First Nature Walk of 2011

I turned in my last assignment and took my last exam. Although, the semester is not officially over for a few more days, I am mostly done. I've maintained my GPA and look forward to the summer break. Three months of being with the kids. This is a very good thing because fall 2011/spring 2012 will be my toughest yet. I'll be moving from part time school to full time. Then, I'll be done. One year from now the posting will be of my graduation.

To kick off our free time, the kiddos and I went to one of my favorite parks/nature preserves. There is a wonderful walking path which we had to stay on for safety and for the protection of the animals. But it was the perfect time because all the geese were having their babies. The ducks will follow in a few weeks. I just love their sweet fuzziness and I wish I could have captured their sweet whispy cheeping sounds.

Geese are incredible parents. I often think there is much I could learn from their attentiveness and diligence. But they can be quite hostile toward each other when protecting their young. T Rex, Bebe Sister, and I were walking along the path and one goose flew into the water. Another jumped over and chased it out of the water. It came running toward us and then another came after it. We were smack dab in the middle of the chaos. Initially, T Rex was quite concerned by this. Then he thought it was great fun. Me - I just wanted to get out of there. These were Greater Canadian Geese - meaning very large geese. I bet it could have knocked me down.

Despite all the goose excitement, it was a delightful walk and just what we needed after a tough spring semester.

Enjoy the photos...

T Rex was great about sticking close and not disturbing the animals.

Bebe Sister rode snuggly on my back.

This really captured the glee T Rex had being there.

Everything is finally starting to bloom here. I love the colors in nature.

I've never seen a goose nest (nido as T Rex calls them) before. He was asking to see the "huevos". We waited but she never left her "nido" for us to peak at the eggs.

The classic, typical goose family. The couples do mate for life.

This photo is of two goose families who are tag teaming tending the goslings.



"Mr. and Mrs. Pato" as designated by T Rex - we might have been having  a Spanish lesson during our nature walk.

T Rex checking out an ancient tree trunk. We could not get too close because there was a goose family nesting right by there.

This week, I'm sharing videos. Here is an interview with T Rex during our walk. He was quite distracted by a goose that flew onto a nearby building. Geese get a little odd this time of year.