How do you spell relief?

“Ducks, geese and wildlife – oh my”

I worried about my lonely, only goose facing a harsh, hungry and sometimes cruel world alone. So I went searching again. At first all I saw in the field was a flock of crows – a total of seven in all – picking their way through the stubble in the hayfield.

Closer to the road there were two ducks also snacking on the new sprouts breaking through the no-longer-frozen ground.

But I was still concerned about my goose. Just as I was about to leave Mulberry Lane, I glanced left and there, in the middle of the other field, there were two geese nibbling away.

They seemed to be doing their best to ignore each other.

I drove down the Earnhardt Road and discovered, to my delight, another pair of geese paddling through the slough. That’s how I spell ‘relief’. Although I know coyotes have to eat and feed their young too, I’m glad my feathered ‘friends’ didn’t end up as the main course, at least this time.

When we lived on our wee farm in Smiths Creek there was a pair of geese who came every year to nest and raise their goslings before heading north. We christened them “Fred” and “Ethel”. Although they’re no doubt long gone, perhaps these two are decendents – or not – so I christened them “Ricky” and “Lucy”, sticking with the theme. Don’t worry if you don’t ‘get’ it – you might be a titch too young!