What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Okay, Here's a Happier Ending to the Goose Saga

After this morning's sad tale of woe about our goose family, I knew I couldn't rest until we had some kind of "closure" to this saga.  I appreciate all of the kind comments on both Lily's and my posts regarding the baby goslings and all the drama surrounding them.

So this morning, as I posted earlier today, Mother and Father Goose visited us again briefly. Not only did they come up into our yard and eat some birdseed, but they swam around the pond again and then they both went up onshore of the island and explored the remains of their nest. This is how I know for certain it was our resident goose couple. No other couple would have known exactly where to to go up on the island and look at the nest, and then they came back down and into the water. I wonder if they were still looking for their lost baby? It really made me wonder.  And then, shortly after leaving the nest, they both started their honking to signal everyone that they were getting ready for takeoff. And sure enough they got their wings flapping and off they went, up and right over the top of our house, close enough that we could see their feet and and wings and faces as they flew over. It was as if they were saying a final farewell to their nest and to us.


Well, after that I told hubby that "You know, we could take a little ride over to the other lake and look around..."   At first he was reluctant, wanting to put this whole sad episode behind us. But I think he was just as curious as I was and he finally gave in.  So we drove the few blocks over to where the big lake is, and the first thing we saw was two adult geese in one of the neighboring front yards, eating bread that had been thrown out for them. They were gobbling it up with a voracious appetite....   Dummy me, I didn't take any pictures of that. I couldn't decide if they were our geese or not, and there was no sign of any goslings around them. And then we decided to take a ride down a side street that goes around the other side of the lake.

And guess what I saw?  I yelled, "Stop the car! There they are!!!"


There was Mother and Father goose, and at least two goslings, walking around on the grass beside the lake.  They were quite far from me and there was fence that I could not enter to get any closer, so these pictures are the best I could do from a distance.

Now, I was only able to count two goslings in these pictures for certain, but they were moving around so fast and I really wasn't sure if there was another one or not.


There could have been three, but I can't guarantee it.



But, even if there were only two, we were so happy and relieved to see them there that we rejoiced and gave thanks for a much happier ending to this story than we first believed.

And as for my questions regarding the parents leaving their babies this morning to come back to  our pond for a little while, here is what I found out when I googled that question:

"Canada geese parents bring their goslings together in flocks known as "creches" and the goslings are communally looked after by all the adults. It's like a big kindergarten with the adults sharing the babysitting duties."  http://www.about.lovecanadageese.com/gang.html#:~:text=Canada%20geese%20parents%20bring%20their,adults%20sharing%20the%20babysitting%20duties.

So, were there other adult geese available to "babysit" the goslings this morning?  Yes, indeed there were:

There were at least two other couples swimming in this lake, and they swam over to the shore where our family was while I was watching...


Looks like this could be a "commune" of geese, and perhaps they do share babysitting duties. No wonder our family was so anxious to get over there yesterday! This is their extended family!



And so, I leave you today with these happier thoughts and a nicer ending to our goose family saga.


I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to share this with you, because so many of you were saddened at the previous news just like I was.


These pictures do look more like just two goslings, but there is a little yellow ball of something to the right of Father's tail feathers below peeping up over the hill. What do you think? It could be #3. But either way, this family looks much happier than what I feared, and I must say,
"God is good! All the time, God is good!"


If there are any more happy updates, I will let you know. But for now we will end this little Goose Saga and go sit on my swing with Lily Grace and have a cup of tea.
Lily Grace says hi and sends her love to all of you!


And we both say hi and thank you for visiting with us today.


Our little words of encouragement today come from my tea mug and from Hans Christian Anderson:
"The whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to them we call them ordinary things"



Perhaps we've all witnessed some miracles today that we called an ordinary thing?
Be sure to give God the glory and thanks for these "ordinary things."

Have a blessed and wonderful day my friends.



 In case you missed the first original post about the Special Delivery of the goslings, click HERE


27 comments:

  1. AWESOME NEWS! Smiles. Waving to my girl Ms. Lily Grace, grin.

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    1. And Lily Grace is waving back at you, with a big grin!! Thank you for visiting! You always make us smile!

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  2. I have been reading all the posts and am encouraged by this most recent one. You and I both have tender hearts for all of God’s creatures. I have four little birds who soon will fledge and I am praying they all survive. Waving to you and Lily Grace😘

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    1. We are waving back at you!! Thank you for visiting and sharing the emotions of these moments with us. It's been kind of an up and down couple of days, but we feel much better now knowing they are safely over there and hopefully they will stay that way. God is good! Bye for now.

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  3. It is good to hear a happier ending.

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    1. Yes, I think we all needed that! That is why I couldn't wait until tomorrow to share this post. I know I needed it!! LOL. Have a blessed evening.

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    1. Thank you so much. I am glad you enjoyed these little stories. All God's creatures are special! Have a blessed day my friend.

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  5. I'm glad you went out searching. I'm still holding out hope that all four of the babies will show up.

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    1. I know what you mean, Martha. I keep looking out my window and wondering if the little one could have survived out there by himself, but I have to be realistic in this wild territory. But at least we know there are definitely two goslings and hopefully a third one too. I just couldn't tell for sure. Maybe I can talk hubby into going back over there tomorrow, but then again, I think I just want to enjoy the happy ending we have now and not push it. I hope you have a blessed rest of your week.

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  6. That is definitely a happier ending! Make me so happy!! Thanks for the update!

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    1. I am so glad we could end up with a happier ending too! I don't feel quite so guilty now for holding them back from making their first attempt across the road...
      I am sure it has all worked out for the best. Whew!! :)

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  7. I love that you and your husband can go "gandering" off together like this and then report such a happy ending with those wonderful pictures. What a great treat! God does indeed care for His creation and I'm guessing it gave Him pleasure to see two of his children seeking after the welfare of a family of geese. Sweet!

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    1. Thank you for your sweet thoughts. I sometimes wonder if God just scratches His head when He watches us. We are kind of like those baby goslings wandering around exploring and getting ourselves into mischief sometimes, but our heart is in the right place, and He knows our hearts best of all. I am happy to see you back here in blogland with us. You are always a great encourager. Thank you.

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  8. Love your post today, so happy to see the goose family together, and absolutely to God be the glory!! Tell Lily Grace I waved back to her, she is so stinkin' cute. I see you're enjoying your new swing, swinging, singing, praying while enjoying a good cup of tea (coffee for me) and all of God's wonders!!! Oh, and of course, time with sweet Lily Grace.

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    1. Thank you, Mary! It is always so good to hear from you. I miss you here in Blogland. Yes, today turned out a bit better than yesterday, regarding the geese. I feel much more at peace about them now and can let go and let God handle them instead of getting in the way!! Lesson learned. And yes, I am enjoying the swing...and I am trying to get back into singing and swinging and spending that time with the Lord. Sometimes I get too distracted, but I pray God will redirect my thoughts back to Him and what HE is doing in every situation. We are so blessed to be His children, aren't we? And yes, Lily Grace sends her love and is waving back at you. She is a sweet little thing. Apparently God knew I needed her... Have a blessed week my friend.

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  9. Oh! I wanted to tell you, I had just seen that goslings will go with other goslings sometimes! They get swept up in the other family, and this is very common, often when they are swimming by or walking by! So maybe the other two are with the other goslings with another set of parents. Thank you for the update.

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  10. So glad there is a happy ending to the gosling saga, Pamela! Hopefully, #3 is there somewhere, too, maybe lingering with the babysitters. Who knows? Great photos, too!
    Blessings!

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  11. So much better ending. Thank you for sharing. And I hope Olde Dame Holly's comment above is what's going on.

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  12. Amybelle is WAVING BACK!!--you know how SHE is the "waver" in our lil family, or so Tracie says, ha ha LOL. Anyway..goodness gracious I feel like I've been through the wringer with you this week with all the happenings with the lil goslings....so many twists and turns!! I had so hoped they would be born, then was so thrilled when the Mommy and Daddy CLEARLY brought them to show them to you...then the scary day and the sad day and then they came BACK........then go then come back----MERCY!! I can't even keep it all straight now, LOL!! But I just hope they are safe and on their way to wherever it is God is steering them to go now, with their sweet lil babies. I keep thinking maybe that "missing" one was just in the safe care of a babysitter and they went back and got her.....guess can hope right? Anyway, hope you're having a wonderful and blessed day down there, it is sunny and very warm here, we had to turn out air on. (I much prefer windows thrown open to fresh breezes!) Love the cute pictures of you in your new swing....that is a real nice swing, I love it. I can see that you are enjoying it and you look so pretty sitting there with little Lily! Girlfriend I sure wish I had your pretty curly hair!!! Lucky you! Hugs

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    1. Just a quick reply as I am off to choir practice in a little while...it's a perm! My own "pretty curly hair" lost its natural curl years ago, and so now I rely on body perms to give it some body and curl. But thank you for your sweet compliment. I'll have to get back to these comments later. Love ya.

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  13. A very touching, as well as informative, story. My heart is so tender these days (you know why). I was afraid to read this story. I am so glad it turned out happy. We learn the ways of God and valuable life lessons through nature.

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    1. Oh, Barbara, I am so sorry...I know every sad story is magnified when we are going through our own sad story. I truly understand. But yes, we can learn valuable life lessons through nature, because God created nature and gave it to us for our enjoyment as well as our care as much as possible. But I learned this week not to interfere with nature's ways of doing things by trying to impose my rules and feelings upon them and perhaps getting in the way of their own best way of doing things. Sometimes we humans try to keep things from happening because of our own fear or misunderstanding of God's bigger picture. It's a very hard lesson to learn and not a happy place to be...but when we know the love of God, we know His ways are best, even when they may not be "our way". Hard to learn this...believe me, I do know.

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  14. Awwww 💛! Thanks so much for this happy update, Pam.
    I was thinking of you this morning ... we'd taken a ride and encountered all sorts of geese. Sadly, there were no goslings, but I love how the 'grown-ups' strut and preen about.

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  15. So glad to hear the happier ending! That is so interesting that Canada geese bring their babies into these groups and communally look after them. I had no idea!

    Love your mug and the beautiful sentiment/quote from Hans Christian Andersen. So very true!

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  16. How wonderful to be able to observe God's creatures first hand like that! I need to catch up on the whole goose story but at least this one has a fairly happy closure. I love to see how animals and birds care for their young and how they build families. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  17. Pam: Very interesting post. I love the message on your cup. See you later. Got to get ready to help fix supper. Peace and Blessings.

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