This is a short feature on Mrs. Goose the Third. Prior to her arrival we have had two other Canadian geese nest and hatch their offspring on the roof of our residence.
T.S. Eliot once wrote, “April is the cruelest month.” This statement certainly applies to weather conditions this season.
Mrs. Goose ensconced on the edge of the green roof above the chapel, three stories high, braved the elements with endurance. Meanwhile, her mate often kept a weather eye on actions one roof above.
At the crack-of-dawn on May 2nd all was ready and Mrs. Goose and her fledglings appeared on the grass below. It seems as soon as the goslings emerge from the shell they are urged out of the nest, don their flight gear and steer toward land.
We saw Mrs. Goose and her four goslings rustling about in the rain and nipping at blades of grass. Alas, on further observation, two little birds took the wrong turn and landed in an enclosed gutter by the chapel window. One fellow met his death on contact but the other gosling paced about frantically . . . Sisters of St. Joseph to the rescue . . . Sister Loretta with a net affair and diligence helped him over the top to freedom.
Mother Goose and her goslings are now splashing and swimming in the Thames River.
The cruelness of April became a welcoming May.
Sr. Eileen Foran
