late winter -- wild geese

late winter – wild geese

on the ice-free pond resting

before flying north

Not all of the small farm ponds are ice-free, but on these late winter days, wherever they are half or fully open, you will see Canada Geese. They come in low, circle and land on the frigid water. They swim about or stand on the edge of the ice, thin and riddled with holes. They dabble in shallows or climb up on the banks, plucking at dead grasses. They land in fallow corn fields, scrounging for leftover seed. After they have rested and refueled, they fly on, north by east, in pairs and columns and shifting Vs, their arched wings pumping up and down slowly, steadily, gracefully.