Nothing serious today, just a little whimsy on Silly Saturday.
Some blog followers may remember that two of my direct Dudley ancestors were beheaded at the Tower of London in the 16th century. Sir Edmund Dudley lost his head in 1510 and his son John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, suffered the same fate 43 years later in 1553.
I don’t think the Tudors were particularly fond of my Dudley ancestors.
I believe my unfortunate family history, which I’m fascinated by so it’s always close to the surface of my consciousness, explains my reaction to the following photo that was taken two days ago at a local pond.
1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
The goose in the middle had just popped up onto the ice from the water directly behind it when I took the photo. As they often do in this situation the bird immediately flapped its wings and my shutter fired when they were in a perfectly horizontal position and almost directly above its two grooming companions.
But every time I look at the photo it reminds me of an executioner at the Tower of London trying to lop off the heads of his victims who have ducked in an attempt to avoid the axe (if a goose can duck I wonder if a duck can goose…). Those wings look like they may have whizzed directly over the tops of both grooming geese.
For other viewers that imagery may be a stretch but it comes to me without fail. And it makes me smile.
For me the title of this photo will always be “The Executioner”.
Ron
Note: Twenty minutes after publishing this post the link email to blog subscribers still hasn’t been sent out. Usually it happens immediately. Come on WordPress, get your act together!
(It finally arrived, 42 minutes late).
I’m new to your photos and I’m really enjoying your wit and humor and of course the photos…thanks so much for sharing!
Ron, I’m too late for the party but wanted to tell you that I enjoyed your photo so much. Thank you for good timing.
Thanks, Alice. It’s never too late to come to my party… 🙂
Off with their heads!
Looks like you have had some sunny mornings.
Not very many at all, April. Most of my trips to the ponds are very quick ones when we get a sucker hole for light for just a few minutes.
Isn’t it interesting how our life experience brings our imagination to totally different places.
I saw a kind fellow holding wings over his pals, protecting them from the rain.
Winter in Vancouver means loads of rain and daily use of umbrellas!
Very good point about individual perspective, Susan.
A very entertaining post along with all the comments. Great way to endure a dreary day.
Thank you, Betty.
The Lord High Exegooseioner!
“if a goose can duck I wonder if a duck can goose…” One of my favorite playground games was Duck, Duck, Goose
Last, but not least, THIS Tutor happens to be very fond of Dudleys! 🙂
I wonder if there were any Tudor tutors. I suppose if King Henry VII taught folks how to play the trumpet or French horn he would have been a Tudor tooter tutor…
Oh, Ron, that’s BAAAAAAAD. 😉
Sometimes I can’t resist sampling the bottom of the barrel…
Grim title but great shot!!!
I’ll gladly take credit for both. Thanks, Patty.
Broad smiles. And awe at the talented (perhaps overconfident) axeman who could, but didn’t, kill two with one blow.
EC, I’ve done research on the typical “axeman” back in those days. Most of them were incompetent at their trade and botched the job, often resulting in….. well, you can imagine.
OMG!!!! This made me laugh so hard. Thank you. I can’t unsee this!
Great!
Wonderful!
And what were their offense to warrant such fates?
Arrival of Christmas?
It’s complicated, Karen. Follow the two links in my post for explanations.
One of them had to do with Lady Jane Gray and the other was simply because King Henry VIII was a bloodthirsty asshole looking for a scapegoat.
A little history – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dudley,_1st_Duke_of_Northumberland. You can see a painting of said Dudley. I don’t think you resemble him. . .
Perfect title! And a great catch at that precise moment. Those two are totally oblivious to what was above their heads. Silly Saturday it is! About an inch of snow last nite and now we await ‘Storm Charlotte’ to begin this afternoon…9-12 inches more ‘they’ say. We’ll see…’they’ are often wrong more than right…
“they’ are often wrong more than right…”
That’s been my experience too, Kathy. So maddening for this bird photographer looking for good light when they say one thing but reality is another.
I guess it was a fiber optic cable,they had a small army of trucks working on it 24 hrs a day since tuesday.Someone forgot to “call before you dig” I would hate to get that bill!!!
Good morning RON,That goose looks as if it’s about to walk on water(calming the waters first)lol..Gee,its good to be back! apparently a construction crew drilled into a Century Link cable just down the street and I have had no internet since tuesday morning. I guess i didn’t realize how much i use this thing until it didn’t work! HAVE A GREAT DAY!!
Welcome back, Tom. No internet for that long would drive me bonkers.
What a fun photo. i believe I like Everett’s take on it replacing Madame Guillotine with The Executioner. Ron, you have a very interesting, though tragic, family tree!
Thanks, Melania. Yup, there’s lots of history and tragedy in my ancestry. I’m just lucky that I could trace it back as far as I can. Most folks can’t.
Ron, I have traced one line of my tree to a young woman who sailed from London to America in the late 1600s! I don’t believe there is any royalty in my tree. Perhaps my family members served yours!
Silly Saturday, INDEED!! Made ME laugh out loud ! I’ll take every laugh I can get, these days–thanks .
Glad you enjoyed it, Kris. Yes, laughs are at a premium these days.
Edmond and John in the Tower of London,
That’s where they met their fate.
If they had only been Geese, they’d have escaped the axe
Near the shores of the Great Salt Lake.
Love your rhyme, Lyle!!
Yeah, I’ll bet they WISHED they could fly away to escape the axe!
In consequence of your post I have been thinking of the times I have observed these geese wing flapping. It’s a behavior I find intriguing because sometimes they seem to flap just the way I might say “boy howdy that was a nice dinner/hike/movie” – to punctuate the end of an event. . .
Martha, maybe he was celebrating his success at getting onto the ice. His two companions actually broke through the thin edge of the ice when they tried to get up there.
TOO funny whatever way you look at it! 🙂 Goose with wings out certainly looks to be “asserting it’s authority”………
Yeah, I actually wondered if it might have partly been a display of dominance. Probably not but who knows. Thanks, Judy.
Very funny photo Ron – nice for a Saturday morning. I am laughing as I respond because I have the exact opposite reaction. I see the middle goose as the monarch saying, “I forgive you two for your misbehavior and declare that you have been spared the guillotine and are free to go.”
Ha, never thought of that possibility, Everett. I think that works too. (Except the Brit in me thinks that couldn’t be because the guillotine was the executioner’s tool of the hated French… 🙂 )