Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices Photo Challenge: Nature–New life

“Nature” is a particularly appropriate theme at this time of year when life is burgeoning everywhere.  Plants have edged their way out of the formerly frozen ground and are blossoming.  Baby birds and animals are growing rapidly into “teenagers” and all too soon will be adults.

A few blocks from our house is a small lake with a paved path and enough plants and wildlife to give the feeling of being away from the suburbs, despite streets on two sides, houses on one and the back of a grocery store on the other.  The lake is home to a large number of geese whose major contribution often seems to be festooning the path with their droppings.

In spring, the goslings arrive, lending with their cuteness, a momentary charm to birds that can be a bit annoying.  Starting as tiny balls of yellow fluff, they move rapidly into the teenage phase, trailing behind their parents, pecking madly at whatever they find in the grass or floating in a serene flotilla on the lake.  This is the time when the grown geese become protective and aggressive, greeting walkers with the sinuously moving curves of neck, beady eyes and becks darting and emitting hisses.  Although I’ve become adept at hissing back, I keep a wary eye and a good distance from them, which makes taking a photo with a phone difficult.  If you stop, you become the immediate target of the adults.

As I neared a family during this walk, I paused at a non-threatening distance to text a quick message back to one of our daughters, something I rarely bother to do when on a walk.  When I looked up, the goslings were about six feet away from me, parents behind them, and still approaching.  Without moving, I quickly took a number of photos before moving away.  As long as I was still, the adults didn’t perceive me as a threat, but as soon as I moved, they went on high alert.