ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
A duck guards her nest outside the Cuffe-McGinn Funeral Home.
BY DILLON DURST
LYNN — The staff at Cuffe-McGinn Funeral Home recently spotted a mallard nestled comfortably atop eggs in a planter outside of the building on Maple Street.
At last count, the mother duck laid about a dozen eggs, according to Rob Marggraf, funeral home manager.
Sally Cuffe, the funeral home operator, said she was fascinated by the duck’s decision to lay her eggs minutes from Flax Pond. The retired schoolteacher called the funeral home “a place of comfort and peace,” and said that’s one of the reasons why the mother chose the location.
“I read that they look for damp soil, so that probably fits the bill,” she said of the planter.
Marggraf said the mother duck is so unfazed by people coming and going from the building that they hung a sign above her to let people know she’s there.
Cuffe said research convinces her that once the eggs hatch, the mother will lead the ducklings to the pond, where she imagines the father resides.
She’s considering installing a camera above the planter so she knows when the eggs hatch, and to make sure the mother and newborn ducklings get to the pond safely.
Dillon Durst can be reached at [email protected].
