Monday, May 25, 2009

Chaps's first swim

It was a beautiful morning that inspired Bonita and I to have our coffee on the back deck. As we sat and pondered the potential of our Memorial Day's activities, we noticed ripples in the water of the lake down below, that were stirred from a gaggle of geese. These geese are sometimes a source of entertainment so without further discussion, Bonita snatched some bread, I grabbed the camera and we proceeded to take the frisky pair on a field trip to our backyard petting zoo.


Our backyard is a wonderful place that provides refuge and food to all sorts of wildlife, it's the reason that we chose this to be home. The view from our second story porch is surrounded with trees and at least to me, it feels like a tree house all nestled in the branches of the nearby acorn tree whose limbs reach right up to the side of the porch. There's lots of song birds that sing us sweet tunes and chipmunks, rabbits and squirrels for our pleasure. This morning we could hear the caulking of a pileated woodpecker and his occasional drumming on wood. His call is reminds me of an exotic bird from the tropics, and the drumming is loud and pounding.


So off we go, down to our dock, to visit with the resident geese. Bonita started chumming the water with bread while Chap and Pea ran round the deck in a flurry. The geese began honking loudly and swooshing around competing for food. It's interesting to watch the male geese lower their heads just above the water and swim straight at the others to protect what they perceive to be their territory. As these long necked critters swarm, Chap leaned over the edge to get a closer look. But the venture was more than this young southern boy could bear, as his self containment fell victim to live for the moment and within a twinkling, Chap was taking the plunge into the water. In the sultry south, there's nothing quite like a cool waters swim to shock the body from its hot summers sweat, but this was a morning of sixty degrees and the water was equally as cold. Even so, Chap seemed quite happy to be among the waterfowl just swimming arms length from the docks edge.


Bonita seemed more than surprised and in a panic began to call him ashore. Chap vanished under the dock and then popped up on the left, vanished again and popped up on the right, seeming to taunt Bonita's cry. His moments of pleasure were only hampered by deciding which plot of land he'd pick to come ashore.




The rest of the morning we sat on the dock and watched the pair as they watched the geese, equally inquisitive of these strange and odd creatures. Memories serve my visions of Major on this very dock, as his desires fell victim to the water just below, while enjoying this wildlife treasure.

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