The circle of life sucks

I really can not recall if I have written about my company’s new mascot yet. And I’m too lazy and sad to go back through to see. A female and a male duck (yes it is an insurance company and yes…these were ducks, har har) had made a nest at the edge of one of our flower beds behind our building. We’ve adopted them as our own. And even left food for her as she laid her eggs and settled into her new little space.
Everyday we’d look in on her to make sure she was still there and the eggs were doing alright. And she would let us, she trusted the majority of us who would stop and check.

Sadly, this morning as I was crossing the street to come into work I noticed she was standing outside of where her nest was. Quacking, flapping her wings and causing a fuss. After I came in and began to prepare for the day, I decided to glance in on her to see if she was still out there.

She was still pacing. And I noticed something at her little webbed feet. An egg. At first I was confused. Why would she lay the egg outside of the nest, better yet, how did she get the egg out of the nest? My boss pulled up as I had began to walk towards her. We both slowly made our way to check the nest and the egg. We found both of her eggs on the ground, one was completely halved and crushed. The other at her feet was still whole but leaking. The sad realization that she and her nest had been attacked by an animal last night washed over us as she quacked at us helplessly.

I picked up her egg and looked at it. There was a puncture on the side, and I could not decide what to do. Should I put it back? Or should I take it away?

Ultimately, the decision to put it back seemed like the right thing to do. Momma duck watched me as I layed it back into her nest and backed away. And she waddled back into the plants to assume her position of caring for the egg.

So, I guess sometimes deceiving mother nature is not that bad. I still feel horrible for the momma duck and question if I did the right thing by making her think the egg was still ok. Though I’m sure she’ll figure it out soon.

 

Much Love,
K

Update: Momma duck did figure out something was very wrong. And is currently sitting outside on the curb quacking at all who pass her by. We’re still not sure what type of ducks they are, but here’s one similar. I didn’t bring my camera to work today.