First time ever a mallard duck couple visited the patio around my bird feeder. They just showed up on Sunday and returned to squat this morning.

I have always loved ducks, varied and imperturbable. When I let Wizzy out for his morning ritual, he chased them unmercifully. Came back a few minutes later, and they were near the feeder again. Right now they are sunning themselves outside my study window.

We had a winter hiatus, when birds were not coming to the feeder. Some of this was because I had changed the seed to keep the large ravenous ones away, but clearly they had found a better watering hole. Up to the day Kathy died we had almost no visits at all. Maybe a stray chickadee.

Recharging the feeders with sunflower seeds seems to have brought back the finches and chickadees. The ducks are an unexpected blessing, which I cannot accept as coincidence. They are a mercy visit from God.

Our visit to Hawaii a year ago was highlighted by Nene (Hawaiian geese) daily visiting our patio. This was less a coincidence, because they were obviously used to getting handouts from the inhabitants. They showed up expectantly every morning. I snapped dozens of photos of Kathy with them. Sorry I don’t have one handy.

The Nene, along with slack key guitar, were emblems of Hawaii for us. In a year marked by highs and lows, they were a soaring high, and we returned to those photos of Kathy with great pleasure.

At Pointe at Island Lake (Ypsilanti, MI), where I live, geese are regular visitors. They hang out in the back yard every morning, apparently owners, not visitors. But ducks have never shared their turf. They paddle in the ponds beyond the trees, but never visit the premises.

So the ducks are a visitation for me. Probably not specially dispatched by Kathy, but by a merciful God who knows how much I miss her. Only God and Kathy knew how much I loved ducks. I had even imagined having a duck pond at our previous residence. The winter maintenance of artificial ponds discouraged me.

So I am receiving this visitation as a heavenly blessing at a time I surely need one. Hoping they will find my patio congenial, the ruthless dog notwithstanding. Next to baseball, they are the most welcome sign of spring.