Canada Goose Time Travel

Canada Goose Time Travel
            I knew the sound of Canada geese before I knew what they looked like. Growing up in the Adirondack foothills where seasons declared themselves boldly—hot humid, bug-filled summers countered by long winters where we said, “It’s warming up!” when temperatures rose up to freezing—migratory creatures were nature’s seasonal alarm clocks.
            From earliest childhood, I remember feeling both excitement (in spring) and heart-tugging nostalgia (in autumn) when I heard Canada geese fly overhead. I don’t think I saw a Canada goose up close for many years. My visual image of Canada geese for a very long time was a distant V undulating in the sky as they flew in formation. I didn’t need to see them, though. Their iconic honking made their presence known.
            Here in the San Francisco Bay Area where temperatures are moderate year-round, many Canada geese hang out seemingly without any compulsion to fly elsewhere. My image of them here is waddling in large groups (leaving large droppings) around ponds and lakes rather than flying.
            As I sit in my attic office, I occasionally hear a flock of Canada geese flying overhead. Like when I was a child, it’s not the sight of them but rather their honking call echoing in a Doppler effect as they fly over my skylight window that tugs at my heartstrings. I am transported back to the frost-covered lawn where I tipped my head back to look up at them as a child.
            What sounds, sights and smells transport you to good memories of another time and place? Tap into those uplifting senses when the opportunity arises!
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Frolic Cove Walk-Mendocino, a scenic coastal walk featuring a shipwreck and the occasional Canada goose.
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 140): Frolic Cove Walk-Mendocino
 
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