Well, midday actually. As today was one of those wonderful winter days that are the whole reason for enduring August in Richmond, I had the windows open all day so I could take some air while working on the take-home portion of my math test and on going over the math homeworks to be turned in on Monday. Proofs. And then more proofs. And then checking over proofs I'd done earlier and correcting them, because they have to be perfect, dammit. But through all the logic, I could listen to the breeze buzzing in the mini-blinds and the neighborhood dogs barking at whatever—Harleys being driven down on Route 5 by accountants in from the suburbs, the odd ambulance, kids. One of the dogs was sounding really nasal, nearly honking. The barking went on and gradually I recognized the call of the geese that live over on Grace Street.
This being a city neighborhood, you wouldn't think we'd have much in the way of farm animals. Sometimes Canada geese fly over without stopping since we don't have ponds, but one of the residents has some pet geese. I hear them sometimes when I'm going for a walk near where they live, but usually I can't hear them from my house. Today the wind blew in just the right direction to send the honks my way. I remember hearing the geese for a while before I realized we had waterfowl living here in the 'hood, which realization only dawned when I actually saw the goose lady walking her gaggle. These are well trained geese too: they follow the goose lady without being on leash or flying away. They don't trust strangers though. If you walk up to them, they start flapping and honking and running to catch up with the goose lady. Ever seen a goose run?
I love city life. You never know what you'll see on any given day.
319 words | February 21, 2004 10:23 PM | Real true story