Gosling Crossing: Wascana Park

Gosling Crossing, Wascana Park © SB 

The cars ahead stopped as soon as they turned the corner. I pulled into a parking spot and we all waited for the geese to meander to the other side, sniff the grass — and then run back across the road to the lake.

Who knows what birds think? It's a riddle or a joke: Why did they cross the road? Were they training their young to explore? Just bored? Or trying to stop traffic?

Back when I was a newspaper reporter in another city with many geese, there was a time when photos of geese crossing the roads in that city's park were so frequent that rumours sprung up that at least one newspaper photographer kept stuffed ones in his trunk, ready to pop out in front of cars whenever he needed a quick picture.  

These ones, I know, are real. I saw them cross the road, then cross back to the other side.

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