Crispy Duck Dinner

Nothing is too much when it comes to keeping the animals happy! Take for instance our (poultry) House Guest. Jemima's contribution to the Morris household is her appetite for slugs and snails. Their garden is meticulously scoured daily - net result, lovely plants and well-fed Jemima.

Since she's a little more confined here I thought maybe Jemima was missing this particular delicacy. It's been raining this week so we've more than enough snails in the rest of the garden. We've therefore been foraging around in order to provide Jemima with some tasty treats. The dish shown here was last night's dinner which you can see her tucking into just before going to bed!

She really is a singular duck. Her quacking is almost endless. She comes to call ( a real Call Duck then!); demands to be stroked; strides around the place as if she owns it; eats out of our hands; loves to be picked up and cuddled and is probably the most inquisitive duck ever. She is always 'there' when anything is going on.

Which brings us to the tale of her beak. It's her distinguishing feature. Not just because it's big and yellow. Paul was doing some digging in the garden one day - serious stuff using a sledgehammer to break up the ground. As ever, Jemima was waddling under his feet, trying to get all the juicy worms and bugs he was disturbing. All of a sudden she must have spied one exactly where he was digging. Down went her beak. At the precise moment his sledgehammer hit the ground. Well. It didn't actually hit the ground. It hit her beak!

Pooooor Jemima.

Pooooor Paul; he was mortified. Nothing for it but to take Jemima to the vet.

Her beak was tended to and luckily it's mended and she's none the worse for it.

None the wiser either I shouldn't think from the way her beak is still just there whenever anything is going on..................

We shall miss her when she goes home.................