Make me Gaggle

In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love...

-Alfred, Lord Tennyson

So it's springtime at the condo.  We knew that winter was over when George and Gracie returned from their winter in the south.  I don't know that I've introduced George and Gracie, so here goes.  They are geese - possibly of the Canadian variety - I don't know much about geese, but they sure look like the goose on the Wikipedia page, so I'm going to assume.

Anyway, it was early February, shortly after a fatwa was issued against the Punxsutawney Phil, when George and Gracie returned.  We were pleased to see them and I greeted them and took this picture as I was leaving for work that morning.  How nice...

 

But then, the VERY NEXT MORNING, as I'm leaving for work, I took THIS picture.

 

Yup, that's snow covering the lake behind them.... and a rather obnoxious electrical line in the pic... I'm not good a Photo Shop or I'd have edited it out.  So yeah, they left their nice condo in Florida and return home to Arbor Valley, and we welcome them with snow.  In fact, that evening when I went out to my car after work, it look like this:

Although it took about a month, spring finally DID come.  The trees are greening out, and flowers are blooming, and what is that lump in the short grass by the lake?  Oh, my.. our George and Gracie are going to be parents!  On April 1st, we first noticed that Gracie had made a nest.  Like all good moms, she sits there night and day, sun or rain, and takes care of her babies.  Occasionally, she does hop in the lake for a swim and a light nosh, but otherwise, she's there.

George, on the other hand, patrols the parking lot.  I have to be careful backing out of the garage.  Not because Gracie and her next are directly behind our garage - I'm not likely to back my car into her or the lake, but because I can't be sure where George is.  And frankly, when I leave for work, I haven't had my coffee yet and I never think to actually LOOK for him until after I have the car halfway out of the garage.  Don't judge me.

George also likes to hang with Fred and Ethel... two Mallard ducks that also reside in our lake ... so don't think he's always on patrol. 

Mom keeps an eye out and, when she saw that Gracie was taking a break, got her binoculars out and has determined that there are four eggs in the nest.  Wikipedia, that bastion of knowledge of the 21st Century, advises that the eggs will take 24-28 days to incubate before they hatch.  So we're looking at close to the end of April.

The next dilemma is what are we going to name them?  I don't think George and Gracie Burns had children.  Any who, I, in my infinite wit and wisdom, decided that collectively, the children will be christened "Ryan Gosling."  I'll be sure to post a pic of George, Gracie and Ryan Gosling once the time comes, but until then, here's a cute pic stolen from Wikipedia.