A walk on Richmond’s Canal Walk

Presenting “Breakaway (Mallard duckling)”.....

“Breakaway (Mallard duckling)”
Oil, 16 x20

One of my favorite places to visit — for fun and inspiration — is Richmond’s historic Canal Walk. Last spring, my family and I spent a Sunday afternoon downtown, meandering along the 1.25-mile historic pathway and found ourselves sitting along the water’s edge at the Turning Basin where the canal cruises begin. As we waited for the next boat, we had the joy of watching several groups of geese with their goslings swim by, mixed with the occasional mallard duck and her ducklings. After about five minutes without seeing any more waterfowl, we started to get up. That’s when I noticed this one solitary little duckling. We watched it swim along the edge of the canal wall, exploring its surroundings and moving along at a leisurely pace as if it didn’t have a care in the world. As it disappeared around the bend, I thought to myself, “That little guy isn’t going to make it.” Then, all of a sudden, a mother mallard with a trail of older ducklings swam around the corner at full speed, quacking up a storm as she searched for her missing duckling that had obviously broken away from the flock.