Summer 2020 was spent chasing ducks out of my pool. At first I loved having them there, but then I discovered the absolutely insane mess they'd leave. I spent a great deal of time with my computer by the window. I'd see ducks waddling in (sometimes sneakily, and yes ducks can waddle sneakily) and run out there, they'd honk and flap away, and then come back as soon as I disappeared. Sometimes I'd come out and there would be three or four ducks swimming happily in the pool, and sometimes they would be fighting each other and then fly away leaving behind a mess of feathers coating the top of the water. It made for an interesting summer of 2020.
Then I got a fake gator to float in the pool and it seemed to do the trick on keeping them out. The funny thing is there's a lake just a few feet away, but they really seem to favor the pool.
Now it's 2021, and Mr. Duck is back. He's waddled inside with a friend or two hanging back by the fence, watching, not daring to come in due to the memory of the Maniacal Maya that dwells here. This is the beginning of another year of Maya vs. Nature, and I would like you all to meet Mr. Duck below.