Today was warmer, and maybe for that reason the duck party on the Muddy River seemed less festive. But the Hooded Mergansers and Wood Ducks have no way of dressing drab. What if we humans were always decked out in our brightest fanciest garb? Maybe like the Hooded Merganser, we would wear it unselfconsciously, no matter who our audience. Maybe like the Wood Duck we would try to hide when confronted with potentially threatening beings unlike ourselves. Whenever the Wood Ducks see me looking at them, they hide in the wooded banks of the river. On open water, it seems they almost cringe. It makes me think of high school. I was pretty shy in highschool. One high school friend, who had a pink mohawk, once explained to me that the best thing you could do with whatever made you different from the crowd was to flaunt it proudly and confidently, show off your specialness. Seems to be good advice, but I still love the Wood Ducks.