living with nature is stressful
I am totally protective of the wildlife in our fake ponds. I was sad when the gosling population went from three to one, but I was happy when I saw the four (and then five more) ducklings.
When kids start yelling at the ducks/geese or throw things at them (like sticks, not breadcrumbs), I holler at them. When adults sit down and watch them, I watch the adults...most are really good with the breadcrumb-feeding and the picture-taking, but there are a few sketchy people who concern me.
I yell at the few outdoor neighborhood cats when they get too stalker-y. I know, I should let nature run its course, but I don't think a well-fed indoor/outdoor cat needs to be stalking ducklings for survival. Thankfully, my cats are 100% indoor cats and like to
watch the wildlife, not eat it.
Just now, I performed traffic-cop duties for the goose family. For a visual aid,
this Flickr photo has notes that indicate the pond, the driveway, and the 4-lane (busy) city street on the other side of the driveway.
I heard some goose-honking, which isn't unusual, except it was
at my front door, which does not face the pond. I have a sliding-glass back door that goes to the patio which goes to the pond. The front-door opens to the driveway/parking, the other side of which is a really busy 4-lane city street. That's where the mama, papa, and baby geese were standing...at my front door.
So of course I tried to shoo them gently and quietly back around the buildings to the pond. The papa hissed at me, but didn't get all flappy like he does when there are mean, yelling guys throwing things at him. The mama stuck to the baby. I could have bent over and picked up the gosling, that's how close I was to them. I got them turned around and then realized that standing behind them and shooing them wasn't necessarily going to get them where I wanted them to go, so I ran ahead and cut off their path to anywhere besides where they needed to be.
They walked along the sidewalk and back to the pond, and I went back inside. Message to my geese: don't come around the front! The front is dangerous!
Also, goslings don't seem to grow quite as quickly as ducklings, so I'm concerned that they'll start wandering again before the gosling can get it together. The ducklings, they seem to grow exponentially each day. But the little yellow goose puff sure is cute...
Labels: life
