My biggest question was this: When would be the best time to visit the marsh to see the Canada geese that stop there every fall? Is it October? November? Which week? Which day? What time of day?
After lots of thought, the answer became obvious: It would be the month, day, week and hour I could be there! Because of my job, it's hard to get away for two days, especially in October/early November. I can only travel when there's a break in the action. And there was a break in the action in early November. I grabbed it with both hands.
I covered the volleyball regional semifinals on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning I was winging south. South as the goose flies. But since I had to follow a road, I went south, then east, then south for a long time, then southwest, then south. It sounds random, but it really wasn't. I knew where I wanted to go--to the marsh, near the geese ...
Alas, I should have gone two weeks earlier (when I was busy, writing winter tourism articles every day) or one week earlier (when the volleyball districts were going on every night). By the time I got down to the marsh, rush hour had come and gone, like most of the geese.
A woman I talked to at the marsh office said they had about 90,000 geese there at one time or another this fall, but one of our October storms put many of them on the jet stream south, towards their wintering grounds in southern Illinois (about where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers meet). Like people, some came earlier and some came later. And some got caught up in the tourist traps. When I came, about 20,000 geese were still around.
That's what they said. I didn't stop to count.
I had hoped to see flocks and flocks of geese flying around, honking madly. But the air traffic around the marsh wasn't as congested as I hoped it would be.
Starting from Waupun, I drove east on Wisconsin 49 through the north end of the marsh. I took a three-mile side trip south of 49, where I saw lots of ducks--especially from a dock extending far out into the marsh. Lots of ducks, not too many geese.
The ducks were hungry. Bottoms up! ...
Two others decided they wanted me to get a picture of their good side ...
I stopped to get a photo of one area of open water. It looked pretty ...
Then I looked a little closer at the area just beyond the water. Sandhill cranes ...
I continued east and came to an open marshy area. It's the scene of many goose jams over the generations. This photo (which I saw later at the visitor center) is from 1964--there's even a cop trying to keep the traffic moving ...
(That looks a lot like my dad's car back in the 1960s. You don't suppose ... ?)
On the north side of the road, many flocks of geese were still enjoying the good life. They were hundreds of yards from the road. My zoom lens brought them closer, but they still enjoyed their privacy. You really need a long, long lens to get anything better than this ...
Unless they fly by for their portrait ...
On the south side of the road, there was more open water. We saw geese and ducks there and several swans, along with a few little ones ...
I drove over to the east side of the marsh and the Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters. They had a small museum and a platform overlooking the marsh ...
Fun facts about the geese, too. This map shows why Horicon is so important to the geese ...
Another display explains why geese fly in a "V" formation: "For long distances, flying in a 'V' requires teamwork and is easier than flying alone or in a straight line. By breaking the air resistance, the lead goose makes an easier ride for the birds following. The leader works the hardest and gets tired, so members of the flock change positions to take turns leading."
The displays did not answer another question I hear a lot: "Why is one arm of the 'V' longer than the other one?"
The old-timers know the answer: "Because there are more geese on that side!"
After that, I drove back north. It was getting late in the afternoon, and the sun was low in the sky. I took a side road and stopped for a while to look at the marsh.
Then I heard some sounds and looked southeast. A flock of birds were heading my way. Then another. Then another ...
One passed nearly overhead ...
Not geese. They were cranes. Remember the sandhill cranes I saw earlier? They leave the marsh every day and fly off, in search of crane goodies. I had lucked into their path at the right time.
The geese weren't on the wing, though, so I decided it was time to fly back north to my friends in Oshkosh. I took a highway northeast towards Fond du Lac, about 30 miles or so. That's where I hit the highway that goes north to Oshkosh. I got on the on-ramp right around sunset.
And just as I did, I saw a flock or two in the sky. More than two. Several. All heading right towards me, flying southwest in the direction of the marsh. They seemed to be geese, and I pulled off the side of the on-ramp and got the camera out again ...
****
The rest of the trip was a bit anti-climactic. I went to visit S and T, but they were both under the weather. S had been battling a sinus infection for about a week, and T was coming down with something similar.
They felt good enough to go out for dinner with me, and we all enjoyed that--we went to a local buffet and ate our fill. Next, we went to the local ***-mart, where we threw some health products (mostly anti-cold, anti-cough stuff; the medicine cabinet at their place was bare) into the cart.
Finally, we went to my motel and the pool, especially the whirlpool. After changing in my room, we went off to enjoy the warm. bubbly waters for an hour or so. Nobody else was around, so I got the girls to lower their straps for my camera ...
But after a while, T's symptoms started kicking up again, and we agreed not to push it any further. Everyone got dressed again, and at about 9 p.m. I drove them back to their place and kissed them good-night. I was back in my motel room by 9:30.
Later, my wife called from her motel room in Missouri, and we talked for a while. I got my reader out and read for an hour before turning off the lights. In the morning, I pointed the car north again. That night: the volleyball regional finals. Couldn't miss that!
I had texted B about it, too, and she even phoned me from Alaska, asking whether I felt bad about how things had turned out. Of course, given my druthers, I'd druther have spent more snuggle time with the girls.
But really, I got what I wanted: I got to see my friends again, spent some time with them, took them to dinner, gave them a treat (the whirlpool) and got them stuff to help them get over their illnesses.
And let's be honest here. Sex is fun, sure. But poly friendships are about a lot more than sex. It's about being with people you enjoy and feel close to, people whom you love and who love you.
All things considered, things went very well. And so did my visit to the geese. This will not be my last trip to the Horicon Marsh.
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