She's been at this place for some time, and recently had been confused to the point that she can't understand or speak her native German, and can't answer where she came from or when. It's rather tragic; she's a very gentle, endearing woman, and I've been told her family are also very nice.
I suppose it goes without saying that aside from her diagnosed Alzheimer's, she also suffers mild compulsive disorder. She snaps out of her stupor when she's toileted, at which time she shouts that the bathroom isn't clean. Of course, it's very clean. It didn't surprise me one bit that this old German woman would be hyper-concerned about the state of cleanliness of her toilet.
That aside, she's become my very favorite resident.
Today, a mother duck and her ducklings were ushered from the enclosed courtyard, indoors across the hallway, and out to the front of the building. The mother led the ducklings (ushered by the maintenance man) across the hall and outside again. She stood to the side beneath a tree and honked loudly, calling to her fowl crew. A few made it across the hall from courtyard to front yard without incident. The others escaped, avoiding the herding humans and scampering around the human barricade to scatter this way and that down the hallway. Some were shooed outside. Others had to be picked up and placed outside.
It was quite a sight, and I was delighted to be a part of it (I was asked to hold open the door leading to the front yard). I so wanted to pick up one of the ducklings, but was afraid to scent them and have them rejected by the mother. I'm actually a little worried for the ones who had been picked up. The maintenance guy pooh-poohed someone's concern by saying, "Oh, they have a bunch of new ones every year!"
It seems this is a yearly occurrence and nothing new to the maintenance man and other staff. That inner courtyard is a nice safe place to nest and sit on the eggs... Until they hatch and can't get out. The mother duck can fly in and out, but the babies can't.
