Ducks and rain

(Continued from this post)

We prayed over our breakfast of bacon and eggs and Nate ended with, "Please let us see some wildlife still."

We had read journal entries of people seeing all kinds of wildlife, and although had seen telltale signs, there just wasn't much showing itself during our trip.

At the beginning of the week, a family of mallards had come up near the dock to forage and dig up water bugs by the big boulder in front of our cabin. I had crouched down on the dock to get some photos of them, and they didn't seem to mind us there. They stayed for about 10 minutes and then lined up and continued on down the lake, but they hadn't come nearby since. We had seen three ducks together, but not the four.

That afternoon, we saw a line of four ducks coming up to the dock as we brought the boat in. We stopped to watch them as they pricked and preened their wings, making sure they were absolutely clean so that they stayed bouyant and waterproof.

I laid down on the dock to watch them, and Nate returned to sit on the boulder after taking some stuff inside.

We figured three of the mallards were siblings while one was the mother. She quietly peeped at them while they preened and dug for bugs in the water, and they peeped back softly, making sure to stay within sound distance.

Then they started to do something I had never seen before.

One of the young mallards flipped upside down, kicked its feet in the air, flipped back over, rose up on its back legs, flapped its wings three times and swam like a jet about five feet away. Its sibling flipped over, kicked its feet up in the air, repeated the process and landed next to its sibling.

The young mallards continued this ruckus, and Nate and I looked at each other with smiling mouths agape. Neither of us had experienced this playfulness from a duck before.

One of the siblings that flipped over, kicked its feet, flipped back and dove underneath the water, shooting about 10 feet away to its sibling and popping up right next to it like, "Surprise."

They kept playing for about five-10 minutes, while we watched all the frivolity.

The little ones finally calmed down and came back to the shallow area to look for food, and Mom walked up onto the rock to continue to preen.

However, it wasn't just any rock. It was the same rock that Nate sat on. She perched about 5 feet away from him, not caring in the slightest that he was there. She itched her head with her back feet, spread her wings and flapped, bent her head to get a drink.

It was the closest we've ever been to ducks, and we would move around and they still didn't care about us. They had nothing to fear from humans, probably not much experience with humans at all.

We watched the ducks for probably an hour before another storm started to roll in and we headed up to the cabin.

After the short storm, we went out to the dock to enjoy some afternoon sunshine, although some clouds were still in the distance. Everything was silent around us, and we soaked in all the peace.

"Listen," Nate said. "You can hear the rain that storm."

He pointed to a dark cloud to the north, probably four or five miles away.

When we both were quiet, we could actually hear a rustling sound of rain hitting trees, from that distance away. We were sitting in the sun and listening to a storm cut through the tranquility around us.

"That is something we'd never be able to experience back home," Nate said. "That is so cool."

It was a quiet we had never experienced before, a peace that was untouched, a world as if people didn't exist. We were in such a wild place, and we loved it.

I enjoyed watching the storm, and I had also enjoyed watching the ducks but honestly didn't think that much of it. That evening, before dinner, Nate prayed, "Thank you for the time watching ducks and for the answered prayer."

That convicted my heart. He had asked God for a wildlife experience, and I felt a bit sad that we hadn't seen any moose or bears. However, my thankful husband had acknowledged that God had sent us a blessing of an up-close experience with wild ducks, a creature that we both absolutely love. Nate had noticed and taken to heart the gift that I hadn't given God credit for. It made me stop and thank God not only for that blessing that day but also for the blessing of a husband who appreciates and notices the little things.

That day, we also ate pretty well. Here's what we had:

Walleye pesto dip
4 walleye filets
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 jar pesto
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup parmesan
4 green onions, chopped

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet and add walleye filets. Cook through. Add cream cheese, sour cream, pesto and lemon juice and mix together, breaking up walleye as you do. Once cream cheese is melted and incorporated, sprinkle parmesan on top and place in 375 degree oven to cook until bubbling.

Remove from oven and top with green onions.

We dipped homemade flatbread into it, but you could use French bread, pita chips, tortilla chips, really anything. It's so good.

Almond walleye and pesto gnocchi
For walleye:
6 walleye filets
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup ground almonds
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk

For gnocchi:
8 ounces gnocchi
2 ounces whiskey cheddar (a soft, white cheddar)
1/2 jar pesto
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the egg and milk in a bowl and whisk to combine. Dip each filet in the egg mixture and then into a mixture of other dry ingredients. Once coated, place in non-stick, oven-ready skillet (all metal, no plastic). Bake walleye for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through and breading is crispy.

While walleye is baking, boil 4 cups of salted water and add gnocchi. Boil until gnocchi floats to the top and then drain. Place cheddar and pesto into pot with gnocchi and continue to cook on low until cheddar is melted. Add lemon juice.

Serve walleye with a side of pesto gnocchi. It's rich, but it's delicious!

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