UNM Duck Pond

This is really nothing special so I don’t know WHY I find myself sitting here so often!
It was a nice respite in the intolerable heat of the summer (I’ll get used to it, but I moved here in August so there was some culture shock.)
Shady and cool. There are benches all over, but a lot of people just sit in the grass.
Turtles and ducks — but PLEASE don’t feed them bread. Turns out that’s bad for the ducks and makes the water all poopy! Who knew!
What I’m not sure about is where people from the community park when they come to the pond; I’ve only ever gone to sit there when I was already on campus for something. I assumed it would just be other students between their classes, but there are often families with kids there running around.
For some reason this little pond is just a great place to sit for a bit.

Such a tranquil oasis in the middle of the University. The little and I love to walk here and spend an afternoon relaxing!

Great way to spend the lunch hour! Check out the koi fish, sunning turtles, greedy pigeons lol, baby ducks, and the fat little birds that hop and can catch breadcrumbs midair!

Nice little spot amidst the hubbub to chill out. Wish there were more spots like this in Albuquerque.

Takes me back to college! So calm and beautiful. I spent many times studying, meeting friends or just walking through to go to class. So glad a visited via bike.

It’s a cold and blustery day today, and there is no one here! Perfect time to have the ducks all to myself. As I approached the water’s edge, a gaggle of ducks swam eagerly to meet me. Unfortunately, I had no goodies for them, so they lost interest and swam away, but not before I got a photo of the large black mallard I call Big Poppa. He’s the only black mallard I’ve every seen! The Duck Pond is a great place to sit on the grass or a nearby bench and people watch, duck watch, relax, read a book, drink a coffee, eat your lunch or just chill. Every now and again, there is some performance art occurring on the lawn, or some display art in the trees. You just never know what you’re going to see here, so stop by often!

In Albuquerque, if it holds water, it encompasses a certain majesty.
Forget water parks, lakes or swimming pools, Burqueños rock water old school. We know the splashy splash is for the birds. So say I as my knuckle scales crickety-​crack and leave skin dust upon laptop keys.
The Duck Pond holds endless fond memories from my days as a student, especially during the spring and fall, when the temperature was perfect for a sprawl out on a grassy hill, forgetting about tests, daydreaming girls. But this gentle space offers refuge for one and all; host to an endless procession of weddings, kids play on the rocks on the west end, lovers hold hands on benches, and proud alumni parents (me) point out turtles to our toddlers. Ducks, meanwhile, are typically far too spoiled to partake in your pithy crumbs.
I love this little body of water and the zen that surrounds it.