My love for ducks

These are my friends from next door. I love ducks, whether they're the beautiful white Pekins or the Mallards or the other exotic breeds, Whenever I can, I take scraps of bread next door and feed the ducks. Some are so eager to eat they'll even nibble at your hand. They also like to eat weeds and cut-up fruit. Whenever they see me, they tend to quack loudly. It's reflexive, I suppose, but I like to think that they see me as their "friend". As the ducks age, some are getting green heads, indicating they are drakes that are maturing.

I'm enjoying the company of these beautiful creatures for as long as I can, since our neighbor has said that they eventually will be butchered.

For me, being an ardent duck lover, it's sad. I hope someday to own property with a large pond and create a "duck sanctuary". I've even told my sons that there would be three simple rules regarding my future property:

1. Absolutely, positively, no duck hunting.
2. If you get the proper license, you may hunt ducks elsewhere on someone else's property, but not on my property.
3. There are no exceptions to rules 1 or 2.