Getting Ducks in a Row

My older daughter has been replacing fixtures in my vacant condo. On Monday, she asked for some measurements because she was going shopping for additional items at Habitat’s Restore and Mercy House Building Supply Store. They both carry used home improvement items, and also brand new overstock items.

I put Charlie in the car to head for the condo, but first we stopped at the county landfill to drop off recycling, including a defective battery from a drill. (Did you know that lithium batteries have caused house fires? And you’re not supposed to put them in regular trash because they can explode in the garbage truck!)

After we did that and took a few measurements at the condo, I headed for nearby Edinburg Mill. There is a picnic table near Stony Creek where I could sit with Charlie for a little while. Ducks who were on the shore hurried into the water when they saw Charlie, except for a single brave one.

After sitting a while and taking a short stroll, I put Charlie in the car and walked closer to the creek to take a few pictures. The ducks are not afraid of people, but they don’t trust dogs.

There were some cute little ducklings. My cell phone pictures were not as sharp as I’d like, a problem that I’ve noticed around bodies of water before. Here’s an explanation from Bing:

“Cameras often struggle to focus on water because water surfaces create reflections, low contrast, and refracted images that confuse the autofocus system, making it hard to determine the true subject to focus on.”