Ducks, ducks, ducks. As long-term readers may recall, one of our granddaughters, Juliana, is crazy about ducks. Her “first day of school” board when entering Junior Kindergarten listed “a duck” as her desired adult occupation, somewhat to our general surprise. Since then, she’s decided she’d rather be a farmer. Privately, we all thought “Indeed, better to be the eater than the eaten,” but kept that observation to ourselves. Discretion is the better part of valour when dealing with innocent young farmers.

Her passion for ducks has not waned. Last year, I came across Canard Savage (Wild Duck) plates by Fitz and Floyd, with which I set the table before sending them Julianaward. A dippy-do egg on a duck plate is just the thing to start the morning.

Have you ever noticed that once your radar is primed, it unconsciously gathers like items? Group Chat by Paperproducts soon swam by, with marvellous depictions by artist Vicky Sawyer. This set is very much bird-themed, but not exclusively ducks. Each plate is named individually, and this one is called “There is Always a Showboat.” 

Who could reject a mallard duck complete with a hedgehog and three other birds?

I’m not sure what kind of duck this white one is; perhaps someone can enlighten us. It would happily join Juliana’s farm, I’m sure. The plate is called Willie the Warbler. 

You have to look closely to see Willie sitting on the duck’s beak. Hi there, Willie!

The plates are so colourful they don’t need much embellishment. I set them on Aerin scalloped rim green salad plates (Williams Sonoma, discontinued), atop Broadway Yellow Mikasa dinner plates. The cobalt depression glasses are Fine Rib by Hazel Atlas.

Of course, Spode Woodland Harvest ducks had to join in the fun. This guy is the Duck Box and Lid (a somewhat uninspiring description).

And he is joined by the gravy boat.

A small ladle accompanies the gravy boat. Isn’t it adorable?

The other two plates continue the wildlife theme, with this one, Party Friends, being entirely birds.

A Few Good Friends has a rabbit tucked in.

A rabbit with a strawberry ear. OK – why am I fussing about proper species identification? Especially with a pattern all about poetic license.

This one brings new meaning to “carrot top.”

I had a lot of fun with this table.

Isn’t the detail in the drawings intriguing?

The fluffy limelight hydrangeas added just the right tint of colour to the table.

I will leave you with a photo from yesterday’s Times of London. Ducks in Thailand are earning their keep, hoovering up weeds and bugs following the harvest in the paddy fields. That’s a lotta duck and no social distancing among the quackers! I was reading about one farmer who has four flocks of ducks that move around different rice fields. Rice farmers harvest three crops a year, and a typical flock can clear about 70 hectares in about a week. Clearing the rice paddies benefits the rice farmers; the duck farmers benefit from reduced costs in feeding the flocks. It’s a real win/win.

The quarantine countdown continues, with less than a week to go. To my relief, it’s gone by very quickly; the house has been scrubbed and organized within an inch of its life, which has been helpful from a physical exercise perspective if nothing else. The dogs have been very patient with the lack of walking, and I’m eager to get back to it, for everyone’s sake. 🙂