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In life, mysteries abound.

And in my state? Sometimes they’re a little odd.

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The duck, as you may have heard, stands some 25 feet tall. It floats in the harbor off of Belfast, a tiny city midway up the Maine coast and south of Bangor, having apparently appeared bobbing in the water there under cover of darkness. As if to overemphasize the message of happy playfulness its creator clearly aims to project, it has the word “JOY” written in big block letters across its big yellow chest. Ropes attached to weights appear to be keeping it anchored in place, as gawkers in boats and along the shore stare at it in wonder. No one knows who put it there, and the mystery surrounding its sudden unannounced arrival has quickly been noticed by news outlets across the country.

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The yellow waterfowl emblazoned with the word “joy” appeared in Belfast Harbor over the weekend, and it’s a mystery who put it there.

Harbor Master Katherine Given told the Bangor Daily News that the 25-foot-tall duck doesn’t pose a navigational hazard, so there’s no rush to shoo it away. She added she heard rumors the duck floated from the town of Islesboro, south of Belfast.

“Everybody loves it,” Given said. “I have no idea who owns it, but it kind of fits Belfast. A lot of people want to keep it here.”

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I tried to get my husband to take a ride up there. But driving an hour and a half to take pictures of a giant rubber ducky was not high on his list of required weekend activities.

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But damn.

Talk about a missed opportunity.

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