Meet Mama And Her Brood.

The first glimpses of goslings at the Park come Spring is always such a joy for me. It’s not like the later families of Canada Geese, that share the perimeter path with us walkers over the next six weeks, will become old hat, but, believe me when I tell you I’m not the only one with a camera or phone snapping pictures while oohing and aahing over these fuzzy, feathered friends.

I got to the Park on Wednesday morning, happy that we did not get the anticipated rain, but instead had sunshine (yeah) and I was even happier when fellow walker Mike came over to tell me that he’d seen goslings along the path and gave me the family’s location. I told Mike I’d been down to Dingell Park to visit Mama Duck and he said he’d been there the day before and she was off the nest and strolling around the pavilion and he went to see if the ducklings had hatched and saw eight eggs … so, it’s not soup yet folks, as that old Lipton commercial goes.

I thanked Mike and headed yonder to where the park bench is just a few yards from the entrance to the water … there is a big tree nearby and the parents like to bring their offspring to graze, then go for a dip. I wanted a glimpse of the goslings to include their photos in a post close to Mother’s Day. Would I make it to the other side of the Park before they disappeared into the bushes or swam away? To get there timely, I cut across the grass, bypassing my usual steps on the perimeter path, and, of course completely forgetting two major things, i.e. 1) the primary reason why I go to the Park (to walk); and 2) the squirrels, who didn’t see me as I streaked past the usual “feeding spots” enroute to my destination. That was a big faux pas because I arrived at this corner, saw the parents and their offspring and while pulling the camera out of my zippered vest underneath my coat (yup, another cold morning), out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a trio of squirrels had gathered at my feet and were looking up at me. I was unable to tell if they wore a mystified look (as in “did you forget about us?), or an angry look (“wait a minute – the geese are more important than we are?”). Yikes – what was I thinking?! Quickly, I made my apologies, tossed down some peanuts and got ready to capture some cute shots.

I’m just going to caption the pictures below as there are so many, and admittedly, they are not the best photos. You never want to get too close to them, especially with the gander, ever-protective of his little family, and he will indeed hiss, flap his wings, or worse yet … charge at you if he deems you a threat to his goslings. I always stay a respectful distance whether they are newborns or almost ready to fledge and depart the Park.

Good thing I arrived when I did because they did not graze long, then headed down to the water. The water level is so high, Mama Goose merely walked right into the Creek with their little ones in tow, and Papa bringing up the rear. There were some hurried swimming lessons, and off they went, gliding down the middle of the Creek. The family didn’t go far because they veered off to the left near a dock at a residence across the Creek and toddled off into the homeowner’s backyard.

Please enjoy this dose of cuteness.

You can catch up on my blog posts before I started blogging at Patch in August 2013 by going here: http://lindaschaubblog.net/