The Duck Park

We have all enjoyed Nancy's(Gammy's) pictures of various birds and sunset scenes at the park down the street from her house. Not long ago, she took Abby and Nathan to feed the ducks at the "Duck Park" as we call it. Abby had a school assignment to write about her favorite place to go, and she chose to draw upon her experiences feeding the birds with her Gammy. For those of you in Texas, it was a TAKS writing practice (written totally independantly without help from teachers or parents) for the test they have coming up. A 4 is the highest rating, and she received a "strong 4" from her teacher on this practice. More than that, though, I thought this was a wonderful snapshot of a childhood experience she will always remember. Enjoy!
P.S. If anyone has access to share this with Grandma, I would appreciate it!


When I looked up at the sky, I noticed three snowy-white seagulls flying above the sparkling lake. Ducks of all different colors like green, brown, and red were splashing and diving with each other. I knew right then that I didn't want to be anywhere else.

I glanced down at the unused bread bag I was holding and took out a piece of crumbly bread. It felt stiff and spongy in my hand. I tore a small bite off and threw it to the ducks and geese in the lake. I observed that the geese wrestled and splashed at the ducks for even the smallest piece of bread. I laughed when this happened. Sometimes even a seagull would swoop down and grab a bite!

As I walked along the brown, dirt road, tearing bread, I saw a large, feathery goose nearby. I walked up to him and held out my hand. He waddled away. But he came closer when I held out a piece of bread. He snatched it out of my hand, waddled into the water, and ate it.

Soon, I pulled out the last piece of bread. I stood up straight and threw it as far as I could. It landed in the green lake near a large bridge. I watched closely to see if a goose, a seagull or a duck would eat it. Suddenly, out of nowhere a small seagull sailed downwards to grab the piece of stale bread. He scooped it up in his beak and flew away. It was amazing!

Finally, the beautiful, raspberry-purple sunset came. While I watched all of the birds fly and swim away, I admired all of nature and what it had to offer. I loved going to "The Duck Park". It makes the earth seem so perfect. All of my worries were gone when I left. That is why "The Duck Park" is my favorite place to be.

-Abby Faust, 4th grade, 10 years old