Skip to main content

A Day At the (Duck) Races

This past weekend, the Red Cross and the school music department held a duck race at a park in Small Town. At this fund raising event, there is a clown making balloon animals, games for little kids, a dunking tank, a tent with hot dogs and their usual trimmings, and mini-concerts by the high school jazz band and steel drum band—my daughter's very last performance with these groups, by the way. The end.

Later in the afternoon, more than 1500 ducks raced down the creek, and prizes were awarded for the winners. If you've never been to a duck race, it may seem odd. I find it oddly fascinating. People buy ducks and are given numbered tickets. Hundreds of little plastic ducks, each with corresponding numbers, are dumped into the creek, and a guy in waders herds them down to the finish line. They funnel through one at a time, and the winners are collected.

I didn't stay for the actual race because it was such a hot day, and I didn't want to stand there idly waiting so I could take a picture. So, here is a picture of someone else's duck race, just to give you an idea of what the spectacle looks like. Fun.

I don't buy ducks, but I do sponsor the race with a donation, so I get my own special prize. A couple of days after the race, someone shows up at my door with a box of sugar cookies in the shape of ducks. I did manage to get a picture of those for you. What does that say about me?

Comments

savannah said…
i love those things! rubber duck racing is one of these most random things around... perfect for a summer day! xoxo
Oh yes we have duck races in most of the Cotswold villages! Though, because the villages are tiny, there are not nearly so many as your lovely yellow display! It's such fun, isn't it.
dive said…
Whee! What fun!
And what yummy looking ducklings, Robyn. Lucky you!
Mrs. G. said…
I love that picture of all the racing ducks. Nibble one of those sugar duck heads for me!
MmeBenaut said…
I think it says that you made a rather large donation!
they look delicious anyway.
We have the same think here for fundraising for the Red Cross too I think. The ducks do look cute and the children just love the races.
Lovely post for art Friday, Robyn

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Birthday To...

Pope Leo IX (the Pope) JCF Bach (German composer) Jane Russell (of Gentlemen Prefer Blonds fame) Daniel Carter Beard (founder of the Boy Scouts of America) Jean-Paul Sartre (French philosopher) Maureen Stapleton (Academy Award winning actress) Mariette Hartley (who?) Prince William of Wales (the prince) but most importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 45 years ago today, I was born in Alabama in a small town on the banks of the Tennessee River. Yesterday, someone asked me if my family has any birthday traditions. The answer is no. My family never cared very much, but I do remember a few birthday highlights. I was given a birthday party in the back yard when I was ten years old. Two years later, my sister got married on my birthday, so I was just a bit overlooked, although I did get a stuffed animal--it was a white Yorkshire terrier with an AM radio in its stomach. When I turned 20, a different sister took me to an outdoor performance of Dvorak's New World Sympho...

Right Brain Dominant

I am reading A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future , by Daniel H. Pink. I wouldn't have chosen this book had I been book hunting because I lean toward fiction—it was a gift from someone who, like me, is right-brain dominate. I haven't gotten very far, just far enough to learn that in Hippocrates' day, the left side of the brain was considered the true source of thought, the thing that separated us from the animals and made us human. It was the source of reason and logic. The right side was considered a useless left over, a parasite. Now we know that both sides of our brains are equally important and equally involved in our daily thoughts and functions. But some of us do seem to be governed by one side more strongly than the other. Me, sometimes I think the left side of my brain has completely atrophied, that the right side governs everything. But I am learning that I don't give that other side enough credit, that logical mathy side. As I read on ab...

Everybody Needs A Little Crème Brûlée

I went out to dinner with some friends the other evening and ordered crème brûlée for dessert. It was lovely—crispy sugar crust and creamy custard underneath. I'm a bit of crème brûlée fan and order it more often than I order any other restaurant dessert, which is not to say I always order dessert—only now and then. On my way home, I remembered I had a crème brûlée kit at home with ramekins, a torch, and a basic recipe. I love the torch. So, now I have made my favorite dessert at home, and I recommend that everyone have crème brûlée. It makes the world better. I used the recipe on the box, which was simple and basic. My only suggestion for improvement is to use less sugar for the caramelized crust. It was so thick, it was like chipping away at glass. An ice pick would have come in handy, or a diamond. Other recipes suggest 1/4 cup to be divided among six ramekins, making just over 1 tablespoon per serving. Crème Brûlée serves 4 1 cup heavy cream 2 extra large egg yolks (I used 3 re...