Forget the rooster cock-a-doodle-doing at the crack of dawn to make sure you’re up and functional before the sun even begins to peek it’s face over the horizon. That kind of wake up call is difficult to come by on the third floor of an apartment building in the middle of town. Nevertheless, nature has other means of ensuring you’re wide awake and ready to start your day  at 5:30am such as a low, loud flyby from your resident gander and his flock. Nothing like a throaty honk blaring through your open window with all the enthusiasm of a New York taxi driver in a traffic jam to get you up on the right side of the bed. 

With the weather warming up, I’m looking forward to longer days when I will be able to wake up with daylight filtering through the blinds. However, I was not anticipating such noisy neighbors to be moving into the pond just across the road. But like the little kids telling their parents not to let go as they try out their shiny new bicycles for the very first time, the geese are a welcome omen of lazy summer days and long hikes soon to come, despite their early morning rituals.