Monday, January 08, 2007

A Small Life

Big Al is gone!

Way gone after a rainy dark night on the pond; leaving not a
feather, drop of blood, or final squalk, that I heard, to mark his demise.
Having broken through, for too short a time, the veil of consciousness to
present us with his beauty.
I am grateful for the knowing.
Posted by at

12 comments:

  1. abcdJanuary 09, 2007 8:22 AM

    Beautiful Post.
    Why the title as 'a small life'?

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  2. MarionJanuary 15, 2007 5:48 PM

    Big Al was an absolutely beautiful duck. I am sorry he is gone, Goatman.

    You wrote a lovely memorial to him!

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  3. Sunflower OptimismJanuary 17, 2007 5:51 PM

    I'm sorry about Big Al's demise. I've looked at your previous posts - he was a handsome duck. What happened to Sprig?

    Thanks for your visit today.

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  4. Sunflower OptimismJanuary 17, 2007 6:04 PM

    I forgot to ask - what kind of engineer? I was metallurgical - in aerospace for 10 years.

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  5. goatmanJanuary 22, 2007 1:47 PM

    Sprig and her sister small girl are alive and well in their fenced pen near and extending slightly into the pond; where I should have left the three in the first place. Funny thing happened last week though: a male mallard looking just like Big Al flew onto the pond and seemed to be eyeing the duck pen from a distance. I doubt if it was Al but it sure was a nice surprise. These rouen ducks are domesticated mallards and,at least in my view, can only fly a few meters. So if Al did fly off, it would have been a throwback to distant behaviour.

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  6. AnnelisaJanuary 22, 2007 7:52 PM

    Oh, Goatman, I'm really sorry to hear of Big Al disappearing on you! If there's no signs of struggle, there's maybe hope... I'll keep my fingers crossed!

    And, maybe in the meantime, your new mallard friend will join the party!

    Big hug, Goatman.

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  7. AnnelisaJanuary 22, 2007 7:55 PM

    btw - you lost a blog too?

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2007 3:37 PM

    p.s. anyone who also appreciates the movie Magnolia is definitely a friend of mine... (I play Aimee Mann's 'Save Me' all the time...)

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  9. Kathy TrejoJanuary 24, 2007 8:12 PM

    maybe he'll be back. So sorry to hear.

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  10. Intergalactic StaceyJanuary 31, 2007 2:33 PM

    Here's to Big Al! Don't know where he is, but hope he's doing well.

    My step-mother and step-grandmother like to keep a close eye on some local ponds, at which are quite a few ducks and geese. It amazes me, but they can tell them apart from each other. I guess when you watch them long enough you are able to do that.

    There is a sign by the ponds that says, "Do not feed the ducks," but they sneak by in their cars and feed them anyway. :)

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  11. polonaFebruary 01, 2007 4:24 PM

    sorry about big al's disappearance... but the mallard souds like good news

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  12. LJFebruary 07, 2007 6:02 PM

    I'm sorry to know it, Goatman.

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