Story Starter: The Wild Geese

That Story Starter title, The Wild Geese, is especially for my fiction team colleague Tracey, who has never grown out of her crush on the Hollywood film’s star Richard Harris. Oh, and Richard Burton. Closely followed by Hardy Kruger, then Roger Moore – though he’s more as a friend…. She also met Ronald Fraser when she was a wee girl. It’s one of her favourite films ever. But I digress….!

These particular wild geese fly over my house most days at this time of year. They roost down at the banks of the river – the Tay – in their thousands, and then at dawn each day take off en masse, rising like a grey mist and forming up into long ragged skeins as they head for the fields and farmland in the surrounding area.

I live out in the countryside and sometimes they settle in the field behind us for the day, and goodness, what a racket! A gaggle of geese right enough. They gaggle and giggle and chatter all day. Then at dusk they all take to the skies again to head back to the riverside for bedtime. It’s an astounding sight – and sound, as their thousands of wingbeats overhead make the air pulse.

So I wonder what this pic will make you think of? Autumn – or spring when they all head off to their summer home. A Fifties semi with its flying geese on the wall. Crushes, like Tracey! Wild countryside. Maybe even families; I often wonder if the separate skeins are little travelling communities. And who decides where they’re settling for the day? Is there a head goose? Queen Goose? Chairman Goose? Whoever it is, they’re obviously very powerful and very well respected since all the geese seem to follow. [I hope Chris Packham doesn’t read this. I’m sure he knows the real pecking order.]

Over to you to let your thoughts take flight….  And yes, still looking for more 3000 than 2000 word stories for the moment.

[Once again thanks to Mr Fiction Ed for the photo.]