Thursday, May 26, 2011

Mr. Lonely

We kept only the single pair of geese over winter. Mother Goose has been sitting on a clutch of eggs for ever so long now. We were kind of expecting her to hatch some goslings out about a week ago, but nothing so far. Either we miscalculated or she's sitting on duds.

Nevertheless, she seems bound and determined to do her motherly duty and leaves the nest only a couple of times a day for a very short time. A VERY short time. She'll grab a few mouthfuls of grass on her way down to the pond, take a quick sponge bath, drink some water, then run (literally) back to her nest. It's amazing how female geese can survive on so little when they're sitting on eggs. She never touches the food or water we put in her enclosure. (Ungrateful little feathered twit.)

This all has left Father Goose a very lonely fella. He's much too far above the other poultry to associate with them although he could if he wanted. He spends a lot of time walking around by himself honking forlornly and looking as if he's lost his best friend.

He's extremely protective of his mate and will raise a huge kafuffle whenever anyone goes close to her and the nest. But lately I think he's reached his limit of alone time.

Now when you approach, he still comes at you hissing with neck thrust forward in a threatening manner. But if you talk to him, he lowers his high standards and seems to enjoy just having another being to hang out with for a while. Today when I was working on one side of the fence, he followed along with me nonchalantly eating grass and dandelions on the other.

Something is going to give in the incubating egg/gosling department soon. Then he'll have his little lady love back out and about to keep him company. We're hoping it will be with several round, fat, fluffy goslings waddling behind Mom and Pop.

17 comments:

Sparkless said...

Aww the poor guy. I'm sure the babies will hatch soon.

Unknown said...

Ooh my, reading this my heart went out to the lonely feller. I hope those eggs aren't duds. Momma goose would feel awful.

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

I am sure no one would be happier to get the show on the road that Mother Goose. At least Father Goose get to get out. Typical man ;)

Erin said...

Oh, I hope everything goes well, I sure love a good duckling photo! That's a great close up of him, too!

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - I sure hope you're right! Seems such a waste for her have put in this much time and get nothing out of it.

Nancy - IF the eggs aren't going to hatch, I wonder how long she'd keep up the vigil??

Jane - Yeah, you are spot on in that conclusion! ;o}

Erin - Thank you! He was sticking so close to me that it wasn't a hard photo to get!

meemsnyc said...

I hope the eggs are hatched soon. Poor guy.

Mama Pea said...

meemsnyc - I'm betting he's feeling better just knowing all you are sending him sympathy! ;o}

Anonymous said...

Ah, the loneliness of being a man! Poor momma, hope she's not sitting on rotten eggs. I wonder also how long she'll sit on them?

dr momi said...

Love the pics of lonely Father Goose :-)

Mama Pea said...

Ruth - Ah, the boredom of poor Mother Goose stuck on that nest for so long! ;o}

Dr. Momi - Thanks! He seemed very toleratnt of my company this afternoon.

Sue said...

Oh, how sad for Mr. Goose. And wouldn't little goslings be a fine bonus. Hopefully they won't grow up to hiss at you too. One doing that is enough!

Sue said...

OMG---comments work here too!! I'm up to FOUR people's blogs I can comment on without being signed out every 2 seconds. Hooray. I have much to say!!
:D

judy said...

love the close up of
"MR. LONELY"

Patty said...

Wow! I can post a comment to your blog! I still can't to most, including my own. I hope you get some goslings soon. They're so fun to watch. :) Let's all hope for Mama Goose that something comes of her big sacrifice!

Mama Pea said...

Sue - Glad to see you could comment! Hope you can continue to do so. We had seven little goslings hatch last year, but it's starting to look a little bleak at this point this year. :o( Darn.

judy - Thank you. Maybe I should start advertising that I do portraits of geese?!

Patty - Another person finally able to comment! Hubby and I are wondering how long before Mother Goose gives up and leaves the nest. We thought the eggs should have hatched a week ago. Bummer.

MamaLou said...

There`s a reason they call them `silly goose`! Two have mine have nest swapped, the original mama was kicked off, another took over, laid 3 more eggs and is sitting....I have NO IDEA what is going to happen!

Mama Pea said...

MamaLou - I frequently call ours "you silly goose!" It just seems to fit. Maybe it's best you have no idea what's going on with your nesting mother geese . . . that way you won't be obsessing about whether they should have hatched by now or not!! Thanks for your comment.