This morning I heard geese honking extremely close to the open window of our bedroom and when I looked out, I tilted my head up in the hopes of seeing them flying by. I could hear them honking but I couldn't see them...what the heck? Another pair of honks and I found the source: two Canadian Geese had landed on the grass next to our shop!! WOW!! That's a first!! I stared in disbelief, trying to figure out why they landed there. The seasonal pond is 500 feet away, and we didn't have bushels of cracked corn laying out for them, so I was totally perplexed. I ran into the office to tell Steve and he was just as stunned as I was. I went back to watch them standing there for a few minutes before they began to walk towards the house. I thought, "HEY!! If they get close enough, I can take pictures with the 100-400!!" So I thundered downstairs, swapped lenses, and bounded back up again, quietly positioning myself behind the curtain with just the lens poking through. Closer and closer they waddled, stopping now and again to stare up at the house. Past Lucky's Pond and then up the hill a little way...and finally back down and in a perfect position for pictures! YAY!!

I watched them for the next 20 minutes as they walked all over our large meadow and I finally understood what was probably going on. I am guessing that this is a young hen and her mate. She is the one who landed, and was checking our property for a possible nesting location. The male was very alert, and looked very confused as to why she was checking out our meadow, which would never do, as there is no pond near by. She was most interested in an old burn pile at the top of our larger meadow, which is now covered with grass and does have a very nice vantage point. She looked carefully for a while before finally abandoning it and walking through the meadow over to our granite valley. The male stayed on the burn pile keeping a look out while his crazy wife walked around. Finally, he walked over to her and they stood for a few moments, and then they waddled off towards the fence line to the next property and out of sight behind some trees. It's possible that they went to the pond on the next property, but I bet they finally flew off for better nesting spots with larger ponds than the small seasonal ponds here. Still, it was a wonderful visit by these beautiful geese, and I'm so happy that I got a few pictures to share!! :D

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956), popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, anthropologist, historian, orator, economist, teacher, editor, prolific writer, revolutionary and a revivalist for Buddhism in India. He was also the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. In 2012 he was chosen greatest Indian in a nationwide poll held by History TV and CNN-IBN. Wikipedia: B. R. Ambedkar