Monday, April 28, 2008

   day 14
Extremely short visit due to lots of pain and lack of time.

Today:
I went down to see Ember. I decided not to see Fennel since I'm very short on time lately. I refilled her water and gave her a little bread. She really hates the water bottle. I think she was a little uncomfortable with me today because I was wearing a fleece instead of the windbreaker she'd gotten used to. I'll have to keep my clothing more consistant when I work with her, at least while she's on the nest. I gave her some more sticks for the nest. That's her favorite thing at the moment.

Notes:
I went by Basil's too fast to see him. Fennel was in Pond A today but lack of time means I didn't visit. Ember seems very well and seems to enjoy the cooler weather we have today.

SGAH
FYWR
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Sunday, April 27, 2008

   day 13
I had my mother come with me. One of the dogs is sick so the visit was short.

Today:
I walked down to feed Ember. I hand fed her to show my mother I could. She didn't hiss at me as much as she usually did. I hoe it was because she was busy eyeing my mother. She wild and she should always have a certain distrust of humans. I went over to feed Fennel after a minute of feeding Ember. He was at Pond B instead. He's one of the cutest things when he runs. I didn't have my windbreaker this time so he got really close. I stopped by the nest very briefly on my way back home. Someone mentioned that she was sweet but said it sarcastically. I guess that means Ember is still very hot tempered to other people.

Notes:
I won't get to drive by Basil today. I did feed a goose in Pond D. The fish in Pond D are very aggressive and attack the geese so she wouldn't get too close. I caught two fish with my hands. It was fun.

SGAH
FYWR
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Saturday, April 26, 2008

   day 12
It's so windy!

Today:
It never ceases to amaze me how easily amazed these suburbanites are. I went down to see Ember. I fed her about half a small slice of bread and cleaned out her water dish before walking across the busy road to see Fennel. It's so windy that he was getting blown all over the place when I was tossing the bread in the water. He's still uncomfortable with my windbreaker but he does recognize that I'm a symbol of food. I went back to Ember with three small peices of bread. I had to hand feed her the whole time. It's so windy that even a slight toss would blow the bread away from her. She likes her bread soggy so if it's windy tomorrow I'll just put it in the water. She's still wild so should get used to being hand fed. Two wmen is separate cars pulled over to talk about her. One said she hoped for grand-babies. A great sign that future generations will be safe in this suburbia. The other was simply astounded that I was sitting next to her. I explained how I knew her as a gosling and how it wsn't difficult to get them to trust you. She just said how she's seen her nasty side before. And as she's talking about the nasty side Ember's taking a nap.

Notes:
Fennel is pretty lonely. He likes when I'm around for security reasons as well as food reasons. I won't get to see Basil today because I'm not driving anywhere. I'll just assume he's doing great. Ember seems really tired. I think with all the wind and no wind block she hasn't slept much these last three days. She's seems to be doing good other than that. She's obsessed with keeping up the nest, even though the wind is blowing most of it way. I wish she had grass near her because bread is not good nutritionally. The decor grass near her hasn't grown in yet. I think it will be too big for her to eat but if she can get the blades young then that'll help.

SGAH
FYWR
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Friday, April 25, 2008

   day 11
Much more interaction today.

Today:
I didn't have any bread today, so I chose not to go see Fennel. I did bring Ember some baby spinach. She didn't like it. Today was the first day I stayed with her since trading n my sweatshirt for a windbreaker. She didn't like the windbreaker, but after she got used to it she stopped hissing and made happy goose noises. She even purred a little. I kept handing her pieces of sticks for her nest. She seemed to enjoy that. She even let me hand her a piece of down. Ember stood up once very briefly and I think there are six eggs instead of five. One was definately off-white and two were definately white. Since she hasn't moved in eleven days the other colors were iffy. She got very comfortable with me sitting there. She got so comfortable that she started to take a nap with me sitting there. She's still doing well, even though I'm worried about her nutrition.

Notes:
I saw Basil taking a nap when I drove home from school. He's still at the residental pond. The people don't seem to bother him. He's still alone though. Fennel saw me walk over to see Ember. Since I had no food, I decided not to see him. After sitting with her a few minutes, Fennel crossed the busy street from Pond A to come see me. Since he's not allowed anywhere near the nest, he didn't come over. But he did spend a few minutes staring at me until he gave up and started grazing. I feel a little bad for not going over to see him, but after he crossed the street he was in someone's yard. I'll make it up to him.

SGAH
FYWR
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Thursday, April 24, 2008

   day 10
Short visit.

Today:
I walked over to see Ember. I kept the visit short. I fed her a little bread and refilled her water. She's doing very well and I still find it so cute that she's careful not to bite me when I feed her even though she hisses at me.

Notes:
I haven't see Basil yet today. He's still at the residental pond. Fennel doesn't like my windbreaker but he did come over for food.

SGAH
FYWR
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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

   day 9
Fairly short visit.

Today:
The lawnkeepers were mowing today. I was worried about Ember leaving the nest, but she held her ground. I fed her a little bread, once by hand. She hisses and hisses but she's still gentle. I crossed the road to Pond A to feed the rest to Fennel. He was a little jumpy. I was wearing a windbreaker and he wasn't sure what to make of it. The mowers in the background didn't help. I went back to Ember after that. I left her some twigs for the nest. She didn't like me putting them there but she was playing with them when I walked away. I'm cutting down on how much food I give her. Bread really isn't good for her and a lot of the neighbors are starting to give her multiple slices. I'm not sure how much she actually eats, since they are large pieces, but it still means I have to be extra careful about her food. Tomorrow I'll try her on baby spinach. She needs greens.

Notes:
My visits are getting short. It's very hot out and I don't want to fluster her. I also have a lot of finals and papers I have to worry about. Once my work load takes a dive, I'll spend a little more time near the nest, but not so much near her. She needs space too.

SGAH
FYWR
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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

   day 8
Very brief visit.

Today:
The weather is perfect for studies today, however due to the amount of pain I'm experiancing from my broken ribs, it would be very unwise to walk that distance. I was driven over so that I could refill Ember's water dish. The neighborhood people have been throwing slices of bread at her. The attempt is nice, I just wished they used common sense and made the pieces small enough for her to eat. I had her try some sweet roll. I gave her three very small peices. She didn't seem to like it. Regular bread is still the only thing other than grass that she'll eat.

Notes:
I can't see the possiblity of making out for a walk over to the nest or Pond A later today. The pain is quite a bit today. I didn't have the chance to see Fennel, which I really regret. Ganders are more fun then the nesting goose. I saw Basil from my car whn I drove by the residental pond. His size never ceases to amaze me. He must be one of the largest, if not the largest, ganders I've ever seen. And since he's a lone with a lawn of perfectly green grass, he's also gaining a great deal of weight. Not the best idea with a hurt leg, but food always made him happy.

SGAH
FYWR
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Monday, April 21, 2008

   day 7
It's been seven days since the arrival of the eggs. My guess is that they'll hatch either the week of the sixth or the week of the thirteenth in May.

Today:
I saw someone had thrown two full slices of bread for Ember to eat. Since geese have no teeth and can't hold the bread to rip it into smaller pieces, this kind effort was mostly in vain. I brought my mother with me to see Ember and Fennel, since I didn't want to be questioned and my cellphone had died. Ember was was nervous at seeing someone other than me, so my mother had to sit on a large rock about ten feet away. I don't think she enjoyed herself. I hand fed Ember a lot this trip. She's still very gentle and careful about not getting my fingers even though her protective instinct is through the roof. I even managed to get her to take a few blades of grass without getting bitten. Out of the Fire Group goslins, she always was the most gentle. I took my mother across the street to Pond A to meet Fennel. He's made friends with a mate-less drake. He was nervous about my mother there so he stayed on the edge of the water. My mother left so I had to cut my time with him short. I sat with Ember for a few seconds on the way back. My mother wanted to get rid of the slices of bread crowding the nest. She got one and tried to feed Ember, but the bread was so dried out that it crumbled into nothing. Ember was much calmer in that brief visit, but my mother said it was the last time she was going to try to feed her. She'll leave that to me.

Notes:
Basil's still at the residental pond. He was grazing a little a few feet off the road when I drove by. I was pretty sure that he'd have a mate, maybe he did, but his leg injury made him not able to keep up. I would perfer it if he had no mate this season then to the alternative, which is he had a mate and got separated from her. If that's the case then if he never finds her he could very well remain mate-less. That would be very sad.

SGAH
FYWR
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Sunday, April 20, 2008

   day 6
It was a question day. everyone I ran into had questions. I think I'm seen as a crazy goose activist. -~-" I was having fun with the face thingy.

Today:
I walked over to the nest and fed Ember a little bread. Two old women pulled over and asked about her. It was the first time I said her name to anyone other then my friends. She was out of water but I wanted to go see Fennel first before going all the way back to my house to get her bottle. While I was waiting to cross the busy road to get to Pond A, Fennel saw me and chased off the ducks. It was kind of cute how possesive he was. I fed him, once by hand, and he followed me back to the road. I crossed and walked back to get Ember her water. On my way, a man stopped and asked about Ember. He said he wanted to feed her to. They way he said it sounded kind of like he owned her, but other then that he was nice. I made sure to mention I knew her as a gosling, like I always do when people ask about her. It's amazing the effect that phrase has on people. Once I say that, people get interested for real. It's also a polite way for me to say don't feel bad if she attacks you if you get close, which it just seems like the other people who tried to feed hr got scared off by her hissing. She hisses at me too, usually when I first sit down, first toss the bread, and mess around with her water dish. I just know the differences between her attack hiss and her warning hiss. She's getting very paranoid about the nest since the weather dropped last night. I'll have to find scraps of cloth and bring those tonight or tomorrow.

Notes:
I saw Basil driving back from the market. He was at the residental pond near Pond A. He was sitting a few feet from the road. I have a feeling that Fennel probably chased him out of Pond A. Pond A will most likely be the first pond for the goslings when they hatch. It's a very good choice, other than it being across the road. I'm pretty happy at the number of people who seem to care about Ember. Geese are seen more widely as pests but with many of the people in the area worried about her, and excited about the eggs, then it means she's as safe where her nest is then if she were next to a pond.

SGAH
FYWR
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Saturday, April 19, 2008

   day 5
Argh, it rained! It rained and I got soaked. Then it got sunny. Blah.

Today:
I'm pretty sure Fennel is at Pond A now. Basil's not there. There are no geese in the area today except for Fennel and Ember. I'm hoping Basil went to the small residental pond nearby. No dogs, cars, and people. The owners don't bother with it. It'd be a safe place for him until his leg is better. Fennel is acting really friendly now that Ember won't let him near her. He came up to me went it was raining. He got pretty close and grazed. He swam across the pond to see me when I went back after the rain stopped. He's really big close up. He has a little smudge on his head and hissed slightly at me. He always hissed as a baby. He doesn't have the bad leg like Basil either. Those are the three ways to tell them a part. Ember's doing very well. The first time I went and saw her a woman pulled over to ask questions. She wanted to know what to feed her because she was worried about her. And she wanted to know if she'd ever leave the nest. She won't until the eggs hatch. I told her about how long Ember would be nesting, the kind of bread I fed her, and that I knew her as a gosling. I always make sure to say that when someone has questions. Geese can be really nasty. The only reason I'm not getting attacked is because she knows me. People have been trying to feed her. I saw two pink candies and some rabbit food near the nest. She seems to only be eating the bread I give her, but that's not too surprising. Geese eat grass so they wouldn't be able to eat pellets or anything like that. I gave her a little bit of grass after I went and saw Fennel. She ate a little of it and then used the rest to line the nest. I might bring her some cloth scraps to use as lining tomorrow.

Notes:
Everyone's doing really well. People seem very interested and worried about Ember. That means she's as safe in her location as she possibly can be. My research for today is closed, however, I'm in the process of writing a huge paper so I'll probably visit her again fairly soon. If anything significant happens, I'll put it in tomorrow's post.

SGAH
FYWR
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