The quack of dawn

Ducks (bebek) are in the newly harvested rice paddies I see from my room in Ubud, Bali, and each morning their gentle splashing and quacking drifts into my awareness with the dawn light. The ducks are so comical as they are herded into the selected paddy with their brisk wobbly run, long necks outstretched. Some have punk topknots to distinguish them along with the white and black ones which set them apart from the usual brown.

The harvest has taken place over the past few days with birds being chased from the grain as it reached maximum ripeness before the rice was finally cut and threshed by conical hatted women. Scarecrows are gone from the field now. Moved to another soon to be harvested paddy.

Verdant fields of emerald green topped with gold have been transformed into yellow stubble and reflection filled paddies. Fringed with coconut palms with a backdrop of mountains to the west I can watch the sunset each day.