Mr. and Mrs. Mallard

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were back today and it was my husband who saw them.

My mom and I were watching TV (we're hooked on the DVDs of "Epitafios," the fabulous 2004 Argentinian police series) when he called from downstairs to say the ducks were in our neighbor's backyard.

We came out, and there they were. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard trying to make little Mallards all over the neighbor's fenced-in yard. We decided we probably ought to let them know about the ducks' shenanigans, since the neighbors have two dogs that would likely make quick paté out of them, when Mr. Mallard took off over our heads to God knows where. Mrs. Mallard, however, remained behind in what appeared to be a mission to find a good egg-laying spot among the neighbors' large hostas.

After I told them, my neighbor's wife decided to leash her dog and flush out Mrs. Mallard so she would get the message that this yard wasn't a good one to nest in, and she succeeded without much trouble. The minute Mrs. Mallard saw the eager young black-Lab mix pulling on the leash to get to her, she tried to get through the fence unsuccessfully by bumping against it twice and then figured out that flight was the solution. She flew in the opposite direction to Mr. Mallard, leaving me to fret over how the couple would meet up again. But my husband assures me this is a done deal.

I don't know if I'll ever see Mr. and Mrs. Mallard again after today's adventure. But, if I could have, I would've welcomed them to our yard, with its little pond (puddle, really) and two old dogs that wouldn't know what to do with a duck even if it bit them in the rump.