Beyond the Garden Gate (first verse only)Step into my garden
Step in and you'll see
A measure of peace
And tranquility...
(Anonymous)
Are you kidding me!!!!!
Yes, Sydney and Phoenix looked really calm and composed in this still frame. However, they are anything BUT when it comes to the garden! They couldn't wait to sink their serrated little bills into this romaine that I was tempting them with to get this shot.
In actuality, Phoenix (on the right) has never ventured past the gate into the garden or out of the yard. In fact, she has never even been out of the yard since she came here as a baby last year. She is in some ways the more timid of the two -- although she is the one who will go after someone she doesn't know or doesn't like (she will bite -- not me, of course).
Syd, on the other hand, sees the prize (aka, lettuce) and she will charge her way through the open gate! Before I can grab her (carefully, to avoid those sharp claws of hers that have scratched me to the point where it looks as if I have attempted to slit my wrists!!), she will make mincemeat out of anything green and frilly she can latch her bill onto.
When she was hospitalized last year after swallowing the nail, she learned that her greens were kept in the small refrigerator in the surgery room. I have been told numerous stories of her hanging out (they would let her out to walk around) by it, just so she could make a beeline for those tasty morsels when some unsuspecting vet tech would open it to retrieve their lunch. She had the moves of a pirhanna attacking its prey -- a real feeding frenzy!
It's not that Phoe doesn't enjoy the greens, too...she is just a bit more mannerly!
Lovely geese. We used to have a pair....Moses and Matilda. It was always Matilda egging Moses on! Thanks for reminding me what fun they can be! Val
ReplyDeleteBellies look full.. are you feeding them too much Janet?... haha..
ReplyDeletecheers,
~ bangchik
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ReplyDeleteThey eat from dawn 'til dusk -- mostly garden weeds, which they are welcome to do!
ReplyDeleteCute! So funny that the one geese knew there was lettuce in the refridgerator. -Jackie
ReplyDeleteVery good looking geese! I love that they will pose for lettuce~ Good temptations for all the rest of us don't you think? At least it should be:-D
ReplyDeleteWhat a bundle of fun and super names! I like independence and a goose that knows what is whats. However, I think Maggie is enough for me, no venturing into the world of birds in my lottie (they aren't allowed anyway).
ReplyDeleteI love that Syd stood vigil by the fridge! Talk about a goose that knows what she wants!
ReplyDeleteSuch personalities those geese have. Sorry to hear that Syd swallowed a nail, but she must have been a riot to watch at the vet's office!
ReplyDeleteShe WAS -- chased dogs and cats (even a Rhodesian Ridgeback and pitbulls were scared of her! That was actually her second injury -- in September, I came home and her lower jaw was hanging slack and she had puncture wounds on either side. I suspect a hawk or eagle tried to take her, but she was too large. Her lower jaw was broken in two places and needed to be wired shut. She was there for a month, with a feeding tube in her neck. So, 3 of her first 8 months were spent at the hospital. But, since her jaw was wired the first time, she wasn't nearly as animated as the second time!
ReplyDeleteSydney and Phoenix are so cute, are they protecting your garden from all the bugs?
ReplyDeleteUnlike ducks, geese don't eat many insects. The will eat worms (I did a post about it called "Worm Wars!"). Mainly, they eat weeds. I wish they could weed my garden, but of course, they would just eat all the lettuce. Some large commercial growers train geese to be weeders, though.
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