Married for Life

Geese mate for life. This gander was patrolling the water in front of his mate's nest.

This is a late nest, and probably a second clutch after the first was washed out by rising waters from four weeks of rain.

I got some idea of how much the river rose, when I checked on a honey bee swarm trap that I had located 20 feet over the river, and found it was full of water.  The ground around the tree told the story; thick mud, floated timber, and flotsam caught in tree branches.