If the duck is the mother, it would be a shame to deprive the ducklings of their mother. Baby ducks need their mother to teach them to swim and eat like ducks. She has to rub oil on their bodies for them (from hers) to keep them from sinking until they can grow enough to produce their own. Is it possible to put the ducklings in a cage, set the cage near the area where you are seeing the duck to see if she/he shows interest without it being able to harm them? Make sure you watch from a safe distance so nothing else approaches/harms them. I have had ducks visit my backyard to collect the bird seeds that fall from my feeders. What are you feeding the babies? A link that might be useful: www.wikihow.com/Take-Care-of-Ducklings

You didn't mention how big your pond is and how many birds you have. Ducks and geese can do a lot of damage unless the plant materials are well established. Ducks will eat many things, geese pretty much stay with vegetation. Both will uproot plants as they add grit to digest their food. They dip their heads and will shovel up earth materials from the bottom. Any plant material not firmly rooted will be pulled up in the process. Geese are terrible about not going around obstacles. They go over and can trample even hardy grasses into nothing. The best advise is to balance the pond and vegetation with the number of water fowl. To many birds will turn it into a mud hole. You may also want to place some course sand in some of the shallows. Birds may be more apt to root around there instead of your plantings. Do you provide commercial feed for the birds? If so, locate an area away from the water to feed them at. That way they are less likely to congregate in large groups by the plant material. At one time I had a couple hundred assorted adult water fowl.

Leone, I think we have lived long enough that a bit of "unhealthy" duck-fat doesn't make all that much difference, it sounds delicious, enjoy!

Okay, I am going to be harsh, people on GW who know me, know I am never harsh, I avoid when I do not like something or I avoid having to say anything. But I know you have posted twice. Forgive me in advance. It's Blah. You need a direction. You need color. You need not worry that mixing woods is not going to work. It will be fine. But you need more color, more excitement, more energy and more of YOU. What colors do you love? I am thrilled you are thinking of a granite with some color. This is great! You asked ".....is it going to look like a mishmash of colors with white, black and stainless steel appliances?...." Yes, it could because you need a direction. But you can find the direction and style. You can do this. Be brave! You asked... "...........table will go with the oak cabinets? Will the one we picked out tentatively work...... Can I go darker on the kitchen table without clashing with cabinets?.." YES! Yes to all your questions. The table can work, going dark is okay. I prefer sticking to your similar wood cabinet color but since you need a bit of drama going a bit darker is going to be fine. But before we even consider the table lets find out what else is going on with your space. Lets look at what you have chosen. Oak, gray floor, Black island, White Refrig. These are not really a main color. All Neutrals. What color do you like? What colors are in the rest of your home? Not sure what you like? Take a walk into your closet. Look for your favorite top, dress, scarf... Look around your house is there a painting, a pillow, a curtain that you love and want to keep. Use this as a guide to decorating the rest of the space. The black, white and oak are neutrals. You need to bring in some spice to the space. Have you visited Finished Kitchens Blog? I urge you to take a look at what others have done with oak. And have you done the Sweeby test? Check out the link this is a great resource to discovering what you want. After you have come up with a theme and a color direction. I don't mean neutrals I mean your favorite color you want to accent. Lets reconvene and talk about how to make this work to be spectacular. YOu can do this. ~boxer