Geese, interrupted

 A flock of Canada geese were feeding among the newly-leafed willows on the shore of Buttle Lake. A man came down the bank carrying a yellow kayak, and the geese walked, calmly, silently, in no hurry, into the water and swam towards the far shore. As soon as the man and his kayak were out of the way, just a retreating red and yellow streak on the water, the geese came back to the willows. By then, I had reached the shore. The geese ignored me; no kayak, no way to approach any closer?

Four geese.

Three more geese.

And the same three. Because I couldn't decide which of these two photos to use.

The geese returned to the willow thicket; I turned away and headed back to the shelter of the evergreens. I did wonder what the geese had been eating, down on the ground under the willows. Where I examined the  ground on the outskirts of the the willow patch, there was just sand, more sand, and a few wild strawberry plants. Maybe they were harvesting fallen male catkins, which drop as soon as they have released their  pollen. The female catkins stay on the branches longer, while they produce their seeds.

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Una bandada de gansos canadienses estaban pastando entre los sauces cubiertos de hojitas nuevas, en la orilla del Lago Buttle, cuando un hombre llevando un kayak amarillo bajó desde los sitios de acampar. Los gansos entonces se fueron caminando, tranquilamente, en silencio, sin apuros, hasta llegar al agua e irse nadando hacia la orilla opuesta. Y en cuanto el intruso se había alejado hasta ser nada más una mancha roja con amarillo sobre el agua en la distancia, regresaron. Yo ya había alcanzado la orilla, pero los gansos no me hicieron caso. ¿Será porque no cargaba un kayak, y no tenía con que acercarme más? 

Los gansos regresaron al bosquecito de sauces y yo a la sombra de los árboles coníferos. Pero no sin detenerme primero a examinar el suelo cerca de los sauces; ¿qué estarían comiendo los gansos allí? Encontré solamente arena, mucha arena, y unas pocas plantitas de fresa silvestre. Tal vez estaban cosechando las candelillas masculinas de los sauces, las cuales se caen en cuanto terminan de esparcir su polen. Las candelillas femeninas todavía permanecen en las ramas hasta haber producido las semillas.

Fotos: 4 gansos, luego 3, y los mismos 3, porque no pude decidir cual de las dos fotos me gustaba más.

Early leaves

Green is bursting out all over. I walked down the Myrt Thompson trail, that follows a spit of land in the middle of the Campbell River down to the estuary.

The river breaks itself into several channels here. Low water today: sometimes it covers those grassy banks. I think the new leaves on the right are elderberry. They put out large leaves very quickly. A couple of black specks on the far shore (on the left) are a pair of eagles.

Red alder leaves and overwintering cones.

Willow catkins and baby leaves.

Looking downriver, out to the ocean and Quadra Island. And more new green leaves.

Willow catkins

Oh, joy!