The First Goose Nests of Spring

Mike and I portage down and across the city to Lake Union on day of changing weather. There is some wind from the south, there are clouds that open for sun and then close up. It rains, it stops raining and rains again, but on the first leg, it rains on our backs. We head north, round the point and head south down into the bottom of Portage Bay. Then we head north and then east through the crossing under place, into the the south lagoon, and we pause for a few minutes and get out of the canoe so that I can show mike the distinct beaver trail that I found. It leads from the water over dry ground and back into a thin canal that leads into the short, dense and tangled forest that the workings of beaver tend to create. We continue east to the big beaver lodge where two geese are just beginning to construct a nest. We talk and decide to circle the bay. Coots are hiding near shore in the wind. A second goose nest is just now being built on the west beaver lodge and nearby, we find an eagle in the birch tree of #2 island, with many coots all to near for their own good.

It is a stiff paddle back into the wind to return. Such days are so full of life.