Fine Day for an Outing

We were actually homebodies most of the day, catching up on yard work and gardening, but because we were home, we were able to see this family for the first time out back!

There have been two goose couples who've been honking and flapping at each other all spring on the pond, but I figured they might've just been yearlings who were trying to defend their territory. Most of the goslings in other ponds hatched in early May and have been very visible. I haven't seen these babies on our pond until today.

I was thrilled to see them -- it's been a couple of years since we've had a goose family. We do have foxes and coyotes around, but I assume that the nest is somewhere on the little island out in the middle of the pond. In any case, the parents have done an excellent job keeping them hidden until today, when they proudly paraded their brood around our little pond.