In Frozen Pond

     Picture this, it's a Saturday morning and the sun is just starting to peek over the horizon...  You open the shades to enjoy the rising sun over the pond and there...in the water...is a goose.  I know, it shouldn't be a big deal.  Geese and ducks are migrating now, so they come and go.  Problem was, this particular goose wasn't going anywhere.  It was stuck...in frozen pond.
     I must admit, from time to time I've had the wonder cross my mind if waterfowl could actually get stuck in a pond as it freezes over, and now I know.  Poor goosie.  At least I had Young'un home with me to see this, because sometimes things happen here when no one else is around and they don't believe me.  Case in point, the cows that came running through the yard one day ~ I still don't think they believe me on that one.
     Anyhow, Young'un and I watched that goose out there for a time, hoping it would be okay.  He asked me to go out and help it get loose, at which point I gave him the you gotta be kiddin me look that only a caretaker of children can give, and told him it would be dangerous...not to mention freezing cold...for me to even attempt it.  I could just see me doing a belly crawling slink across the thin ice...shudder  What a story that would be!  I told him we'd have to wait a bit before going out to do chores, because I was afraid we'd scare the poor thing, and him (yes, I'm going to guess it's a gander) hurt his legs while he was stuck.  I was hoping as the sun rose to warm the air a bit, along with the goose's body heat, the ice would melt some.  
     Well, that gander sure was lucky.  As I drank my unleaded of the day, watching and waiting, he was able to do a half-turn.  Then after a bit he was able to do a full circle.  We were sitting there, cheering him on from the house, thrilled to see him getting more movement bit by bit.  He struggled and couldn't get out of his little hole, but he didn't give up.  I couldn't help but wonder if a goose could get waterlogged and start going under if they were in too long.  If that happened and there was a lot of struggling, Young'un would have reminded me where it was at was wading level, looking at me to save the day and drag that goose out.  I just know it.  In the end, after what must have been hours in that pond between when it would have touched down last evening and when the sun came up, that gander was finally able to get enough energy to hoist itself up onto the ice and slip slide off the pond.
     So, there you have it folks.  The gander (I still say it was a male) came, the gander got himself frozen in the pond, and the gander, fortunately, was able to work his way out without my having to scare the daylights out of it by going in and un-sticking it.  If you ever had the wonder of whether waterfowl could go to sleep in an unfrozen pond, and wake up in a frozen one, it actually can happen.  Happy Saturday!  Smiling & Waving, Sharon 

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