March 12, 2013

Insurrection in the yard

Oh, the terrible things they say!
Longtime readers know that I'm a friend to all animals, especially birds. Well, I've got a goose problem.

The flock is furious with me because I've stopped feeding them. What can I say? I'd like to help them out but when I do, the result is that more and more geese arrive. They know a good thing when they see it. In the end, I had over 200 geese out there. I just can't feed that many of them. The problem is two-fold: it's expensive to come up with all that feed, and if I don't put enough out, there's a huge fight over the food. Given these problems, I stopped feeding them.

They're not pleased. The main goose, Milo -- the finest goose who ever lived -- honks madly at my window each morning. He is so angry with me! And when I go out for a walk, I can sense that they're talking about me, putting me down and saying hateful things. This is hard for a bird lover to deal with.

But I can't feed the world. On the other hand, I can feed peanuts to the crows, jays and squirrels. They're territorial, so their numbers increase only when they give birth. In other words, there isn't a growing group of hangers-on. I'm glad for that, at least.

Still, I wish the geese would stop talking about me. I may have to get an order of protection, in the end. And I feel just terrible because Milo and I are pals. We go way back. Sigh.

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