Learning from Geese....

Yesterday, Olive, my pug, and I took advantage of the nice weather and walked down to the pond with my new lens.  I was hoping for some “interesting” birds and what I got were Canada Geese.  They stood in the field watching us approach with great wariness but they stood their ground until I found picnic table nearby to sit on so I could focus my camera.  Then as Olive got closer to them, they started shouting at each other as geese do and took off to the safety of the water.  I actually managed to capture their flight.  Woo hoo!

Most people around here don’t much like Canada Geese.  They make a mess of the field in by the pond and with people swimming and playing volleyball and kids just playing, the goose mess is a bit of a downer.  But I find them fascinating.  I remember being at a meeting a few years back.  The person who gave the invocation read a passage about things we humans could learn from geese.  Thinking of that today, I actually found a website that gives those lessons.  Here it is if you are interested:  http://www.canadageese.org/lessons.html
 

The one I like best is the last one on the list and it goes like this:  “When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock. Lesson:  If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.”

It wasn’t my intention to scare the geese yesterday and, believe me, Olive is more afraid of them than they should ever be of her.  But, being intelligent birds, they took off in mass and landed in the water about five or six feet away from the shore…safe for the time being.  As Olive and I headed back home, I turned and watched the geese saunter back to their original spot.  Neither of us were the worse for wear.

Splash down!