Here we have a gaggle of geese! Or maybe two gaggles of geese since the ones at the other end are keeping their distance or are just snobs. The near end of the pond appeared to be frozen with a couple of inches of melt water on top, so it may have been shallow enough to freeze in the colder weather the last few days. Why there should be a special word to describe a bunch of geese hanging out together probably remains a mystery. Likely the result of a bored English professor following his 'publish or perish' calendar in hopes of gaining tenure and a ten hour workweek. Start with aardvarks all the way to zebras, conjure up a nifty word to describe animals gathering together - is there a minimum number? - and presto, another publishable book to gather dust on the shelf presuming a copy is sold. It's difficult to understand the rationale behind most of these:
- a sleuth of bears
- a zeal of zebras
- a crash of hippos
but some do make some sense. A troop of baboons or a parade of elephants especially when either are on the move seem aptly descriptive.
Oh, by the way, a group of aardvarks can be referred to as an aarmory - tricky adding on that extra a :)
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