hoping the other eggs will hatch!

 These are the two survivors.

One of them is really comfortable being held, he nuzzled right in and fell asleep in Erik's hand. The other complains a lot when being held. Once the kids get home from school, we predict that they will both become very comfortable being held - a lot! :)