10,000 Spring Flowers

Two ducks on the pond. They stare suspiciously. No wonder. Underwater, one of them has a foot on the safe dial, turning it to the left, to the right, listening for that last click that will open the vault buried in the mud all winter long. Inside it is a treasure. 10,000 spring flowers, frogs, and a clutch of redwing blackbirds on tall cattails. Quite a haul for two ducks from Lake Whatcom.