Mother Goose Update

Talk about the patience of Job -- I think our Mother Goose wins, hands beaks down!

About two weeks ago, I observed two geese at the neighbor's duck spa.

Mr. and Mrs. Goose?

I assumed they were a pair, but which is which?  I imagined that the one preening was Mrs. and the one stoically waiting was Mr., but it could be the other way around because all Canada geese look alike to me.

Then for a couple of days one of them (again, I'm assuming) treaded water in the same spot below our bluff.  Though this is not the spot, he/she looked like this:

I say treaded water because one day the wind was so strong that it had to keep paddling just to stay in one spot!  Otherwise it would have ended up at the dam.  I told myself it was Mr. keeping an eye on the Mrs. but now I'm thinking it may have been Mother Goose keeping an eye on her chosen nesting spot. Because about a week ago I spotted her on the crest of our bluff.

She has not moved from that spot, only shifting her position from time to time.  But where is Mr.?  I hadn't seen him for at least a week, until yesterday when I saw a pair of geese frolicking in the water.  It reminded me of a reunion when a soldier returns home.

Sure enough, her nest was vacant!  But only briefly.  Soon she was back on duty.

On alert

I read that domestic geese can take up to a month to hatch!  Not sure what's the incubation time for Canada geese.  Poor girl was out in a thunderstorm last night and she's hunkered down against stiff
breezes this morning.

I visit her from a socially acceptable distance several times a day, each time getting a little closer.  I keep reminding her that I want to see the kids when they arrive.

Stay tuned!