wobblerlorri | The year's winding down...

I woke up this morning, snug under my quilt (temp was 43 degrees F), to the lonely sound of migrating Canada geese. Next to the mournful wail of a train at 2 am, there's nothing wilder and more evocative of change and time moving on than the call of the geese to each other as they head south.

The migrating flock is usually composed of related family groups -- these geese mate for life, and their family groups remain close, with flocks being composed of parents and offspring of previous years. The males generally initiate the flights, but the females lead and the males bring up the rear. The leading goose in the V formation acts as a trailblazer for the others, who use the air current created by the leader to help them fly with less effort. They switch out leaders regularly, so each individual gets a chance to rest on the draft of the others.

I love to watch them fly, but I hate to see them on the ground. They're messy, aggressive bastards and will graze down grass until it's gone.