Food?

These geese are hoping that the little guy has some food for them. Meanwhile, he;s hoping the geese will take grass from his hand. They're all disappointed!

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/400
Exposure Program	Aperture-priority AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

The winter stroll

I use the definite article - 'The' winter stroll because this is it - there wasn't an earlier stroll and there most probably won't be a later one.  There's been no winter this year!  I don't know how to describe my feelings... I felt compelled to go out and get a whole season worth of photos in just one afternoon.  That's impossible, of course - the sun is already too high in the sky and the shadows are... well they don't match what I see in January.

This is my favourite spot down in the bottom of Vale Cemetery; the upper pond.  The construction equipment is gone and the snow is covering up the recent earth-moving.  The city's busiest street is in front of us, up the hill a few thousand feet away but not a whisper of that traffic reaches down into this quiet little valley.  The crows are active today; wheeling and jousting with the blue jays, they make the only sound except for the trickle of melting snow and the crunching of my boots in the snow.  These geese are migratory; they weren't here a few weeks ago.  So they have already begun moving back south for their summer family time.

The water is only a few feet deep here, but against the white snow it seems as deep as an ancient Scottish loch, and with the quiet all around me, I can indulge my fantasy of travel, imagining myself in a Highland valley waiting for the sun to wheel overhead and bring news of the next season.

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/125
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Gulls and geese

Behind the community college, gulls and geese don't mind sharing the same patch of open water.  Looking over the ice to the other side, one can see how low the river is when the lock impound dams are opened up each year.

F Number	11.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/800
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Geese at SCCC

There is a patch of open water on the watery cul-de-sac behind the community college.  Canada geese have stopped here; I can only guess that these are an early contingent heading north.  This was frozen solid two weeks ago.

They didn't want to shake my hand, but they weren't too disturbed by my presence either.  You can see how little the ice has receded up the bank.  In a week where I'm standing will be impassable mud. hip deep!

F Number	11.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Spring day at the park

A warm spring day and we went to see the geese and ducks at Central Park's duck pond. The backpack holds bread for the critters and snacks for the people. We were both wearing shorts and aloha shirts (from Hawai'i) and were thoroughly happy about being in the sun again!

Skywatch Friday

Being Friday, it's time for another edition of Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see skies from all over the world!

This probably looks pretty bad in the small size, but that's about how it looked to me when I heard them. These are Canada Geese, flying north for the summer. Somebody's breaking the rules - they ought to be flying in a vee formation. This bunch is flying in the Uluru formation!

Skywatch Friday

A rare, perfectly cloudless day. And the geese are flying south for the winter...

Visit Skywatch Friday to see the skies of other participants. They're incredible!

Cattails

In the spring, the cattails are all dried up and shedding their seeds. Instead of the compact, brown beauties we see in the autumn, we see these downy creations in their stead.

My youngest and I trekked through the swamp in the bottom of Vale (not sure if it's the cemetery here or the park) and had a grand adventure watching for frogs and snakes and crayfish and fish and several species of birds.

This day, we saw a woodpecker - hard to see; easy to hear - mallard ducks and Canada geese. In fact, a pair of geese are swimming toward us in the photo. The male was banded round his neck with a plastic band and large black numbers that were easy to read from a distance. The female had no band.

We did see small fish in the shallows, but the crayfish were apparently all hiding from the sun, because we didn't see any. Walking through the cattails was somewhat laborious because rubbing up against them dislodged the seeds on their downy parachutes and they easily get up your nose and cover your clothes in very persistent down! It was a wonderful day down by the water. Speaking of which: I can't find a name for the pond here although some very old maps name the stream that feeds it Cowhorn Creek.

Canada geese

There was a flock of geese as well as some ducks at the Duck Pond in Central Park. We were walking the dogs, and decided to let the missus walk the dogs whilst myself and the youngest checked out the waterfowl. He's off in the distance with his blue jacket on.

The geese weren't particularly afraid of people even though these are wild birds. There are enough people around that they are incautious. I was about 5 feet (1.5m) away when I took this photo.

Skywatch Friday

It's another Skywatch Friday. Click the link for the other, official participants.

Yes, it's still grey. We had some hours of sun here and there, but this is upstate NY and this is what winter's like.

Well, winter is almost over, and these Canada Geese are a happy sonic reminder of that. I can hear them honking away as they fly back north from their winter in the sunny south. I got lucky and this flock flew overhead when I was outside with the camera.

I can't explain why, but these geese always make me smile as they fly overhead, mindless of the worries and troubles of those of us who are earthbound.

Geese flying south

Canada Geese flying south.

I was in the house puttering around with something or other when I heard them. They are so common that I almost didn't think to take their photo as they flew over the house. See you in the spring...

Here's a 37 second video from YouTube. They really sound like this!

Canada Geese

In Central Park, back away from the main action is a baseball field with a wide swale around it. For the past week or so, this flock of Canada Geese has been foraging here. They summer here, raise their families and then fly south to warmer climes when autumn approaches.

This is a very iconic image of this area, and of these geese in particular. There will always be at least one goose standing tall, watching for strange activities (like photographers!) whilst the rest feed or relax.

I have to admit they seem more beautiful to me when in flight - on the ground they leave quite a mess. They are a very common sight here anywhere there is a small body of water with a clearing nearby. Watch where you step!