WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY

It’s gosling time, or it soon will be.  It’s a chance to ooh and aah at babies, but lest you get within spittin’ distance of those feathered darlings, their Papa will hiss, flap his wings, or even run toward you, wings spread wide open … no, that’s not to be confused with welcoming you to the family!  Steer clear of them and give them wide berth!

So far, I’ve not seen any goslings at Council Point Park, but I’ve been toting the camera anyway, because, as you know, the one day you don’t carry the camera, is the day Papa and Mama will guide their offspring out of the water, up the Creek bank and they will make their official debut on land.  You have to wonder how and where they kept those squeaky little babies under cover since they hatched?

It was NOT gosling time when I took these pictures of some of Elizabeth Park’s many Canada Geese, while they were preening, paddling around in the Canal, or parading through the fallen leaves. I wondered how many of these geese were the subject of my posts when I took photos of them back in the Spring?

This stroll was taken on October 10^th last year.  I intended it to be my official “Walktober” post, but the lack of vibrant leaves made me find an alternative venue, as well as topic.  I went on a Halloween-type stroll instead at lovely Heritage Park.

I love taking photos of water reflections.

There were several geese that separated themselves from the rest of the group, er … gaggle, so I was able to get these up-close photos.

They look very serene, don’t they? A group of geese in the water is also called a plump.

There is always that one goose that gives you “the look” – sometimes it is dismissive, like “don’t bother me human!” Below you see I got a glimpse, a side-eye and a “go away” in the space of one minute. And no, I didn’t utter the word “plump” while looking at him/her.

Nothing like a peaceful morning and geese that aren’t too cantankerous.

I already knew the leaf peepin’ wasn’t going to be stellar.

Southeast Michigan’s moderate drought in 2025 not only made for a miserably hot and humid Summer, lowered water levels at every marsh and body of water I frequent, but made for the poor display of vibrant leaves in Autumn.  The leaves turned subtle shades of yellow, maybe an orangey-red, then dropped, wiggling free with the frequent gusty winds we encountered. They dropped to the ground, crumpling up, just brown and brittle-looking piles of leaves everywhere.  Elizabeth Park was always a sight to see by October, the Fall leaves resplendent in jewel tones, mostly golden from the many old Oak trees.

But on this gorgeous October day, this was the best Mother Nature could do. I was not the only person strolling on this perfect Autumn day.

As I was strolling along the circular road that serves as the island park’s only road, a one-way street shared by cars, bikes and pedestrians, I watched the geese strutting around in the dry leaves, no doubt seeking out some good-eatin’ grass as it was still green.

The squirrels were running around gathering acorns which were plentiful. Even if the Oak trees didn’t produce colorful leaves, they still dropped their acorns. So many to eat …

… and so many to bury!

Since I had visited this venue last, the park’s perimeter road, a/k/a Elizabeth Drive, had been revitalized. The park was closed for several days to get this paving and striping done and it now sported lanes for pedestrians, bikes and cars. Interestingly, someone had spraypainted “WE” on every place where the asphalt had been marked with this sign.

I was enjoying the quiet morning and as I strolled along the Boardwalk …

… I was taking a few shots, like this Juvenile Ring-billed Seagull, at first interested in the shutter clicks, then not so interested …

I paused to take a photo of this Woolly-Bear Caterpillar and, if you remember the legend of this fellow, the larger the black segments are on its body, the worse the Winter will be. I was happy to see it had NO black segments meaning a mild Winter, but …

… knowing now what I do about our wicked Winter, I know a caterpillar’s segments are not a great weather prognosticator and it is 100% folklore!

I kept moving along while headed to my car which I had parked by the Canal vehicle bridge.

Wild wings – the call of the wild.

At the Canal shoreline, the Canada geese, so sedate an hour ago when I began my walk, were all aflutter about something and, after consulting with their signal caller, about a dozen of them took flight.  You may call them a bunch of geese, but if you want to be a bird nerd, the terminology for a group of geese in flight is a skein, team, or wedge.

A few stragglers were grabbing a bite of grass and got a slow start.

Try as I may, I’ve never gotten great shots of them lifting off, playing follow the leader, as they take to the air with a whirring of wings and a cacophony of honks.  Soon they had passed right over me. 

Whew – safe, I think. I always wonder “should I duck, protect my head by flipping up my hood?” Well, of course, that works if you’re wearing a hooded jacket or hoodie, but otherwise, you’re out of luck.  Even a wide-brimmed sunhat doesn’t mean you’ll be exempt from droppings when a flock of Canada Geese are flying overhead.  You could say “well, it’s all about the nature experience …” but that doesn’t really fly, does it?  Excuse that bad pun by the way.  I mean, poop-strewn trails are one thing; poop adorning one’s ‘do is another thing entirely. 

All kidding aside, I always marvel when the Canada Geese fly in V-formation.  It’s like when I hear the Goodyear Blimp overhead.  My head immediately swivels upward, my hand shielding my eyes from the sun – I pay attention to both. 

As to the geese, it doesn’t matter how many of them are passin’ through, or, if it is a loosely constructed “V” or a huge, perfect “V” – I always wonder, who decides to pick the leader to lead the rest?  I thought it was the biggest gander, maybe deemed to be the leader by his peers, or, was it just any of the geese who decided to leave right then?  So, I posed the question to Google and learned “the leadership role is rotated frequently because leading is energy-intensive.”  Smithsonian Magazine said “the rest of the flock conserves energy so when the lead goose tires, it rotates with other geese, so a fresh bird takes the lead.”  

And people call birds “birdbrains” – looks like they have the aerodynamics and sharing-the-load thing all figured out, don’t they?

Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge this week is “April is National Garden Month” and, since I’ve shared my woes over losing my entire butterfly garden and did not plant another one, I’ll link to Terri’s Flower Hour Challenge with my Wordless Wednesday post instead. I am also participating in Pepper’s weekly walking/hiking Challenge One Step at a Time every Tuesday.