Gaggle of goslings

On my visit to the Arboretum this morning, I came upon 12 young goslings. Momma and Poppa were nowhere in sight, which is very unusual for Canada geese. I startled them by appearing suddenly, and they quickly took to the water. I hung around for awhile, and eventually they came back out of the water and began to peck around on the path, looking for food. That's when I took this picture. They were totally oblivious to me. Good thing I wasn't a fox or coyote.

It wasn't easy deciding on my blip tonight because I also like this grumpy turtle a lot. My blipping granddaughter (my consultant in California) thought it should be today's blip, but my heart went out to these "orphaned" goslings, and sometimes you just have to go with your heart.