Yeah! Louis & Lucille Goose were in the pond today! Lucy was on the nest and Louie was swimming guard duty. Spring is officially here!
Archive for the ‘bird watching’ Category
Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!
JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.
SARAH PALIN: The chicken had to cross the road because he was not able to find a bridge. Alaskans do not build bridges to nowhere. If he wanted a bridge, he’d have to build it himself.
HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One! – that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.
GEORGE W. BUSH: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.
DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun?
COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of crossing?
AL GORE: I invented the chicken.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.
AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.
DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.
OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.
NANCY GRACE, CNN: That chicken crossed the road because he’s guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.
DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.
GRANDPA: In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.
BARBARA WALTERS: Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.
ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.
BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra…#@&&^(C%……….reboot.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?
I’ve been watching the babies for the last couple of days. It’s fun. They’ve been in the water swimming around. They’ve been on the grass eating. One morning they were just about to get in the water for a swim. They’re cute right now. All fuzzy with with their baby feathers. And Louie is really protecting the family. When they are swimming he’s in between the family and the road. And when they are on the grass, he’s standing up right, chest out, head up watching for danger – such as an over curious Xterra. He’s really protective of his brood.
Woooooooooo Hoooooooooo! The babies are definitely hatched! Lucy & Louie were over on the other side of the pond this morning when I went by. Lucy was seated on the ground and Louie was in watch posture – standing, alert, neck fully extended.
I think the babies have hatched. Lucy Goosey was standing beside the nest this morning and I thought I saw fuzz. I don’t know. She was stilling this evening so I couldn’t see. So I think Louis & Lucy are finally parents. I’ll check tomorrow.
As of today Mom Goose is still nesting. Monday I didn’t have anyone behind me so I was able to stop completely and take a good look. Monday on the way home I got to see Dad Goose land in the pond. That was fun.
Mom is really hard to see when her back is to the road. And if her head is down… she’s almost impossible to see. Today Dad was sleeping on the lawn above the pond. He had a view of everything. There’s a guy who lives down the street who walks, his black lab down by the pond. I only see him in the morning… and I can always tell if he’s been by. If Mom Goose is facing the road, he’s been by, if not.. he hasn’t been yet. Neither dog or man bother the geese.
I can’t wait to see the babies.
On Friday Mom & Dad Goose were doing well. Mom was on the nest and Dad was just hanging out. She has a good camoflague going on. When her back is to the road you can’t really see her. They really ignore the cars on the road. But if you slow down Dad will paddle over towards the road. So as of Friday the chick hadn’t hatched. I’ll have to do some reach on how long it takes for them to hatch and how long they stay in the nest.
Ok, Mom & Dad Goose are officially nested. YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH! I was worried for a couple of days. I coudn’t find either of them. Above is my rough (and I mean ROUGH – yes, your 6 year old could do better) drawing of the pond. There are 2 places that the Geese nest. One is on a small built up mound in the shallows on the right side of the pond where all the brown reeds are. Yes, they are reeds. The next place is on a man made platform that is about 3 feet square. It’s under the tree behind a small rise. You can see the Geese as you are traveling north on Oak Tree, but when you are coming south, the platform is hidden behind a small rise in the lawn. And Mom Goose blends in with the brown around her, so if her head is down… and there is a car behind you…. she’s easy to miss. I saw Dad Goose Tuesday on the lawn and then Wednesday swimming alone and I knew Mom was on the nest. Yesterday morning there was no one behind me and I stopped for a look. Mom wasn’t too thrilled with the stop. I didn’t stay long enough to cause too much distress. But I know that they are there and they have nested. Now we just wait for BABIES!
Yesterday on the way home Mom & Dad Goose weren’t home. I won’t see them over the weekend.
Mom and Dad Goose were swimming in the pond this morning. I was going to stop and watch but there was a guy right on my tail. I was also going to pick up a sheet for the house to see how much it costs, but the box was empty. But the geese were in the pond.