Teaching and learning - well may be...

I sat out on my deck today having been away working in london all week on a really stressful job so was sucking up all the beautiful energy from the sun, the trees, the plants and the water.  I had let all the birds out of their big run and the geese came up the driveway and two of them, Primrose and Luce (who are a couple) came through the gap in the fence to the big pond where I was sitting on my sun lounger.  Luce is very inquisitive and likes to be near people, well without much hesitation he popped himself into the pond - this is the very first time he has ever been in it and I have had the birds for nearly 3 years!  he swam across the pond to where I was and then started ducking his head in to the water and splashing around but he then decided to get out but found he couldn't jump high enough to get out - I had been videoing Luce while he was swimming around but when I realised he was struggling to get out I stopped videoing and thought I was going to have to jump in to help him out but before I could do that, Primrose his beautiful partner jumped into the water and swam over to him and then went back to the side of the pond, flapped her wings and launched herself back onto the side.  Luce then followed but he wasn't using his wings so couldn't launch out of the water.

One side of the pond has a smaller side that the other so when Primrose realised that Luce wasn't getting it she jumped into the pond on the other side and he swam under the bridge to be with her and when she could see he was paying  attention she paddled fast to the edge, flapped her wings and launched herself onto the deck.  Luce was watching and paddled fast, flapped his wings but headed to the wrong part of the pond where we have gabbions filled with stones so he got stuck and couldn't lift himself up.  I was watching this and seeing how clever Primrose was and how she was trying to teach her man how to get out of his predicament but he just wasn't paying enough attention.  Now Luce is a beautiful Goose but really not the brightest and here was proof of that!

So for a third time Primrose got into the water made sure Luce was watching and launched herself out of the pond - I had gone to the top of the deck at this point, worried that my presence was disturbing Luce - so straight after Primrose had launched onto the deck Luce took a run at it and managed to launch himself on to the deck - wooo hooo - well done goosy!!

It was amazing to watch how as a couple his lady had to help him several times before he got it but he acts as her protector and keeps her safe from the other male goose so they seem to have the perfect relationship - he is the protector and she is the practical one with common sense.  I thought it was very cute and I am sure we can all relate to it in our own relationships!

Primrose joins Luce in the water to then try to show him the way out...

Primrose gets out to get into the water again on the side that Luce is in to show him again how to get out using his feet and wings.  After his third go he is successful.

After the geese left the pond the fishes came out - of course I had to feed them first!!!