A Trip to the Mall

Going to the mall brings to mind different adventures to the various crowds. Young people like to just"hang out" at the mall, while middle agers might view it as a pallette of unending magnets designed to draw their hard earned dollars from their pocketbooks! For moms and dads with young kids, it seems like a great way to get out of the house to just stroll about! (no rain, snow, bugs, or sun to burn everyone!) And, of course, the older folks find it a great way to get exercise!

Late yesterday afternoon, Mark, the kids, and I made a pilgrimage to the shopping mecca to the north of us. The mall is located there, as well as a few strip stores, and (where we were going) a big Home Depot. We looked around the Home Depot for quite some time, gathering thoughts, ideas, and some samples for remodeling the kitchen.

After leaving Home Depot, the kids asked if they might stop at Target. Mark and I were both a bit drained from our excursion, so we told the kids they could go into Target as long as they stayed together. I always dread sitting in the truck in the parking lot.....I am not a good "sitter"as I always feel the need to be busy.

As we sat waiting, I spotted a Canada Goose meandering through the parking lot, calmly making her way across, with several little goslings in tow! This was too cool! As she crossed the lot, another large goose came up, following in the rear. Of course, my camera was sitting near my feet, so I had to jump out to take some pictures!

As this group of geese crossed, there were actually four adults. The goslings were broken into two groups, each following an adult, with another adult in the rear, and one to the side, as though a "guard" goose, poised to attack anyone who might challenge their hike to their destination

As we watched, it became apparent that the older geese were well acquainted with traffic flow and patterns at the mall. They hopped to the front, standing on the mall road, and causing traffic to halt. The goslings fell into a "bowling pin" pattern to their side, and they crossed the road in a timely fashion, hopping up over the curb on the other side!

I had gotten out of the truck to take these pictures. I stood a long distance away, using the telephoto lens as I didn't want to bother the geese. After taking these pictures, I walked back to the truck, feeling such awe that these birds were so "smart".

Shortly after returning to the truck, Mark spotted another group of geese with little ones in tow following the same path as those who previously crossed! I was going to jump out of the truck once again, but Mark told me he would pull over nearer to them, as traffic seemed to prove no hindrance to them!

What a great way to spend time waiting!!! Even though Mark has never been a dedicated birdwatcher, he was totally engrossed, observing these geese!

We have no idea where these geese were coming from; the direction they were coming from leads to a major thoroughfare. It is the main road leading to the mall and it seems that they must have crossed that highway. Their final destination seemed to be a grassy knoll, surrounding a settling pond. There, they all enjoyed grazing on the vividly green spring grass!