I shut my eyes and basked in the warmth of still another stellar Summer-like day. It was hard to believe it was October 24th! It felt good to relax and ponder about life with no interruptions.
My mate was near me, as we glided silently in the calm canal at beautiful Elizabeth Park.
Occasionally I glanced over at her thinking how blessed I was to have such a beautiful mate.
But soon that serene scene of matrimonial bliss was interrupted as we rounded the corner and saw the rest of the family – did they really think we’d escaped from them?
Oops, one is missing!
Okay, all present and accounted for. I call them my “Lucky Seven” – of course, next year it might be eight, or nine, or even more offspring. I’m sure glad I don’t have to feed them!
Now grown and hardly underfoot like they were when they were goslings, they often have a mind of their own, sparring with one another, bright pink tongues wagging or having a hissy fit, complete with some serious wing flapping. I mused to myself that I taught them well. My mate just shakes her head sometimes.
They saw us and quickly paddled over. Soon we would make the decision to either overwinter here at Elizabeth Park or join our brethren in a warmer clime. We stayed last year and Winter wasn’t half bad. With little snow, the grass was good grazing and some kind-hearted souls brought us corn and we’re always glad for that.
That pesky photographer always comes by to take pictures of us walking – we have a little staredown first. Then she starts clicking away, taking lots of pictures, but she never brings treats for us.
I think it is time to settle the score, don’t you? Poses for pictures = treats! Here I am giving her the evil eye!
Yep, two Canucks sizing one another up!
I heard that woman tell someone that she has already walked 1,185 miles this year. Heck I do that every year … and then some. Look at the big steps I take.
My webbed feet take a beating, but nothin’s gonna break my stride!
And don’t forget all the nautical miles I log. Don’t discount that because you don’t see Linda jumping in the Canal here do you? She gets a big goose egg for her swimming prowess, unlike me, or my mate!
Does she ever show you shots of her dipping her tootsies in the water like this?
Or this?
Well, I think not! Gimme a break Linda!
All that bragging about her miles walked at the end of the year and in between just gets my gander up!
Here is the Missus and I strutting our stuff – we have a yearly goal of steps, not miles, but I’m not sharing it. We will get there – no sweat. This year because of Leap Year we had an extra day, so we could slack off if we wanted to.
But nope, we didn’t because we will walk ‘til we drop. Here I am, posing for you after a long walk.
Oh, by the way, Linda has an annual tradition that she walks the same number of miles as the year. Huh? The year is in kilometers. Ya, I know, you are scratching your feathers figuring that out. You see, five years ago, a fellow Canuck blogger, Wayne of Tofino Photography, challenged Linda to walk 2,020 kilometers (1,255 miles) at the start of the brand-new decade 2020. Linda was aghast at the suggestion as she was used to just doing one piddling more mile walked than the previous year, but she rose to the challenge. Yes she did. So now it is the year 2024, so 2,024 kilometers = 1,257 miles. Will Linda get ‘er done this year? She has one month’s time to do so. Mother Nature must cooperate too. Linda can’t be a slacker. Stay tuned!
I hope you enjoyed this tongue-in-beak, er … tongue-in-cheek post. 😀
I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: Traditions.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Walking all those miles/km is amazing Linda, obviously the ducks agree! Great tradition you have for Fall!
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Thank you Terri! I used to update my miles throughout the year, usually on a Wordless Wednesday post, but I haven’t had too many critters-walking photos to do that, so these shots worked out perfectly. 🙂 Still going strong since 2011, although I didn’t count miles the first year I walked as I only started my walking regimen at Labor Day weekend 2011.
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That’s a LOT of walking, for you and the ducks! 😲 I admire your stamina, Linda. The story from Papa Duck’s point of view was very cute, and so well written. 👌 Goes beautifully with your wonderful photos. Good luck on completing your quest! 💪
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Thank you Debbie! I agreed to that extra mileage and then was sorry, as I think it was about 40 or 50 miles more than I usually walked per year What I used to do was walk one mile more than the previous year and anything more than that I considered “gravy” and noted it at year-end, but didn’t try to beat that. This year we have had some strange weather though – two weeks early in the year where I never walked except out to run the car, as it was icy everywhere. It was sickening hot and humid, sometimes horribly windy and now we have a little snow, but as long as it’s not slippery, I will still get out. I’m glad you liked the two points of view … they walk a lot too!! I hope I can make it!
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Very cute way to tell the story, Linda.
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Thank you TD, I am glad you liked it!
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Very cute, Linda. And, congrats on your miles walked. Do you have an app to keep track of them or do you just make a note at the end of the day?
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Thank you Janis! I have a pedometer that I bought when I first started walking in September 2011. It keeps track for seven days, but I do indeed write it down when I get home and keep a tally that way.
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The kids never seem to leave! 🤣 Congratulations on reaching your goal, you are amazing Linda.
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Yes, the kids are a pain sometimes. 🙂 Well I am almost there Diane, but if the weather doesn’t cooperate I will not make it. However, in the past, I have gone to a nearby large parking lot which is always salted and will do that if I am scrambling at year-end to get done. I hope it does not come to that though.
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Yes you got this!
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Thank you! I hope so Diane – I have walked 12 miles in the last two days to try and reach that goal. Mother Nature might not cooperate as we go into December!
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I am on the edge of my seat, wondering if you will meet your mileage goal this year! I have my fingers crossed that the weather in December cooperates with you.
One year, I added up my miles on New Year’s Eve and was 2 miles short of my goal! I had miscalculated my total mileage. I went out in a sleet storm to get those miles in. Now I think I was crazy!
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Thank you Laurie! We are getting some snow on Wednesday and had slippery conditions already Friday, so I didn’t go. I used to give more updates through the year, then when I began Wordless Wednesdays in 2020 I tried to pair my stats with critters that were walking and couldn’t always get shots. 🙂 I did the same thing as you one year and felt just as crazy and, if I think I won’t make it this year if the weather gets bad, I’ll walk in the same big salted parking lot that’s a few blocks away. That’s what I did before. I wore my pedometer and figured out just how many times I had to go around it to achieve a daily goal, then I knew how many times ’til year-end. I don’t go to the Park if it is slippery as they don’t plow and they have now finally removed all the brush along the Creek as well as the tree stumps, so there will be mist off the Creek making black ice – ugh!
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Ha! Linda, you are just as crazy as I am!
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We have our priorities and principles Laurie and stick to them!
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I really like the color of the water in that first photo. It almost looks like a painting. This is a very fun story to go along with your goose family photos. I’m pulling for you to make your walking goal.
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Thank you Rebecca – I hope I make it. I thought it would be no problem, being retired now, as I can go out in the afternoons if it is bad weather in the morning, but we had that two weeks of ice early in the year so I didn’t go anywhere and we’ve had days with very gusty winds (30s) the entire day so it gave me cause to pause about going out. The story was fun to put together. It was such a beautiful day at Elizabeth Park and the canal water was still, so maybe that’s why the water looks like that.
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I hope the weather cooperates so you can get in your miles! It gets difficult when the weather gets super cold, snowy, and icy. I admire you keeping up your walking and you take wonderful pictures along the way. Marge would be proud.
The geese family is wonderful and the father looks proud of his family!
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Oh, I hope so too Esther – I have not failed to meet my goal yet (since making my first goal in 2012; I didn’t make a goal the first year as it was only four months that I walked), so I would be disappointed. We are getting snow this Wednesday, but other than that just flurries, so my fingers are crossed I make it. There are many times that I wish that Marge was here, especially so she could see how I have expanded my blog with photos and now hopefully with some artwork down the line. I will think of her on December 3rd – it would have been her 87th birthday. That father does look proud of them – that was a huge family. The most I’ve seen is ten, but ducklings, there can be a 12-14 easily trailing after their mom.
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That is an awesome achievement over the years! I do hope the weather cooperates so you can keep the perfect streak going.
Oh dear, snow and flurries coming up. We have chilly evenings and the weather is getting colder. Thankfully, our weekend was sunny and comfortable with an extra layer of clothes.
I agree. Marge would’ve been overjoyed to see how much you’ve grown your blog and I can imagine how she would’ve loved to comment on your posts. Lovely person she was and you will always remember her.
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Yes, snow – ugh. It was very cold this morning when I went out, but clear as a bell, so off I went, bundled up as it was a real feel of 18 degrees. Brrr. But no ice, so that was good – I got six miles walked today which is good to bulk up the miles so I don’t have to have a Plan B at the end … my Plan B is I go to a nearby parking lot which is always plowed and salted, so I walk around there umpteen times to get that day’s walk done. Poor Marge – I will think of her tomorrow. I’m glad she pushed me into doing the blog as it was not something I ever thought of doing and I really and truly only did it for her sake.
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careful………the Geese might follow you like the Forest Gump minions!
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Yes, that’s true Wayne. They might say “enough is enough” and surround the car when I go to leave if I don’t treat them nicely and hand out treats.
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These are lovely action shots 🙂
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Thank you Anne – I am glad you like them! They do a fine job of walking and paddling around this park.
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This was a delightful post, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Thank you Anne, I thought I’d do something fun to “report” on my miles to date and these geese with their big feed waddling around were perfect!
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I love how you can read the thoughts of your fellow Canuck there! 😉 That goose will be keeping a close eye on you as you get that extra kilometer done before the year ends. I’m sure he’s impressed even if he does get more steps and paddles than you do. 🙂 And he has all those adult children to be proud of, feeding themselves. Good job, Papa!
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Yes Barbara, we fellow Canucks do read each other’s minds! It’s funny because it would appear that all the geese and ducks just kind of waddle around and meander, however, that’s not the case as you see here with these geese which were going pretty quickly out of the water. Those big feet do make me smile. All the geese ended up crossing the road (holding up all the cars) and meeting their cousins (I presume) in a big gathering. I had photos of them crossing the road and to the “meeting place” but I had a lot of shadows as it was later in the day, so I skipped using them. Papa was proud with his gang!
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Life through the eye of a goose! He’s got your number lady! Bring the treats!
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Yes, it was amusing to switch places for a while. I did that once with Parker when I took the wrong bag with me to the Park – instead of a store plastic bag with peanuts and seeds, I grabbed the store plastic bag of several garden gloves I bought on sale. I reached into the bag – oh, oh and had to leave. He was not amused so I wrote from his point of view. I had walked there, so had to go home, then return as I felt guilty. There are a few people that feed the geese and ducks at this park regularly – the park does not object like at other parks. A couple pulls up in a van and they roll a heavy five-gallon bucket down a ramp to scatter cracked corn. The ducks see them and go up the ramp and look in the bucket to help themselves first. I wrote about it once – very fun to watch, plus a woman brings a big bag of corn to feed the geese and ducks and also peanuts for the squirrels.
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Good to hear. Corn is better for them than stale bread.
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Yes, I don’t think people knew about waterfowl getting “angel wing” from eating bread instead of nourishing food until recently – by recently, maybe the last decade. I know I was surprised to learn that.
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I never heard of angel wing but you are right. It’s only been the past decade or two that the information came out. It’s like kibble for cats isn’t good yet people having been feeding them that for decades.
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I never heard of it until recently – it is a deformity that has several causes, including poor nutrition, but often from the way the weathers grow sideways instead of normally when they are young. In some cases, they can rehab the birds (ducks/geese/swans) by putting a sheath on the feathers, like a strait jacket to tame the flight feathers. They can no longer fly as their main flight feathers grow in crooked.
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Very cute photo-essay! I wonder if they’d like chicken feed? Probably but then you be mass attacked when they tried to get it all at once.
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Thank you Zazzy, I’m glad you liked it! Well, before I knew bread was bad for waterfowl, I took a bag of bread, that I had gotten an extra loaf (buy one, get one free) and made it into bite-size pieces to feed the ducks and geese at Council Point Park. The geese saw me and I scattered what I had left, they finished it and others flew over and I had none left and they chased after me, a big group of them. I made a run for it and slid in between a group of women walkers who were moseying along and I said I was dodging the geese. They didn’t bother the women nor me – whew, never did that again. I got chased by a swan when I was taking photos of him and his missus in the water, but I was nowhere near them, but he did not like that and came up on land and came after me. I had peanuts in my pocket so I tossed them to the swan and he stopped to eat them, so I got out of Dodge pronto!!
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You lead an interesting life, Linda!
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🙂 Thank you Zazzy! I have to tell you I was worried that day. It was icy at the Park and I was walking backward as it walked toward me. They are pretty tall when standing up and the gears were clicking in my brain as I walked backward, while hoping to not slip on the snow or ice patches. I planned to climb up onto a park bench thinking it could not climb, but yes, there was a big snapping beak and big wings to contend with … and of course I got in a few shots as soon I knew I was safe and it was munching down on peanuts. 🙂
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Cute story from the Geese’s perspective ! Great job doing all that walking, I try to walk every day. Today I did not, it’s pretty cold out and I don’t like the cold too much! I think it was 1 Celsius but at least no snow yet. A 2 1/2 hour drive from us, in Gravenhurst area, they received 140 cm of snow in the last 2 days. Crazy !
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Thank you Susan! I had those pictures of them walking and showing their big feet and big strides, so I thought it would be fun to turn the tables and let him talk for a change. I think I can make my goal unless the weather gets really bad and I have a Plan B and will walk in a nearby parking lot that is always plowed and salted to get my goal accomplished. We had bitter cold weather this morning, but no snow or ice, so I did six miles. We are getting some snow on Wednesday afternoon, but nothing like what they have in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula or what Gravenhurst has. Crazy and just a few weeks ago, you didn’t even really need a jacket.
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What a delightful post, Linda! I love the POV of the gander. He sure has a few bones to pick with you (or are those feathers?). I like how you developed your mileage challenge.
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Thank you Eilene – I am glad you liked this post! That gander had some issues with me for sure. I had all the goose walking/strutting pics and figured it would be perfect to “report” on my mileage. I used to give periodic updates but I hadn’t done so in awhile. When I just did one mile more than the previous year, when I got that done I posted the total, but continued to write down my daily totals but considered them gravy. It is a unique and fun way to keep track of my mileage!
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Miss Linda……………………………….you have a great imagination and a wonderful narrative writer………………………..I always enjoy your blogs………………………..and to get the point across of how many miles to walk yet to meet your annul goal!
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Thank you Ann Marie – you swell my head! I thought it would be funny to get the point across of how many more miles I had left to reach my goal, by using this gander who had a lot to say about me and goals. 🙂
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Mr. Goose – I presume that Linda is safe and that you are on her blog with permission? I certainly hope you and your family have not tied her up and left her in the marsh. That would be fowl.
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Thank you for rising to my defense JP – lucky for this goose I gave it permission to be my proxy for one post only. It was rather full of itself wasn’t it? Happily there was no fowl or foul play as to my well being. 🙂
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Goes beautifully with your wonderful photos. Good luck on completing. Beautiful photography. God bless you,Linda! 😇
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Thank you Raj – it was fun taking photos of these geese and I knew when I saw them, it would be great to use in conjunction with my walking regimen. I’m glad you liked them. I hope I make it – our weather has gotten ugly for a few days, but will rally back for the weekend.
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Welcome, Linda! ☺️ Thank you so much,u like my little comment. I wait for….
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