Friday, April 18, 2008

   day 4
No bread, just water for Ember today.

Today:
I walked over to give Ember some water. I ran out of bread yesterday. As said before, bread isn't the healthiest thing in the world for her to be eating so it's fine that she doesn't have any today. I worry about her not eating enough since there is no grass near her, but at the same time worry about the bread, even if it's only a little bit of bread, causing her to gain too much weight. I'll get some bread and if I think it's wise, I'll give her a little today. I'll update this paragraph if that happens.

Notes:
Fennel was nowhere to be seen. He could've been sleeping in the shade under one of the shrubs near the pond. It's privet property so I didn't go look. Ember won't let him anywhere near her so, being a first time father, he probably will roam away a little more. The large gander with the broken or spranged leg is Basil. I sat down near his pond and he limped over and ate a couple feet away. I'm very happy to see him again, I just wish the circumstances around him were better.
An organization note of everyone and the four ponds:
Ashford Ponds:
-Pond A: The left pond. Across the busy road. Last year was the nest site of the Spice Group. This year is the site Basil is at.
-Pond B: The right pond. Across the busy road. The Fire Group was seen there last year. This year pairs come and go.
Wellington Ponds:
-Pond C: The north pond. Near the busy road. Last year there was a few ducks. This year Fennel is frequently seen there.
-Pond D: The south pond. Next to my house. Last year the Spice Group and the Fire Group both frequented it, along with a Stone Group gosling. This year a pair comes and goes.

The Spice Group- named because all the goslings were named after spices
-Faust: founding gander
-Florcie: founding goose
--Tarragon: a daughter, has a white spot
--Sage: a daughter
--Poppy: a daughter
--Parsley: a son
--Fennel: a son, prime gander for this year's group
--Basil: a son, this one was a personal favorite

The Fire Group- named because all the goslings had fire related names
-Attila: founding gander
-Lilith: founding goose
--Ember: a daughter, prime goose for this year's group
--Ash: a daughter
--Cinder: a daughter
--Spark: a daughter
--Soot: a son, developed his patches so late that he was originally pegged as a female

The Stone Group- named because there was only one sign of a third group
--Mica (deceased): a few weeks younger than the other two groups, she was the only sign that there was a third group, she'd gotten separated and was adopted into the Spice Group, but she later got separated from them and died

About Basil:
-The first time I started doing research here, Basil was a little gosling. The Spice Group and little Mica, who was only a few days old at the time, came to Pond D. I tried to feed them but they were so wild that they didn't know what bread was. After just sitting there a couple hours, wondering how on Earth could geese not know what bread was, one of the largest of the goslings came over and tried some. Satisfied, I got up and went inside. I was looking through the spice rack a few minutes later to find seasoning for my food. I looked out the window and the geese with all the goslings were still there. I named the six older goslings after spices I'd pulled out. Mica ws named after the semi-precious rock that I absolutely loved to play with as a kid. Faust was named after a necromancer and Florcie was named after Florance, Italy.
The next time I fed the group, the large gosling I called "Basil" was starting to eat from my hand. I fed Fennel, Tarragon, and Mica by hand too, but not nearly as often as I did Basil. He was also the first one to eat from my hand.
Over the days and hours, the entire group started becoming more trusting of me. It was around this time that I met the Fire Group. Attila was named after Attila the Hun and Lilith was named after the Biblical demon. Both were very wild and their goslings never quite came around. They were also a very hot tempered group, which is why all the goslings have fire related names. Their names were as random as the Spice goslings' except for Soot's. Soot, had no face markings at a time when the darker head feathers were growing in. Basil had a lot of nasty run-ins with Attila and later Soot over bread when the two groups were together. When the groups napped, Attila and Lilith stayed awake. Whereas, Faust and Florcie both went to sleep because I was sitting not far from the group. Basil usually took his nap next to me. He was the first wild goose I touched. I bribed him with bread, and I usued to think that was the only reason why he stuck to me, until one day when he was a little older I ran out of bread. I ran out early because I was feeding the Fire Group too at Pond A. I went and took a seat between the two groups to keep them away from each other. They went in different direction to settle down for a nap. Basil left his group and took his nap near me. I showed him there was no food but he still did it. And he let me pet him without a bribe. After that, he'd jump in my lap if I did have food. Or he'd sneak around me and take it from my pockets. Then Mica disappeared and died as I left to go east for the summer. When I came back all the goslings had their adult feathers. Soot was a confirmed male and Basil was so big that I thought he was Faust. Well, right until he came over and started peeping at me. He looked like a gander, but he was still a gosling. He let me pet him. He didn't seem to like it as much as when he was fuzzy. He stole a full slice of bread and I forgot he was wild for a second and picked him up to get it back. It scared him, but he forgave me. I finished feeding him and his family before they left. It got colder and I didn't see them until recently. Well, I've seen Lilith, Attila, Fennel, Ember, and Basil. It was funny, I was across the street from Pond A and this gander just started honking at me. I thought he was honking at Fennel for being close to the road so I ignored it. I had just been there and the broken legged thing got in the water, so I didn't think much of him honking. But when I went back today and he limped over I knew it was Basil. I sometimes forget that the key with geese is never to approch them directly. They see that as a threat. I'm glad Basil's back. I just wish I could do something about his leg.

SGAH
FYWR
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