Do you remember where we left off with our goose story? Click HERE for the recap!
I’m not sure how to tell you this. Lord knows we don’t need another sad thing to think about right now.
But, it happened the day, or rather the night, after the female goose FINALLY sat on her eggs. We discovered only the remnants of the shells and a plume of her regal brown speckled feathers. But we knew what had happened and we knew exactly who did it.
That first year, the foxes tormented us relentlessly, finding all sorts of ways to break us down – barreling through the electric fences, burying beneath our enclosures, and picking off animals left and right. Losing the goose and all those eggs, was another devastating blow.
As we strategized and figured out how to bump up our farm’s defenses, we hoped we could bond the male goose back to our other livestock. Afterall, he had already proven to us that he had the right attitude. Now we just had to figure out how to help him harness it for good, instead of evil.
One evening after introducing him, yet again, to our ducks, we heard loud quacks and shrieks coming from the window. Greg said a swear word or two, slipped on his boots and with a flashlight in hand, sprinted out the front door. I ran behind him, knowing in my heart that we were probably too late.
Sure enough, the fox was at it again. It was dark, but I saw everything I needed to see – the fox locked in battle with the goose. As we approached, the fox let go and backed away, just far enough away to be out of reach, but keeping his presence known.
Greg scooped up the goose in his arms. He was limp, out of breath, and clearly in a state of shock, his eyes wide and his heart beating fast. We inspected him carefully, no open wounds thanks to his thick feathers, strong wings, and intimidating demeanor.
We gave him water, put him in a fox-proof enclosure and feeling too exhausted to make any more decisions for the night, went to sleep.
The next morning, we went to check on the goose, and something had clearly shifted. I let him out and instead of all the honking and hissing and snapping I had grown accustomed to, he was being…..nice? It turned out to be more than that.
This was the day that the goose became my shadow. From that day forward, he followed me around the farm everywhere I went, letting out the little soft musical honks.
He sat beside me when I rested on our hammock, walked onto our porch while we ate breakfast, and even figured out how to turn his head just enough so he could eye me through our windows and track me as I walked from room to room.
The only explanation we had for this whole situation was that he had found his new mate and of all the creatures on the farm, he chose ME.
I will say that having a goose bonded to you is an interesting experience and not one that I’d recommend. And if this all sounds weird to you, just you wait for the deliriously happy ending to this strange and silly goose story coming your way next week!
Your Farmer,
Jenney