How Sydney Came Into My Life

Wow!  It's been quite a long time since I posted anything.  Life and work just kind of caught up with me and I couldn't find the time.  I'm hoping to stay more organized in 2014 and find the time to check in and write something from time to time....

So where to begin?  SYDNEY, he's my new little monkey.  As I write this, he turns 16 1/2 weeks old !!  Hard to believe.  But I should start at the beginning and tell you how it all began, and why.

Sydney a/k/a White Velvet Labrador Sweet Nectar

As most of you know, on July 4, 2013 I had to say goodbye to Jax, my beautiful 13 year old Golden Retriever.  He was my best friend, the one constant in my entire life, my true companion, my shoulder to cry on when I was down, my joy, my love.  Even though he's no longer with me physically, I carry him in my heart every minute of every day and I feel his presence with me always. 

Jax

After loosing him, of course I still had my sweet and precious Emma and figured she and I would manage together quite well.  How wrong I was.  Not only was Emma totally lost without Jax, the emptiness left by his passing was palpable. 

Almost as if a higher force or destiny, or even Jax himself knew we needed something to fill the void, my condo association decided it would be passing a new rule allowing each unit owner to have only one dog; however, if you already had more than one at the time the rule was passed, the dogs would be "grandfathered" in.  I always knew I would eventually get another dog, but I just wasn't quite ready.

Left with no choice, I began looking for a breeder out of state (too many backyard breeders in Florida).  Also, to those that would condemn me for going to the breeder in the first place, and not rescue a dog, let me explain.  Both Cody and Emma were rescue dogs.  Unfortunately Cody passed away too young.  He was only 10.  I have been heartbroken each and every time I have had to say goodbye to one of my babies so I just wanted to try to give my new puppy and me, the best chance at a long and happy life together.  I know nothing is guaranteed or set in stone, and maybe it's wishfull thinking, but I thought if I knew where the puppy came from and everything that happened to him since the day he was born, it could make a difference.  Only time will give me the answer.

In as much as I would have loved another Golden, I felt it would have been unfair to the new puppy, as I'm sure at some point or another I would compare him to Jax.  To play it safe, I decided on getting a Labrador Retriever instead, the closest in temperment to the Golden. 

As I began looking for available breeders online, I came across White Velvet Labradors (www.whitevelvetlabradors.com) and the wonderful Lois Janz.  The only problem was when I looked at their location.  They were in Winnipeg, Canada!!!  Yes, Winnipeg...in the middle of nowhere.  Yet fate would once again intervene and help make my decision an easy one.  I quickly remembered that one of my dearest childhood friends, Dana, lived in Winnipeg, Canada and had been asking me for years to come and visit her and her family.  Coincidence?  I think not.

I quickly contacted Lois on the phone and sure enough, she had just had two litters of puppies and did have a few male puppies available from both litters.  After speaking with her, I quickly realized I had found the right breeder. 

Lois, her husband and her 8 children (yes 8, it is not a typo) are a small, hobby breeder of the most beautiful cream/white labradors you have ever seen.  The entire family is involved in raising the puppies until they are ready for each one to go to their forever homes, and what a wonderful job they do.  By the time the puppies go home, they are extremely socialized.

After checking out both sets of parents, I made the decision that I wanted a puppy from their Sire Journey / Dame Mylie litter born September 6, 2013. 

Sydney's daddy "Journey"
(photo courtesy of White Velvet Labradors)

Sydney's mommy "Mylie" (photo courtesy of
White Velvet Labradors)

A few weeks later came the almost IMPOSSIBLE task of trying to decide via photos, emails and conversations with Lois, which of the 5 puppies I would be taking home with me, especially given the unbelieavably adorable pictures Lois would send me of the puppies.  After a lot of back and forth, the decision was made - White Velvet Labrador's Sweet Nectar would soon be coming home with me, and I couldn't be more thrilled!!  

Sydney at 6 weeks old (photo courtesy of White Velvet Labradors)

(photo courtesy of White Velvet Labradors)

 A little side note:  During all this process, I happen to tel my neighbor about the new puppy I was getting and sent the pictures so he could see them.  Right away he fell in love and also decided on getting one of Sydney's litter mates, White Velvet Timber (which was my second choice) a/k/a Bailey.

So on November 2, 2013, when the puppies were 8 weeks old, I, together with my neighbor's friend, flew up to Winnipeg, Canada to meet the newest members of our families...AND as an added bonus, got to visit with my dearest friend Dana and her family as well as Lois and Sydney's daddy - Journey.

The first time I saw Sydney

 

 

Sydney and I with proud Papa Journey and Bailey
in the background

November 3, 2013:  After one very LONG night with two, eight week old puppies running around a house that is not puppy proofed, it was time for the long airplane ride home.  In as much as both puppies were very good on the plane and didn't make a sound, it was quite a different story at the airports where they made sure everyone knew they were not happy campers being shut in those little airline carriers....so my friend Robert and I, with a little extra liquid courage from Don Julio and Jack Daniels, did everything in our power to make sure the puppies stayed as quiet as possible so we would all make it home safe and sound. 

(Pssst...don't tell the airline, but I snuck him out of the carrier and put him on the seat next to me.  Everytime the flight attendant walked by, we'd cover him with the blanket).

 

 As soon as Sydney arrived, he sniffed around his new surroundings, checked out all of his new toys, and right away decided that bunny was going to be his favorite.  (As of today, two months later, bunny doesn't have any ears, is missing one of his little arms, but no matter how many toys he has, he's always looking out for bunny.)  About an hour after we arrived, he went right to sleep.



 Following is more of a photo / video journey of Sydney's first two months at home and how very quickly he is growing and how much joy he is bringing into my life each and every minute.  Even when he's being bad, I can't help but turn away and laugh or smile because everything about him is so darn cute!

 

 November 4, 2013:  Sydney and Bailey's first visit at the vet for their second set of shots.  They were such good boys.  Sydney weighed 14.6 pounds.  Everyone fell totally in love with them.  One firefighter outside saw us in the waiting room sitting there and came in to volunteer to be their baby sitters if we ever needed one. 

Below, Sydney decided that it was more fun for him to be in his toy box, rather than his actual toys...something he did all the time, until he realized he didn't fit anymore.

 

Sydney loves playing with his toys...here he found Jax's favorite old bone.







 

 After we returned from Canada, I decided to take the first week off from work so that it wouldn't be too much of a shock for the puppies so my place was designated the "day care".  Bernie dropped Bailey off everyday and other than to take little 10-minute cat naps, the boys didn't stop playing the entire time.  The great thing about that was that they were so wiped out by the end of the day, they slept through the night (most of the time).  Here are the boys at nine weeks old. 

 Sydney and I went to go visit my good friend Luisa one day and she took these pictures of us in the car.  Because I live alone, I don't have many pictures of Sydney and I together as it's always me taking the pictures so I'm glad she was able to capture these. 

My neighbor Bernie is always telling me that I should stop treating Sydney like a baby because I'm always cuddling him and holding him in my arms as though he were a baby, but darn it, I just can't help it! I know how fast he's going to grow and pretty soon I won't be able to pick him up (sooner than later at the rate he's going).

Here is Sydney's "official" first portrait.  Just kidding.  I took this the first time he tried coming down the stairs and I just thinks he looks SCRUMPTIOUSLY ADORABLE!!

Sydney's first attempt at walking downstairs

As you may or may not know, puppies should not go outside where other dogs have been before they get all their shots to prevent them from getting sick.  (In my case it would probably be around 4 months of age. In the meantime, I came up with the brilliant idea (if I say so myself), to buy Sydney a little stroller so he could go outside and sniff around the neighborhood without actually coming into contact with the ground.  At first he was somewhat reluctant, but after a couple of tries, the first thing he did every morning was try to jump into the stroller himself.  (He still does it now but he's outgrown it and doesn't understand why I won't take him out on it anymore).  The first couple of weeks, the boys were small enough that they both got to ride in it together.  It was quite a sight!

 

Slowly but surely we managed to get into a regular routine.  Bailey would sometimes spend the day at my place, and while both Bernie and I were at work, my mom looked after the puppies.  They literally spent hours on end playing and rough-housing with each other...so much so that now Sydney has a couple of scars on his nose and a big one on his side to prove it :0(

As they continue to grow, so to do they continue to play together; each trying in their own way to figure out which one is the toughest.  Having watched them quite a bit, I frankly can't tell.  They each have their moments when one takes charge and asserts himself more over the other.  Sydney tends to go for the ears, Bailey for the neck.  Bailey always seems to grab the toys first and Sydney spends most of his time running after him trying to take them away and always seems to be the one on top when they have their little wrestling matches; he's also always in control of the water bowl, not letting Bailey drink from it until he's good and ready.

Labrador Retrievers are to water like peanut butter is to jelly, one can't possibly exist without the other.  For that reason, I tried to expose Sydney to water as quickly as possible after he arrived.  After all, he was no longer living in Canada, but Florida; we are surrounded by water on all sides!
Below is the first time I took him outside to play with the hose.  As you can see, he took right to it.

 Before bringing the puppies home, I purchased a little kiddy pool at Toys R Us. I remember how much Jax loved his little pool, even when he was 78 pounds and could barely fit in it.  In the Summer when it was really hot and muggy, he would go out onto the patio and just lay in the water and splash around with his toys.  I'm almost certain that these little guys will be doing just the same. 

Below is a short video of their first time in the kiddy pool.

And then there was Sydney's first bath.  Obviously that was the first and last time he fit in the kitchen sink.  The next bath was in the bathtub and the one after that on the patio with the hose.  He loves water so bathtime becomes more of a game and makes for a very wet and slippery situation!!

A big part of bringing a new puppy into your home is figuring out what kind of diet to give them, as well as daily training in order that they can become well-behaved members of our family.  Nothing worse than a 90 pound terror running around your house.  After hours of research, I finally found a website www.dogfoodadvisor.com that rates the various different dog foods on the market.  It was extremely helpful and after reading everything they had, I was finally able to make a decision on what kind of food to give him.  Unfortunately, no stores in Miami carry it so it has to be delivered to the house.  I use www.chewy.com.  They have very fast delivery and incredible customer service. 

The day the box of food arrives is one of the most exciting for Sydney.  He can't even wait for me to open it and always takes it upon himself to lend me a helping hand.  Mommy's little helper.

 

 I must have made a great choice because eating his food really excites him.

As with everything else he does, he turns it into a little game.  I could literally watch him for hours.

A BIG part of having a puppy is the training. This time around, I have made it a point to devote a lot of time to doing so.  I am amazed at how fast Sydney learns.  One month into the training he was already housebroken, knew how to sit, lay down, shake, roll-over, up, speak, fetch, drop and we're in the process of learning stay and heel.  Just enrolled him in his first puppy class which begins on January 19th, 2014. 
It's incredible just how smart he really is.  He's decided to learn a few tricks on his own.  One of these tricks (which I'm not so thrilled about) is how to open the front door.  I have a lever handle so he jumps up and pushes it down and voila, he's out the door.  Now I have to remember to lock it even if I'm just going to the mailbox.  There's a good probability he's also learning or learned how to get water from the refrigerator's water dispenser.  He just can't seem to reach it everytime he jumps up on it when he sees me getting him his water.

Oh yes, and then there are the famous bells.  I remember reading on one of the many websites I researched regarding puppy training, that you should hang some bells on your front door.  That way you can train the puppy to ring the bells when he needs to go out.  Wonder who the genius was behind that idea???!!!   Sydney took to that quickly but as usual, turned it into yet another game.  We spend the entire evening like this:  Sydney rings the bells, I open the door to let him go out, he comes back in without going to the bathroom, five minutes later he rings the bells again, I open the door to let him out, he comes back in and so on and so forth.  You get the picture.  I have now become his personal door man and I don't know how to make it stop.  One day I decided to tie the bells to the side of his crate and again, another game.

And the next time Bailey came over, Sydney decided to teach him the game.

In the meantime, Sydney continued to grow.  It didn't take long before he began to enter that lanky stage.  Long snout, long legs, long body. 

 November 29, 2013:  In his short little life, Sydney has become quite the traveler.  He was born in Winnipeg, flew by plane to Minneapolis/St. Paul, changed planes, flew to Miami and in November, for the Thanksgiving holiday, visited Savannah, Georgia.  Not bad for only being almost 3 months old. 

 

We loaded up the car and together with Emma, made the eight hour car ride to Savannah and my little monkey slept the entire time, except when we stopped for bathroom breaks!  He was such a little trooper.

 

Savannah is a very dog-friendly town and strolling along the squares and parks with Sydney in his baby stroller and Emma alongside, we were the talk of the town.  By the end of our stay, everyone at Gallery Espresso knew who we were.

 

 

 

 



 

With each passing day, Sydney continued to grow and I continued to baby him.

December 24 and 25, 2013:  Our first Christmas together!  Even though he was still very much a puppy and had entered the "teething stage", I couldn't let our first Christmas together come and go without putting up a Christmas tree.  Of course you may all remember the famous story of Jax reaching up into the Christmas tree and picking out one of the ornaments, eating it, getting a blockage in his intestines from the wires and having to have surgery to remove it (for a total cost of almost $3000).  Needless to say I was weiry but I decided to go for it.  I am happy to report that except for a few pine needles that he decided to lick off the floor and two instances when he attempted to pick off a couple of the ornaments from the bottom branches of the tree, we ended up spending a very special Christmas at home and also together with my dearest friends, Piloto and Zori who have become Sydney's "official" uncle and aunt. 



 December 31, 2013



January 11, 2014:  Sydney's last vet visit for his final set of shots!!!  The vet couldn't believe how big they've gotten.  For the first time Bailey out-weighed Sydney by almost one pound.  Sydney weighed 41.8 and Bailey 42.7.  They are FINALLY out on parole and can begin to investigate the world around them.  Yippeeee!!

 



January 12, 2014:  Sydney's first time at the beach.  Woke up today and it was an absolutely glorious day.  One of those very rare occasions.  There was not a cloud in the sky, a cool breeze was blowing from the north and there was no humity.  It was the perfect day to take Sydney out on his first visit to the beach and the ocean.  I thought about it early enough that we got there before all of the crowds. 

 

 

 

 

 

The minute we got out of the car, there were a couple of guys with the most adorable Newfoundland puppy, about the same age as Sydney, and was also there for the very first time.  At first, Sydney was a little hesitant to get close to the guys or the puppy, which I found weird, after all, he is a Lab and is suppose to love people.  I guess it's the fact that his entire world for the past two months has only been me, Bernie, Emma, Bailey, Piloto and Zori, Bella, Robert and his nanny, Nina.  The puppy's owner was great.  Took Sydney from me and began walking both puppies on the leash together.  After about 5 minutes, Sydney was ready to play.
 

No problems with the ocean.  I threw in the frisbee and he jumped right in after it.  It was low tide so it didn't give him an opportunity to really swim, but he ran around chasing the frisbee and all of the other dogs on the beach.  He even got to see a couple of manatees from the sea wall which caught his attention.  It was a great day for monkey!!  Hopefully the first of many, many more beach days to follow, and hopefully next time his brother Bailey will join us.
 

January 15, 2014:  Took Sydney and Emma out for a quick walk this morning before I left to work and Sydney managed to get loose.  He took off like a speeding bullet.  I almost had a heart attack.  The words "NO" and "COME HERE" fell on deaf ears.  He ran around the corner out of my sight and I had to quickly throw off my high heels and chase after him.  Once I turned the corner I caught a glimpse of him again as he darted towards Bernie's house, ran up to the front door and proceeded to sit down and bark.  I guess he misses his little brother Bailey, but he knows that playtime with Bernie is on the weekends.  Good to know he's already learned his way around the neighborhood.



In Memoriam

He had a nature you could not help loving; And a heart that was purer than gold; And to those who knew him and loved him, His memory will never grow cold.

To My Dearest Beloved Daddy....I miss you more today than any other day in the past 12 years. 

March 27, 1930 - March 10, 1999

Secret Admirer Revealed

Think about it. I live in a large metropolitan city. There must be hundreds, if not thousands of heterosexual, single men. So what are the chances that out of all of those available men, my Secret Admirer should turn out to be someone that works with my Ex in the very company he does and lives right around the corner from me? Wait, it gets better, he’s also from the same country….oh and wait, he seems to have a poetic flair, just like my Ex did. So much so, that yesterday when I walked out to my car, I was surprised by yet another card and a poem. It almost sent chills down my spine when I read it. It seemed eerily similar to an email that my Ex wrote me when he was first trying to win over my affection. I fell for that sweet talk once, I’m certainly not going to do it twice. Words on paper are just that, and in the beginning, it seems everyone will promise the world and everything in between, with no thought as to whether or not they can follow through with it.

I was brought up by a father whose moral code was exemplary. His word was his life.  His word meant everything to him, as it should be. I honor him by doing just the same and trying to live my life in much the same way as he did. Others, like my Ex, love the sound of their own voice, constantly reminding everyone that their word is sacrosanct and therefore should never be questioned or judged; yet their actions indicate the complete opposite. I feel truly sorry for people like him and others that live by such a sub-standard moral code….lying to the very people they claim to love and even to themselves, so much so, that they begin to believe the very lies they tell to be their truth.

I’m sure there are one or two people out there that would venture to say I’m taking a harsh or somewhat radical stand towards what should otherwise be thought of as a very simple, romantic gesture. True. I probably am. Unfortunately, experience has taught me otherwise. Being naive and taking everything at face value seemed to work when I was 20+ but can't possibly be a smart alternative at my age. My very nature is to believe in the goodness of people, it's who I am, how I was brought up and what has brought about the most heartache in my life.  Your word is and should always be your truth, it's who you are. It hurts me to say this but it is not how most people operate anymore.  It seems a person's word is only as good as how it may benefit them in the long run. 

It is going to be six months since my relationship ended.  Life is pretty much back to normal for the most part.  However, I still have not been able to come to terms with the betrayal; the loss of innocence (as silly as that sounds coming from a 44 year old woman).  Almost everyone I know has asked me how I believed the "promises" for as long as I did - I just did.  You make a promise to someone, especially to someone you love or claim to love, you have to know in your heart, in your very being, that you intend or are capable of keeping that promise, otherwise, what do you have left?
As I venture out into the dating scene again, I pray that I can once again find that childhood innocence that was such a part of who I was that was stolen from me by my Ex.  The belief that people are for the most part good; that they don't always have hidden agendas.  If I don't, I fear the road ahead will be a very long and lonely one.  As for my Secret Admirer, the fact remains that now that I know who he is, there is absolutely no interest on my part.  Oh well, the fantasy was nice while it lasted.

Happy Valentine's Day

Funny thing this "Valentine's Day".  In all the years I've been in a relationship over Valentine's Day, I have inevitably had to hear from my so called "significant others"  how Valentine's Day is so over-commercialized that they just don't want to buy into the whole charade. Silly old me has always agreed.  Mind you, I truly do believe that this, like so many other holidays, is a ploy from big marketing company executives to get you to over-spend, buying all kinds of stuff you have absolutely no need for.  How many stuffed animals and balloons can a girl get??  But....and there is a big BUT here, that doesn't mean that if you do happen to be blessed to have that someone special in your life, that you shouldn't go the extra mile and try to be "creative", or make some sort of small gesture to acknowledge how much they mean to you.  So as long as I can remember, and in all of my past relationships, I don't recall ever having had someone do anything for me....that is, until today.  Funny how you have to NOT BE in a relationship to have men go the extra mile.

I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I walked up to my car to find someone had left a little Valentine's Day balloon and small card.  It was from a "Secret Admirer".  Can you believe it?  A secret admirer at my age.  I remember the last time I got a note from a secret admirer on Valentine's Day....I was in Junior High.  I have absolutely no idea who this person is, and I really couldn't care less.  It was nice that someone out there noticed me....even if it was just for a brief moment, and took the time out to let me know.  As silly as the whole thing is, it does make you smile.

Throughout the day today I was showered with beautiful email messages, text messages, candy, chocolates and even cupcakes from friends and co-workers and even many of the guys I'm writing to on Match that have never even met me.  I've felt more appreciated and loved on this Valentine's Day that I'm single, than in all of my past Valentine's Days when I wasn't....who'd have guessed.

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my friends, both near and far.

An Evening to Celebrate Love

Last night, I had the pleasure to be part of the 20th Anniversary Wedding party for two of my dearest friends, Piloto and Zoraida.  Yesterday, together with many of their closest friends and family, we were able to once again, see up close, that true love, friendship and committment still does exist - in spite of the overwhelming negative statistics indicating the opposite. 

As I walked in the door of their beautiful home in Coral Gables, Piloto reminded me that our trip to Italy, the first they had ever been on, had been 16 years ago.  How quickly time passes by.  And yet, there they were, as in love and committed to each other and to their family as when they first met.  They have truly become my inspiration, my measuring stick if you will, as to what it is that I'm looking for in a relationship.  People may say that I'm too picky, but I don't believe so.  I'm holding out for the real thing, and unless I can have what they have, what is the point of it all; to become another statistic?  It was a night filled with love, music (Amaury Gutierrez, Alex Ubago, Lena, Elain Morales, Alexis Valdes and so many more) were some of the guests that honored them and all the other guests with their music.

I celebrate their love for each other and hope they will be blessed with another 20 years.

Alexis Valdez, Gloria Ordaz, Lena, Elain Morales, Alex Ubago and I

Here are a few of the wonderful songs we were treated to by some of their friends:

http://www.youtube.com/user/muchachita1111#p/u/7/nIkEn52Xs6U

http://www.youtube.com/user/muchachita1111#p/u/9/gOzGrxPtrh4

http://www.youtube.com/user/muchachita1111#p/u/1/NPjPzSUSGLk

http://www.youtube.com/user/muchachita1111#p/u/3/32I2WV1mDAU

http://www.youtube.com/user/muchachita1111#p/u/8/-Ag0F4r2UVI

http://www.youtube.com/user/muchachita1111#p/u/6/aHD7noZ1kME

What a Difference...17 years make

So get this.  I woke up yesterday with the intension of looking for an old photo album I was suppose to take to work. I was going to show someone photos of a friend we had in common. When I finally found it, and began looking through it, I found a photograph that was taken 17 years ago of Raul Di Blasio and I. 

Raul Di Blasio and I - Cafe Abbracci
April 1994

For those who don't know who Raul Di Blasio is, check out this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecJZafbsaWc . Raul Di Blasio is in town for a concert he's having this weekend in Miami (I'm going on Sunday).  In any event, I get to work, go upstairs to show my friend the picture and out of the blue he says "do you know that Raul is downtairs right now?  Come on, let's go down there and show him the pictures."  Can you believe what a coincidence that is? I had absolutely no idea or reason to think he'd be at our office yesterday.  I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it.  Here's a picture I haven't looked at in over a decade of someone I randomly met years ago, and the very day I look at it, he suddenly appears....17 years later....Wow. What are the chances of that happening twice??  I should play the lottery this weekend. 

My friend drags me downstairs and show his PR person the pictures.  She can't believe it either.  She grabs me by the hand and takes me over to where he's sitting and shows them to him.  Of course he couldn't remember who or when or where they were taken; never thought he would.  He smiled, stood up, gave me a big hug and insisted we take another picture together because as he put it, we look so much better today.  Here it is...How are we doing for 17 years later?  

Raul Di Blasio and I, Mega TV Miami
February 11, 2011

What a difference a year makes

So here we are again....in just a few hours, Superbowl XLV will kick off between the Steelers and the Packers.  Should be a great game and looking forward to watching it.

However, I can't help but think about where I was this time last year.  In fact, reading back on my blog, this time last year was a day packed full of "Americana" as I called it.  If you had asked me a year ago that I would be sitting here now, a 44 year old woman, once again having to enter the dating scene - I would have never believed it.  I spent last year watching the Superbowl with the man I thought was the love of my life and the last man I would ever date again. Boy was I wrong.  In fact, one year later I am back on the dating scene....just joined Match.com about two weeks ago.  I will be writing a blog about that as it deserves it's own forum, it's so hillarious, weird, interesting, fun and exciting....

We never know what is waiting for us just around the corner, good or bad.  For this reason, I truly believe more than ever, that if you're living a moment of bliss right now, in the present.....devour it, enjoy it, savour every moment of it because it may not be there again tomorrow, or the very next second for that matter.  And if you're going through a phase in your life that you'd rather not be living through, take comfort in knowing that it too shall pass as nothing is permanent. 

It intrigues me to think about where I will be a year from now....however, I won't think about it right now.  I've got a Superbowl game to watch (with my first date from Match) and that's all that matters right now.  Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Go Packers......neither one is my team but it makes it more fun to cheer one team on!!!

Mother Nature

Today, as I came home from picking my car up at the mechanic, my neighbor walked up to me to tell me that some newborn ducklings had fallen into a stormdrain.  As most of my friends know, that's all I needed to hear.  I ran to the storm drain and tried to get a plan in action in order to rescue them.  It didn't take long before a crowd of on-lookers gathered around.  I asked one of the men to remove the cover off of the storm drain as I quickly ran home to get a loaf of  bread to see if we could get them to come out of hiding.  At the same time, the mother duck and her remaining two ducklings were circling around anxiously.  I started throwing pieces of bread into the drain hoping the ducklings would come out so we could grabe them.Sure enough, as I threw the first piece in, six tiny little ducklings appeared.  I tried grabbing one of them, but they were too fast, and as quick as can be, they hid further down inside the drain where they were impossible to catch.  I asked someone to bring the skimmer from the pool and we tried several times to no avail.  Again, they were too fast.  All of a sudden, a lightbulb went off in my head.  Why don't we call the Fire Department?  How many times have we heard and seen stories on T.V. of cats stuck up a tree or in a storm drains rescued by firefighters?  I dialed 911 non-emergency and within five minutes the fire truck, along with five or six very willing and able firefighters came to the ducklings' rescue.  They tried everything, even flooding the storm drain with water, but in the end, only managed to rescue one of the little ones.  After over an hour of trying, they eventually called it quits and were on their way.  Mama duck, anxiously circling the drain the entire time, also called it quits and went on her way, now with three little ducklings in tow.  There I sat, my heart aching for the five tiny, defenseless ducklings that I had to abandon, knowing of their pending demise.

I guess Mother Nature knows what she's doing.  There is a method and a perfect balance to her cruelty and beauty. A neighbor told me the mother duck had 19 little ducklings that hatched a few days ago.  If all were meant to survive, we would no doubt be faced with an over-population of ducks sooner than later.  Instead of the 19, only 3 will most likely survive - ensuring the survival of the species but not an over-population.  It might be perfect, but none-the-less, sad.  I'm going to have a hard time sleeping tonight.  The idea of those five little ones, scared and alon,e just breaks my heart to pieces.  As I conclude this post, almost six hours have past.  I have gone back to the storm drain on numerous occasions and tried getting them out, but nothing has worked. I just hear the little things chirping away anxiously. Night falls and with it, the scavengers are sure to emerge shortly.  Poor little, defenseless creatures....they don't have a chance.

Update on My Previous Post...Tardiness

Just a little P.S. on my previous post.  Yesterday, I was invited to a baby shower for a friend of mine.  The invitation I received said "2:00 p.m.".  Years ago I would have arrived at the event at exactly 2:00 p.m.; yesterday however, knowing my peeps, I decided to arrive "fashionably late".....or so I thought.  The surprise was on me.  I arrived at 2:40 p.m. (on purpose).  I still can't believe it myself but the majority of the guests did not arrive until about 4:00 p.m.  I even saw a few arrive at 5:00 p.m. What's wrong with this picture???  At 5:00 p.m. I was headed out the door.....so you see, it's not that I'm making this stuff up.  People think this is alright.  What do you think?