Roses are red,

Violets are blue

We’re freezing our tails off,

Can we come live with you?

Oh, I’m just pullin’ your beak, the NCED pond is home all year round! But hey, I hope that the ducklings, Maureen, and I are on your valentines list. You people know that we are the most spirited Muscovy ducks in town and we won’t rest until everyone on property has a little candy hearts box. For many of our ducklings this is their first February the fourteenth and honestly, they seem a bit flustered! I, being the ladies duck that I am, have tried to give them my best wooing techniques. What is my no-fail, go-to move you ask? The wacky-waddle waltz! Just ask Maureen; She was so incredibly impressed with my waddle waltz that she was wooed after my first waddle and has been my valentine ever since. But let me warn you, with moves that smooth you are bound to attract some geese!  Nothing against the geese, they need love too but have you ever dated or even gotten close to a goose? Those birds will flap you across the beak faster than you can say “doilies”.  Goose troubles aside I can say that I’m filled with warm feelings for all of my valentines at the NCED. So far we’ve even managed to hold on to some sunshine (the weather makers in the skies must be pleased with the offerings of twigs and popcorn we’ve been arranging for them). Even though we love the winter weather, the warm weekends encourage the wonderful people to stroll by us and toss us some snacks! Happy February everyone!

 P.S. If you liked the poem up top, Mack’s Musings about Love and More, is my bestselling book of poetry that is available upon request. It’s a Muscovy must-have for you and your sweetie.

Happy New Year!

Welcome back and to the new year! It's been really quiet around here for the last couple of weeks, which made for a holiday that was just ducky. Sunday started with everyone coming back. Though, it has been mighty cold, and there were a few flurries last night, the wind sweeping o'er the plains has been the worst of it. Don't worry about us, we just huddled around the fire pit with new friends, while the current guests provided the popcorn. While it is always a little sad to see the Christmas decorations go, but 2012 is bringing big changes to the NCED, there's even whispers the WiFi is coming...

Merry Christmas!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year - QUACK it’s me, Mack and I’m here to spread some cheer!

Twas the month of December at the NCED,

And I saw in the lobby they put up a tree.

Us ducks are outside, we’re making a list,

Cause the morning of Christmas, no duck should be missed!

I want a bike and Maureen asked for skis,

The ducklings want skates and pads for their knees.

No, we won’t be flying to Florida this year,

When the snow and the ice come, we’d rather stay here.

We’re champion sledders, we slide and we shred

Our feathers are frozen by time we go to bed.

Sure it’s sad when our people friends leave,

But we have our own fun, this you can believe.

I’ll get inside the building with Maureen close behind,

Then we’ll call in the ducklings and food we shall find.

No holiday is complete without a magnificent feast,

No animals were harmed, they were simply released.

Thanksgiving was splendid; in fact I’m still running slow,

But if you tell me you’re caroling I’ll be ready to GO!

PS. It’s a perfectly fine tradition to leave cookies out for the ducks on Christmas Eve, I’m sure we can find some presents to give you in return.

Happy Halloween

Happy Hallo-waddle from your favorite ducks and ducklings! You may not have known this but us Muskogees become very mischievous near the end of October. I, Mack have decided to play up my distinct eye markings and become a red-masked ninja duck! Ka-pow! After the ducklings and I make our rounds around the property trick-or-treating, I plan to spend the rest of the night sneaking around ninja style. Maureen has decided to be a wicked witch for this spook-tacular holiday. She “borrowed” a broom from one of the housekeepers and she is convinced that come Halloween night, she will be able to take flight and soar through the sky. I am a firm believer that anything can happen on Halloween so as I’m scaling the side of the hotel being a duck-ninja, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for Maureen flying on broomstick. The ducklings have spent all month planning their costumes and after much deliberation they decided on a group theme. Each duck is a member of the X-men; I’d pay special attention to the smallest duck that decided to be Wolverine (I spotted him gathering twigs for claws). Even the ducklings are not above using scare-quacktics to set the mood. They told Maureen and I that they plan on spooking all the guests by jumping out from behind bushes and screeching (as best as ducks can). The ducklings tried this out on a goose once and that poor goose didn’t have the courage to leave its nest for over a month. We Muskogees don’t hold anything back when it comes to Halloween. We even tried to carve pumpkins as a family but our wings and webbed feet simply don’t have the dexterity to hold a carving utensil. After head-butting the orange gourd a few dozen times without a single dent, we decided that we’d rather just have the kitchen bake us a tasty pumpkin pie. Oh, and don’t leave your candy unattended. There’s really no sweet treat that we won’t gobble up! We even love the healthy stuff; if the popcorn balls and pretzels disappoint you, we’ll be more than happy to take those off your hands. Don’t worry about inviting us to your fancy Halloween party though; it’s a full time job haunting the NCED! If you bring us the treats, we’ll be dishing out plenty of tricks. BOO from our brood to yours!

Grand-Duckies

Things have been moving pretty hectic lately. Our grand-ducks arrived, and we have been really busy spending time with our little fuzzies. Aren't they so cute!

Mack and Maureen here! Well its football season and we are just quackers for the Sooners! The night before a big game, we can feel the excitement in the air. We take that time to give our ducklings’ the game plan for game days at the NCED. First, oodles of football fans will be checking in and no doubt checking us out. Now, some may look tough but on the inside they are as fuzzy as a baby chick! The only negative part of the football fanatics is that they leave our property for hours to go to the game! I don’t wanna brag but Maureen and I host a tailgate that is guaranteed to make your tail shake. Too bad all the guests are too busy taking shuttles, calling cabs, and driving their cars to campus.  However, when the fans flock back to the NCED the party gets right back to flappin’!  Maureen can hardly wait till the next home game and I’ve been running plays with the ducklings; I think they show real promise for the Heisman. Whew! I’m getting winded just talking about the excitement of game day in Norman; good thing there’s always the scrumptious breakfast buffet to look forward to in the morning! Remember that even though our duck bodies are somewhat football-esque never ever dropkick a duck. When do you want a duck football team? When he’s the star line quacker. BOOMER SOONER!