The Teeth of Geese

Firstly, thank you for everyone who commented and left hearts and stars yesterday.  I feel that we are very much all in this together, no matter where in the world we are.  I confess that I was feeling very down yesterday, but all the thoughtful and heartfelt comments really lifted my spirits, so thank you.

Today I met with two birder friends for a socially distant, masked walk in a birdy area about a half hour from here.  The area is a combination fish hatchery, athletic fields and park trails.  In the winter, it is always a haven for green-winged teal, snipe and killdeer along with the ubiquitous Canada Geese.  We missed finding any snipe today, but did manage an impressive 34 species - mostly we just enjoyed being out in the sunshine and talking about anything other than politics and sadness.

We came across this lone Canada Goose who started following us.  Very odd and we wondered if it might be ill, but could see nothing wrong with it.  Then, one of my friends speculated that it may have been a Canada Goose that had been human-raised and then turned out in the park.  Although there were a huge number of Canada Geese a short ways away, this one was clearly all alone, and not shy of humans.  I do hope it will be okay.  

Meanwhile, he was a very cooperative photo subject, to my delight.  And I discovered something I never knew - in addition to the "teeth" on the edges of their beak, they also have teeth along the outer edge of their tongue!  What a surprise it was to see that when I put the image up on the computer.  

So far, the news from the race track is good.  This morning they had the car out for several practice runs and this afternoon they are doing the qualifying runs for start positions.  Tonight they have several hours on the track after dark for more practice.  Hubs says the engine is still a bit twitchy and he's really not sure it will make the full 12 hours, but time will tell.  He had a major plumbing problem in the RV when he got there last night so now has no water in the rig.  Luckily, there are bathrooms near where he's parked and also a locker room with showers.  That said, I'm glad I'm here with fully functional utilities!  

Tonight is my bi-weekly zoom cocktail hour with my besties.  Always a good time - not quite the same as being together somewhere sipping wine, but it is what it is.  

Please stay safe and take care.  And don't forget to be kind - to yourself and others.

xo
Debbi