Mr. Pilling has passed on, but his pond remains on 90th in No. Seattle, about 4 blocks east of Aurora. Last night about 8 male wood ducks marched around the pond,?usually with their lady nearby.? Rushing about in a perfect frenzy were 3 or 4 male hooded mergansers, inflating and deflating their crests, throwing their heads back and forth.? There are also 2 male Mandarin ducks (obviously not countable but I believe the rest are).? Then a male pintail came cruising onto the scene.? My Four Favorite Ducks, all in glowing sunshine, all het up with hormones and unbelievably lovely.? A very sweet spot.?

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Rebecca Galloway
Northgate, Seattle