I should have known by the way the bigger of the two geese had been honking and carrying on when the dogs and I passed that a family was getting ready to happen. But sometimes – often – I am thinking of things miles away as I make my daily rambles around the place. Imagine my pleasant surprise on Sunday morning when I looked out and saw Mama and Papa Goose swimming side by side with their two new offspring carefully positioned between them. The little goslings couldn’t have been but a few hours old, and there they were, paddling confidently between Ma and Pa, looking very interested in this new world.
What an amazing thing, life. One moment there’s an egg and some goo, the next minute, there’s a small creature with sufficient moxie to stumble into the water and start paddling without Mom and Pop shouting, “No, it’s one … two … one … two… left … right …” One day there’s just a seed in the ground, looking completely inert and the next day … I HAVE RADISHES!!! I want to run around showing them to all the neighbors, like my sister and I used to when something green first popped its head above ground in our garden at home.
The goose babies aren’t easy to spot out there in the weeds by water’s edge. That’s the biggest dandelion I’ve ever seen … no, wait! It’s a gosling and he’s actually pulling at the weeds! How do they know to do that?
The rain just keeps coming down out here, and the ponds are fuller than full, which means there’s a fairly strong stream cascading downhill past the barn and into the watercourse. I worry that the babies will get swept away, but my neighbor Nancy, who took these photos, told me she saw the parents come out of the upper pond and walk around the “rapids,” then plunk into the lower pond once they were past the swift water. Smart geese, protecting those little babies.
Once more I am completely blown away by the brilliance of nature and grateful down to my cells that that I get to pay such close attention.
Photos by Nancy Krause
