Thursday, May 8, 2008

   day 24
So cold, so wet. It's pouring.

Today:
I drove to the nest. Ember's covering it more than usual because of the weather. I didn't stay long because of the rain and the need to get this final paper done. I saw little goose...erm, leavings, near the nest. It looks likely that an egg may've hatched but there's no real proof.

Notes:
I'm hoping tomorrow will be nice. The semester ends at 13:00 and it'd be great to see what's going on. I saw no sign of Fennel and if there were goslings I'm sure he'd be there.

SGAH
FYWR
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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

   day 23
Eek!

Today:
I did just a very quick visit to the nest today. It's raining. When I was feeding Ember I heard a peep! If they peep a day before than tomorrow there will be goslings!

Notes:
I didn't see anyone but Ember because of the rain. She's going to be very busy soon.

SGAH
FYWR
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Tuesday, May 6, 2008

   day 22
I thought they were hatching.

Today:
Ember keeps standing up and moving the eggs around. She looks like she's studying them. My guess is that they're peeping. Experiance tells me they peep the day before they hatch but they probably could peep for two days. I keep my visit extremely brief so I didn't hear anything. Ember is also getting a bit meaner so the day is near. Fennel's being chased from one pond to another by the pair with the goslings. I sat a few feet away from them today. The goose is either Tarragon, Fennel's sister, or the pair is Florcie and Faust, Fennel's parents. I'm leaning towards Florcie and Faust since the goose has a line on her neck where there used to be feathers. Florcie was slightly battered the same way. I'll have to get closer to be sure.

Notes:
With Ember getting testy I'm starting to think that the eggs might hatch later this week instead of early next week. Fennel is more than happy that the day is getting closer. He ate a bit from my hand he's so lonely. Even as a gosling he didn't eat too much out of my hand. There are geese that the residental pond and I'm hoping Basil is among them. It's privet property so I can't get over to tell.

SGAH
FYWR
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Monday, May 5, 2008

   day 21
Ugh, what a busy day. I didn't get out to see Ember until 19:00! Lots of paper work and phone calls between me and that film school.

Today:
I was a little over hyper because I wanted to get home before dark. Ember sensed this but she still was very well behaved, except she's back to biting the water bottle angrily. An older couple and their dog actually stopped to watch my feed her. I'm like a freak show. It's funny. I saw Fennel before and after I saw Ember. He's a Pond C because a pair with goslings took over Pond A. He ate from my hand. You can see that he's getting excited about the goslings. It's so cute. I think with Ember getting a little more skittish means I'm seventy percent right that Monday will be the day.

Notes:
I couldn't get close to the pair with the goslings but they knew what bread was, especially the gander. That would mean he's Parsley, or Attila, or Faust, or Soot. I think Basil would've come closer even with goslings. He wasn't limping either and the last time I saw him he had a bum leg. The goose was hoovering and since they're much more protective that could mean she's the one who knew me and the gander was picking up her cues. Well, whoever they are, they have five adorable babies.

SGAH
FYWR
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Sunday, May 4, 2008

   day 20
It's finally day twenty! Goslings are coming soon. I should take pictures. I'll definately get some after the goslings hatch.

Today:
I brought my brother with me to the nest again today. He's fairly disobediant but he was disobeying me and doing the things I taught him at the same time so it was okay. I fed Ember a little bt of bread. It was an end piece so I had to be even more careful about the size of the pieces. She stood up as I was ready to walk off so I didn't get a great look at the eggs. My brother said he counted three. I already confirmed five previously. Fennel was at Pond A this time. He was by the side of the road waiting for us. He was very excited to have company, especially company that feeds him. We went back to the nest after a short visit with Fennel. I fed Ember some dandilions and gave her more sticks for the nest. Sprucing up the nest is still her most favorite thing to do. Fennel crossed the street after a minute so I sent my brother to the empty lot next to the nest to keep him company. Ember still won't let him anywhere near her and he's been getting very over excited lately. I think he knows the babies are coming. Fennel came right over to my brother. I saw him showing Fennel he had no food like I taught him. It's a very useful thing to do. The last thing you want in an over excited gander smacking into your face because he thinks you have food. It was a simple trick I came up with when Fennel was a gosling. His brother, Basil, was also very excitable and large for his age. So I had to show him I had no food to keep him from nipping at my feet. With my brother hanging out with Fennel, it gave me time to sit with Ember. She stood up again and I counted six eggs. And that was with down everywhere so who knows, there could be more. For hers and Fennel's sake I hope not. They are first time parents. I've never seen more than six but I guess it's a slim possiblity. I may've also heard a peep. I'm pretty sure it was a near by bird but I was ready to get up and run out of there in case they were hatching. I'm guessing it may happen next Monday.

Notes:
I want so badly to go to the church next to the residental pond and find Basil. I'm ninty percent sure I saw goslings there and it would be great if he was the gander. I'm sure he had a mate before his leg injury but when I never saw her I though he just couldn't keep up with her. It would be wonderful if the reason I didn't see her was because she was nesting. If he does have a mate then most likely it's one of Ember's three sisters. The Fire group and the Spice group were bitter territory rivals last spring. This spring we are expecting a batch of goslings from Ember of the Fire group by Fennel of the Spice group. It's like a much happier goose version of Romeo and Juliet.

SGAH
FYWR
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Saturday, May 3, 2008

   day 19
Almost to the twenty day mark.

Today:
I came to the realisation that after the goslings come I'm leaving for the summer. Not only that, but if I get into this film school I'll be leaving and not coming back. I spent so much time with the Fire group and the Spice group last spring that I was able to do my work with Ember and Fennel this spring. That's a lot of time invested. So, I brought my little brother to the nest with me so that I could teach him how to work with Ember and Fennel so that he can take over while I go away. I made him walk down to the nest. I eased Ember into having someone else there and showed my brother how to hand-feed her. I didn't let him do it, but I did show him how to get the peice of bread inthe water dish so that he could do that. I showed him how to give her more sticks for the nest. That still is her favorite thing. My brother didn't do so well there. He kept tossing them at her instead of handing them to her. Ember seemed to really enjoy the extra attention I was giving her. She barely hissed at me. She did hiss when my brother got too close after I had stepped away, so maybe she does still have a strong instict against humans. I took my brother over to see Fennel. Fennel was standing by the side of the road waiting for me. It was really cute. He saw me with bread and came running over. He was so excited that he was close enough to eat from our hands but everytime he tried he would pull back and wait for us to throw te food. I showed my brother how to identify Fennel from other ganders. The white smudge on his forehead is very useful that way. I went back and cleaned Ember's water dish before leaving. It was a much longer visit then I wanted, but it was productive.

Notes:
There's a whole big group of geese not far from the residental pond Basil was staying at. If he's not among them then he could be the gander in the pair that just hatched some goslings a few days ago. I'm going to have to drive over and see. Fennel is still very lonely and watches Ember from across the street. I think he knows that the time is near. Ember's doing very well except for being tired. It's been windy and she has no wind block. She's a very dedicated first time mother to be though.

SGAH
FYWR
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Friday, May 2, 2008

   day 18
Still keeping visits short.

Today:
It's extremely windy today and it rains off and on. Ember genuinly seemed happy to see me. She barely hissed and when she did it was very soft. I cleaned her water dish and refilled it without trouble. She hates water bottles so this was surprising. She also insisted on being hand-fed. She actually was reaching for the bread after I tore it off the slice. This would be very exciting and monumental if I wasn't trying to get her to revert more to her wild nature. People like her now because she's not on their lawns. After the eggs hatch she'll be seen as a pest again. She'll have to re-learn that not all humans mean food.

Notes:
I saw two geese in the residental pond where Basil's been living. The pond is farther from the road so I didn't get a good look. If one was Basil then it means he's gotten himself a mate. Most likely it's another pair and that means poor Basil is probably getting some mild harrasment from the gander. The chances of this gander being his brother, Parsley, or the son of the Fire group, Soot, is about twenty five percent likely. Fennel also has some company at Pond A now. He was swimming alone but the pair was standing on the bank. This pair is most likely Florcie and Faust, his mother and father. A close second would be the pair being Attila and Lilith, Ember's father and mother. It looks like after the goslings arrive there will be a small family reunion. For geese, that's not exactly a good thing.

SGAH
FYWR
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Thursday, May 1, 2008

   day 17
It's not silly to ask. Yes, Ember is a wild Canadian goose. I studied two families last spring and she was a gosling in the Fire group. Her mate, Fennel, is from the Spice group. And his brother, Basil, was my favorite. He used to sit on my lap.

Today:
Another very brief visit to the nest. I drove over instead of walked, again. Ember still eats out of my hand. Until she gets to the point that she'll snap at me I'll have to keep my distance. She looked very tired today. It's very windy and there are no wind blockers. Despite being tired, she has a very big appitite. I'm still working on finding something healthier for her to eat.

Notes:
I'm going to drive slow by Pond A and the residental pond to see how Fennel and Basil are doing. I feel really bad about not seeing Fennel in so long. He was very lonely the last time I saw him and that was with me going to Pond A eveyday to see him. The eggs should hatch around May 15th and he'll be estatic then. Ganders are adorable when it comes to their babies.

SGAH
FYWR
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

day 16
Short visits are boring.

Today:
I drove to the nest because I want to take it easy for a few days. I refilled Ember's water and gave her a little bread. She recognizes me to the point it's creepy. And she's always up for some hand-feeding. I like how we have a bond but it's not really healthy for her. I'm going to have to just feed her and leave for the next few days. She's very perky and alert. That's always a good sign.

Notes:
Construction and my need to race my CD made me miss Basil's pond, again. I also haven't gone to see Fennel yet. Since I'm distancing myself from Ember for a few days, I probably won't get to see him until the weekend.

SGAH
FYWR
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

   day 15
Very, very short visit.

Today:
The temp dropped quite a bit. Ember seems to welcome the cooler weather. I fed her very quickly and tried her on reen beans. She doesn't like them so it's still bread for now. She does recognize me as a food source though and looks for me when I walk around the neighborhood. I'm going to have to keep my visits short. She also responses to her name now. She seem a lot perkier with the cooler weather.

Notes:
I drove by Basil's pond too fast, again, so I didn't check for him. I ran out of the house so fast that I forgot to wrap my ribs up so I didn't walk over to Pond A to see Fennel. He's going to be very angry with me.

SGAH
FYWR
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