This was the view from my apartment in Pittsburgh, one long winter in 2005. I had been feeding the ducks since I moved in a few months earlier. The white duck showed up one day. The other, differently looking ducks, would scramble for the food while making sure the white ducks’ efforts futile. I called him Blanco, making sure he ate by distracting the others with food first then sneaking it to him at the side of the house. Blanco was courageous and determined to join the flock. He would try to be social and swim with them, but they would chase him away on land or in the water. In this painting you can see how the white duck is being shunned by the others. By the end of spring they had worked out their differences and Blanco had been accepted by the flock. Blanco was a courageous and inspiring friend, lessons people can learn from animals.