Hopelessly Devoted

It's springtime, and the amount of bird activity that is going on everywhere is mind-boggling! I can't seem to get enough of them. I seek out local ponds where I can watch the spring displays, the mating rituals, the tender moments.

On this morning, I stopped by one of those ponds where several pairs of Canada geese were hanging out, and I discovered lots of splishing and splashing going on. The goose on the left (the female?) was taking a long and luxurious bath. She dipped her head in the water, and the beads of water glistened and shone as they rolled off her body. She did it again and again, clearly enjoying the bath.

This photo was taken near the end of the bath. She put her head under the water, drew it back, let the water drip down all over her, and then flung her wings open in a great big stretch, followed by a shaking of the beak that sent water flying everywhere.

And by her side, her mate stood watch over her. He was never further than a foot or so away from her the entire time, and he kept moving his head around, clearly standing watch. A lady must have her morning bath, and he would make sure that it would be a safe one.

I admired their pair bond, and it made me stop and think about the nature of love. While love can be manifested in grand gestures, so much of real, everyday love is found in the little things. A moment shared in silence. A tender look. A gentle touch. And not the least of all, a watchful eye over the lady as she enjoys the simple pleasures of life, like a long and luxurious bath.

One of the benefits of having a camera with a zoom like mine (50X) is that it can really bring the wildlife (and the moon!) to you. I did enjoy birds before, but I admit I didn't know much about them. Now that I have this camera, and I can see the birds even better, I like getting up close and personal with them. (Well, as up close and personal as a girl needs to be, from fifty or more feet away sitting inside her parked car with the window down.)

I am charmed by their habits and increasingly led to seek out information about them. Here is a link to more information about this bird, via the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. A fun fact from that page: "The oldest known wild Canada Goose was 30 years 4 months old."

The song link for the day came to me in an instant. It's a love song, of course, and when I was a girl, this was one of the most romantic songs I had ever heard. The ever lovely Olivia Newton-John, with a song from 1978, Hopelessly Devoted to You.