First Impressions
Country Park has been a place that I feel a personal connection to every time I go there. This was the place that I made some of my first friends in High School, had my tennis team picnics, hung out, took pictures, and even hiked with my best friends. The image below gives an overview of the center of the park containing the lake, with the woods around a beautiful picnic spot. Today was a bright sunny day and had convinced my best friend Spandan to venture into the park with me. The first thing we noticed was the multitudes of geese…everywhere!
As you can see in the picture below, some of the geese were swimming around in the water, but many were on land. Anyway, as we enjoyed this sunny day, we dipped our feet in the water. The lake water was slightly muddy but had a chilling feeling to it which was very soothing. We could see much little fish in it but did not really notice anything extremely large or captivating, other than a common carp and the geese. The common carp was easy to identify because of the single and long dorsal fin as well as the large scales along its body. I was not able to capture a picture of it, but hopefully, I will in a future blog post!
Let’s Talk about Geese!
The first thing my eyes were drawn to was the geese. I know, geese are not that exciting, you see them at every park and really any place with a lake. Still, I think it is essential to acknowledge them and their importance to wildlife and nature. This particular species of geese is called the Canada goose. These type of geese are made up of brown bodies, long black necks, a white cheek patch, as well as a relatively long black bill. According to a post containing information on it at the park, they say that the residential geese are important by spreading the seeds of the plants they eat. This, in turn, helps the many species of plants to thrive. One thing that my friend and I noticed is that the geese tended to stay on land and rarely go in the water, but we were able to capture some in the water. What was really heartwarming when we saw a small child, about the age of 4, bring bread crumbs and sit and feed a herd of geese. He seemed so entertained and genuinely happy to be surrounded by nature and wildlife. Though it looks geese would not have an impact on people or the habitat they live in, they act as an attraction to the ecosystem and keep it alive and thriving. I had a fantastic time walking through the park for the first time in a while and capturing some much needed fresh air, releasing a lot of stress I have had recently. In a later blog, I hope to venture out and look at some of the specific trees and plants that encompass the park.
