A Gardener's Diary

OK, so everything isn’t always idyllic “on the farm.” Little snits and snats, puffing up of feathers, pecks and jabs at rivals, happen with regularity.

Lately, I have two pairs of geese that have decided to use my pond as their hang out. Their nesting sites are obviously somewhere else, but they spend their time “off the nest” in my yard and on the pond. In past years, by this time I usually only have one pair.

Although they can play nice and sit as couples a few feet from each other, tempers can flare. Oh my goodness, if one pair is already on the pond and another comes in for a landing, the honking starts — “stay away!” It doesn’t change the flight path of the incoming interlopers, or deter their landing, but navigation to the other side of the pond is usually the answer.

After realizing that neither couple is backing down, all can be well. But, other times, enough is enough, and one male will certainly let the other know how he feels…

But it doesn’t end on land…

But, this never results in a couple leaving the area. Eventually everyone calms down and…gets along.

I really do learn a lot from nature.