“When I go into the garden first thing in the morning, fuzzy, yellow ducklings race into view.
Running around cheeping, they take a bite from the feeder, have a drink from the water dish. They poke their bills into and investigate everything their curious eyes light on. Given their headlong charge across the garden, you would think they had but one day to experience all of life’s miracles.
I love chickens, ducks, and rabbits. I love their chatter, their curiosity, the way they play, and their eagerness to make a home in the garden. Our 62- by 166-foot suburban lot is home to several ducks and chickens, plus a couple of rabbits. They are not pets.
I like to think of them as garden employees.
We don’t name them—they may be dinner. Though well taken care of, they are not cuddled. To us they are simply one more piece of the magnificent mechanism that is nature. Such animals, properly managed, can become indispensable tools in the garden, earning their keep and making gardening more efficient and fun…”
