Eatin’ Right

Monday, January 17, 2022

_{(January’s “Wolf Moon” rising tonight, this month’s fullest moon.)}

A customer at my register said she has a dog, a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. I asked her to bring the dog in the next time she’s in the store. She agreed and asked for a bag of duck food. “Yes,” she said, “I have a couple of ducks, inherited them not long ago.”

“Do you eat their eggs?”

“No, they lay eggs but I don’t eat them.”

“I’m curious because I’m about to adopt two hen turkeys from a fellow who used to raise ducks. He says turkey eggs taste a bit gamey but are better than duck eggs, which are way too gamey to eat straight from the shells.”

“That’s interesting and something I’ve not heard.” She removed her credit card from a reader, laughed and said, “I’ll bring you some duck eggs.”

I laughed, too, “Good!” As she turned to leave, I added, “When my turkeys are in place, I’ll bring you turkey eggs.”

We waved and that was that. Weeks ago.

Yesterday, a fellow cashier radioed while I was in the break room. “Diana, can you come up front? There’s someone here to see you.”

As I headed toward the registers, a woman stopped me. She held a leash attached to a beautiful big dog. “Diana,” she said, holding out a small package, “I’m Katherine, we talked. I’m bringing you duck eggs.”

Well, I was blown away. She held out a package with three white large eggs.

She pointed to them, “One for some reason is much bigger than the others,” she shrugged, “but I want you to have them all.”

I was touched by her kindness, her generosity. “I’ll cook one tonight for dinner and let you know how it tastes, whether it’s overly gamey!”

Her dog, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, is a stunning knockout. The breed isn’t common in this area. Since it’s against store rules to play with my cellphone while working, here are photos from the internet. In them as well as in real life, this is an athletic dog with a substantial muzzle and long wirehair half-hiding expressive eyes. The facial structure and deepset eyes are very appealing.

I enjoyed meeting Katherine’s sweet, energetic dog.

About those duck eggs: I poached the biggest, which by-the-way had a double-yolk. I gobbled it–Totally Delicious!

Folks like Katherine who care about their animals are why I love working in that feed store. The store now is preparing to start bringing in baby chicks. Maybe I’ll adopt a couple of ducks!

Dear Friends: I’m a “bird person”, love those smart critters, they give us their all. Diana