A Benevolence of Ducks

After cats and dogs I don't think there can be any more blipped species than the humble duck. Trying to come up for a title for this blip I got to wondering as to the proper collective noun for a number of ducks. Flock seems appropriate when they are flying, but less so when they are swimming around. A quick visit to Wikipedia soon revealed all sorts of possibilities, none of which I really like. It lists a baddling (downright obscure), a paddling (not very imaginative), a bunch (simply boring), and a raft (entirely inappropriate). I think then there is a gap in the market here and I wish to propose "benevolence" as a much more appropriate collective noun for ducks on a pond.

I have to admit that the inspiration is really not my own, but my good blipfriend Goatee Booknerd's. He was the first to spot the benevolent and serendipitous appearance of ducks in my blips, always in the perfect place to achieve compositional balance! I do suggest to all new blippers (seasoned campaigners will already have worked this out for themselves) that a plastic duck should always be carried in your camera bag as a vital accessory in order to add interest to water features when the indigenous wildlife is not obliging.

It's been a working day today and the story has been much the same as it's been all week, namely slow progress. I took a break at lunchtime to take a run on the moor in quite eerie conditions, the sun only just about penetrating the fog that was shrouding the valley all day. I'm very fond of this view from the west end of the Lower Tarn but it's not easy to photograph. Today, the mist softened the background landscape and provided a much less busy shot than you would normally get from here. I rather like the end result. And, for the record, these were real ducks, benevolently placing themselves in just the right place for me. I had no need of the plastic ones today!