The Healing Power of Loving Creatures

This is my favorite time of day right now—lap full of ducklings before I crawl into bed. First there’s a bit of protest—“how dare you pick me up, human!!” Mealworms sprinkled in the creases of the bath towel on my lap are very persuasive. Then there’s lots of rooting around the the towel to gobble up the dried worms and they forget their initial objections. Next there’s lots of playful nibbling—my watch, fingers, ring, hair, clothes and earrings. Then they’re ready for gentle pets and dozing off, and I get to observe all the changes rapidly taking place in their size and feathers and feel their hot little feet, smooth beaks and soft down turning to slick feathers. It’s taken lots of patience, honoring their comfort level and having an intentional commitment to “listening” to and caring for them, but I can’t think of many things more rewarding than to earn the trust of a little creature from another species. Thank you Fig and Loula for letting me raise you up and for being such lovely company. 😍