Don�t Geese Have Calendars?

This morning, while sipping my (crucial) second cup of coffee, I shook my head, chuckled and said to self: �I must still be half asleep because I swear I just heard the sound of geese outside, which can�t be because it�s December and they�ve all left for the south�

And self said: �Maybe not all of them...�

So I ran to the window with my camera in hand (just in case) and what did I see?

�A miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer?�

Ah, no...but that certainly would have made a more interesting post.

I saw this:


Yes folks, those are actually geese up there, still hanging around my Canadian city here in Ontario. A northern city that is located in hardiness zone 5. A hardiness zone that makes me want to migrate to the south for the winter.

Autumn migration for Canada geese typically occurs from September to about the beginning of November. Now, according to my calendar, it�s the beginning of December, so the geese should be long gone. And yet, here�s a large group of them still hanging around.


I suspect that the surprisingly mild and wonderfully pleasant weather in November encouraged them to stay in town. And that�s all very nice, but one thing�s for sure about Canadian winters: it gets cold in the winter, damn cold. And even though you may get a few days now and then that are mild, don�t be fooled. The weather in Canada, especially this time of year, is a crap shoot. It can turn on you at any time. One day it�s sunny and mild, which gives you false hope that winter may just pass you by, and then BAM, a major snowstorm pounds the city and the temperature takes a wicked dive (even the hair in your nose freezes).


Someone should tell the geese it�s December and that they should hightail it out of here before it�s too late.

Don�t geese have calendars, for heaven�s sake?