The geese are here! The geese are here!!!
Now, I realize that those people who’ve never lived in the cold north will not appreciate the significance of this, but let me just say…THIS MEANS SPRING IS COMING! The snow is starting to melt and the geese are finding enough bare fields and open waterways to survive. YAY! That can only mean good things – the geese are usually followed by pussy willows, tentative new blades of grass, frogs croaking… I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
Up here in Canada, our hearts start to sing the moment we hear the first honking of the geese. I was climbing out of the van on Saturday when I heard and then saw the flock above my head, flying in the familiar V pattern. My mood was instantly lifted. Soon we will be able to shed these extra layers of clothes and slip our feet into sandals.
If my dad were still alive, we’d go home to the farm in the spring and check his calendar to see when he heard the first sign of frogs. Each spring, he celebrated their arrival by marking it on his calendar. When I heard frogs in Africa, it reminded me of springtime and Dad.