Husband's Plan C

The Escape

September came, and my husband was still looking for another place for Pipke.

One of our neighbors has a beautiful garden (approx. 10.000 square meters) with a pond also occupied by ducks: a secure place surrounded with a fence. He offered us to bring her to their pond. The place is situated at only 250 meters from our home, so we could visit her every day.

After my husband pushed for a while to bring her there – I agreed – I could live with it, so I could keep an eye on her. It seemed like a good solution.

In the morning of September, 4 my husband took her away. He stepped outside and she followed him, not knowing what would come next, she trusted him completely.

I still can see the image of them both – leaving our house and crossing the street.

I stayed at home, it was too hard for me to see her in panic again. With pain in my heart I had accepted that she would no longer be here, but still nearby.

Five hours later, and although I told my husband to stay at home and not to intervene, my husband went back to see how she was doing. He was horrified with what he saw! He found her there – in the middle of the lane – quacking very loudly and again totally in panic, she had escaped from the enclosure!

What a great luck that it wasn't a busy street, it could have ended very badly.

So, with tears in his eyes he brought her back, and then he said the words I had been waiting for for so long: “now she will stay with us forever! What if I hadn't found her at that moment”. He didn't want to think of what could have happened.

She was so exultant to be back home, that she jumped full of joy in a bucket that was standing there on our terrace.

Now my hubby still says, that he had a hunch that there was something wrong with her at that particular moment. I really do believe this because, this time, it was me who said : “stay at home, you are only going to make things worse when she sees you”. He was the one who wanted to go back and we are both still happy that he did it!

(Only one day later *something happened that closed an era in our and also Pipke's family's life.)

Vistiting the pond, the place where *it would happen only a few days later.

Why my hubby had plan a, b and c.

I want to explain this.

He had his reasons for making these plans.

In that same year, we had planned to go on holiday later that year at the end of September, we had already rented a cottage in Brittany (France). There's a lovely little place called: St. Vincent de Paul, in the middle of nowhere. We had been there already three times before, and we spent there the best holidays we ever had, but of course, the birth of Pipke had ruined this new plan.

Because I didn't want to leave her, we had to cancel this holiday.

My hubby also looked more to the future, he would like to travel and that would be difficult having Pipke around. At first he thought, maybe we can find someone who can take care of her, here at our place so we could travel – but after some time – he was also no longer interested in traveling, she had also conquered his heart.

Now our bond grew stronger and stronger – we would never leave her – not even for one whole day!

For the rest of her life we never went away from home for more than 8 hours, it was rather  exceptional that this happened (maybe only three times and then it was because we were invited somewhere so we were obliged).

We no longer took trips or vacations, we were no longer interested in other places.

Our place was at home – together with Pipke.

Now she was at home in our garden, it had become her little world.

These three following pictures were taken in August 1995.

Showing off her feathers.

Not interested in art class, she rather cuddled.

Her first dive in a large pool.

Meanwhile we could extend her little world, we were allowed to use a small part of our neighbour's meadow for Pipke. So, my hubby made a little opening in our fence to that small part of the meadow. He installed a little fence around that part of the meadow so she could go safely in and out whenever she liked. She loved to be there, because there were always long grasses and wild plants available, and that wasn't the case in our garden.

At the meadow just behind her pen.

Mud a real feast for her!

Hey what's in there!

Here she's working in the frontgarden with us. She's still so young and already our garden assistant.

So now and then my hubby went with her in the large meadow to search for worms.

At sunset, she now came quacking at the window of the living room, or she knocked with her beak on the door of the laundry room to go to her pond to sleep.

She became a real member of the family.

From then on we only made plans for the future together with her.

With this happy completion of plan c I will close this chapter and I'm going to prepare the next post.

Next time we continue with: Flying Lessons.

Hope to see you then!