Give Peeps a Chance

One of the many privileges of working for my employer of the last several years is our beautiful campus. We have plenty of green space, and the landscape designers went to the trouble of recreating the small streams and wetlands that occur naturally just a few miles up the road from here. As such, we have a plentiful supply of wildlife just outside our windows. I see nutria, Canada geese, ducks, and herons on a daily basis. And on several occasions I've even seen deer.

The resident population of Canada geese can range from just a few pairs of "permanent" dwellers all the way up to 150+ migrating geese enjoying some respite for a few days (or even weeks) at a time. While I love sharing the campus with these beautiful fowl, I know a number of folks who are less than excited about the abundance of goose poop on the sidewalks. And then, of course, there are the handful of people who are deathly afraid of birds. Watching those individuals take some very circuitous and inventive routes across campus to avoid them is practically a spectator sport. I think perhaps the geese take some sadistic pleasure in hissing at and chasing those people, who squeal and bolt like frightened bunnies. Me? I'm the Goose Whisperer. I speak to them softly as I walk by, and they let me pass in peace, and sometimes even chat back.

My *favorite* time of the year on campus is April because of -- you guessed it -- the goslings!! We've had three newly-hatched broods in the past 2 1/2 weeks, so I took advantage of the clear skies on Friday to go out on a little photo safari at lunchtime.

It's really not fair to the rest of the universe to have this much cuteness concentrated in such a small area. Brace yourselves -- this may hurt a little. :o)

This first set of 7 was about 2 weeks old at the time of the photos...












By comparison, this next group of 5 was only 3-4 days old at the time the photos were taken. They grow at an astounding rate, believe me!











And finally, just in case you haven't reached the cuteness saturation point, here are the newest 2 goslings, who just joined this world about 20 hours prior to their photo shoot today...







So there you have it. In a world faced with economic crisis and deadly weather phenomena, there is still new life and goodness all around. As they say, give peeps a chance.