Raining Ducks

A number of years ago, we owned a small fishing resort. We had eight cottages, all named after trees. Aspen, Birch, Cedar, Maple, Oak, Pine, Spruce and Willow. Every spring I did lots of cottage cleaning. I usually began in April, each cottage would take two to four days to clean. I made sure that they were spotless, washing walls, windows..you name it… I washed or scrubbed it.
I was working in Maple, a two bedroom cottage…I kept hearing noises in the stove pipe for the small gas heater. It was a scratching, rustling type noise. When Far Guy came home from work, I told him that I had an animal in the stove pipe..he went to look..there was nothing there. The next day I continued my cleaning, and the noises continued. So Far Guy indulged me once again..declaring.."there is nothing there sweetheart"…the next day I ignored the noises..thinking to myself…there is nothing there..I am nuts..I have bats in my belfry..I just wanted to get the cottage cleaned and escape the noises that nagged me.
Fast forward a couple of weeks. I enlist Far Guys help to light hot water heaters and furnaces for arriving guests. We are lighting the hot water heater in Maple, it is located in a compartment adjacent to the bathroom, but it has an access door on the outside of the cottage. We open the door and Far Guy pops off the protective cover for the pilot light and something falls on his head. Something is falling out of the attic. It is raining ducks..fluffy little wood ducks..I am trying to catch them..soon I have a T shirt front full of little ducks. Far Guy hollers for the girls to help round up the ones that are on the ground…what in the world do we do now..where is the Momma? We have four Shelties and a couple of Cats in the vicinity..soon all the baby ducks are rounded up. We decide to take them down to the Lake..and hope that their Momma shows up soon. They swim off, and later we notice them with their Momma Duck…one big happy family!
I am really happy..I was not nuts..not even partially crazy.. the Momma wood duck came down the chimney and wedged the metal stove pipe apart just enough to give her an entrance into the attic of the cottage, where she had a nice warm insulated place to lay her eggs. Upon further inspection there had been about eight other nests up there at one time. I am not sure how those newly hatched ducks made it out, they must have scampered up that slick stove pipe. Someone once told me that they are good climbers and have little hooky things on their feet. They also told me that once the baby ducks have hatched they usually leave the nest within 24 hours.
Far Guy, fixed the stove pipe, and covered the chimney with an heavy wire screen, and bungy corded a wood duck house to the chimney for me. I only wanted raining ducks to be a once in a lifetime experience:)