Goosey, Goosey, Gander...

I'd just popped in with Jake to visit his granny and auntie on Sunday morning for a quick cup of coffee, when my mom phoned me to tell me I had to get to her house ASAP with my camera.  Turns out a family of Egyptian Geese were parading down the street with their freshly hatched goslings.  I was surprised to see how many people had come out into the street to try keep this precious family from getting hit by a speeding motorist.  And to rescue one or two babies when they fell down a storm water drain.  Fortunately, or unfortunately for you, I missed that part, but Jake and I arrived just in time to help usher this little family safely into my parent's neighbours (Izak & Hester, who've lived there for as long as I can remember) garden.  They have a gate that opens up into the field behind their house, so that was our goal...

 but when we got to their house, the geese made a turn into the garden, instead of heading through the garage to the back.  With all the spectators following them into the garden, the swimming pool was a safe escape for them...

 The babies plopped in after their mom and huddled close.  Getting in was easy, getting out, not so much...

 Jake doing a quick bee rescue.  He's good like that; he knows bees are precious...

Having the goslings in the water meant that I could take some photos without having to worry too much about an attack from one of the bigger geese.  The male was incredibly protective, while the goslings trailed their mom.  He even performed a spectacular dive bomb, beak first, on poor Izak...

 Precious little fluff balls...  Can't we keep them?? 

 Wide eyed with fear, the mommy made sure her babies were nearby at all times...

 "Now listen here, kids, I want you all to swim as close to me as possible.  Stay away from the sides..."

 They were fortunate enough to pick one of the prettiest gardens I know of (besides my own, of course) to take a dip in...

 The goslings got tired quite quickly and below is one hitching a ride on his mom's back...

 When both adult geese got out the water, Izak used his pool net to scoop the babies out of the water onto dry ground.  You can just see how protective they are.  Check the father all ready to attack if he needs to...

 Last one safely on the side and everyone relaxes a little...

 And gets dried off...

 Checking out the garden... 

 See?  It really is such a pretty garden, I'm sure they wished they could stay...

 But it was time to start directing them off to the back garden and then on to the field.  Dad takes the lead, mom follows with her tiny brood...

 Through the back they go, honking noisily all the way, towards the gate and freedom...

 Izak & Hester have a double storey house, with a balcony that looks out into the veld (field) behind.  It's so pretty this time of year and after they burnt a lot of the ground earlier this year, every thing's blossoming...

 And from the balcony, we could see the geese relaxing...

 Jake loved every moment of this little adventure... 

 The geese eventually found a little pond and were happily splashing around by the time we left...

I do love a story with a happy ending and it was so special to be a part of getting these birds back to safety.

 

With love,

Sue X