Last weekend was very disappointing. Saturday morning we woke up to a dead goose in the pond near the shore. I went out to have a look to try to determine what had happened. The first thing I noticed was that the gate to get into that area from the field was not closed properly. It was open about 12-15 inches. As I walked to the goose I looked for tracks. There are a lot of leaves and other matter on the ground so I couldn’t see any tracks. The goose had been partially eaten but had not been dragged from the water.
Nicholas admitted that he was the last one through that gate and he didn’t secure it. We thought it was most likely a coyote. We discussed the importance of keeping our animals safe by closing gates as we go through them.
Sunday morning we woke up to another dead goose, in the water, by the shore. The boys went and looked at that one. Again partially eaten.
We are now wondering what is doing this. A coyote would have taken the whole goose and eaten all of it. Right?? What about a raccoon? Does the fact that the geese were in the water when they were killed tell us that some omnivore/carnivore is living in the pond? Nutria, mink, ferret???
It is impossible, at this point, to know with certainty but I think all of our females are now dead. They might have been unfriendly little things, but they are enjoyable to watch. Now we are down to three. When we moved here there were eight. What are we doing wrong?
On to some news of a happier nature.
Apparently our town has an annual daffodil show the first weekend of spring. Joshua and Nicholas decided, at the last minute, that they wanted to enter some daffodils. We certainly have a bunch from which to choose. Joshua cut three different kinds and Nicholas went with one. They gently cleaned them off and Michael drove them to the grade school where the show was held.
We went back on Sunday to see if they had won any of the contests.
Joshua’s “Fortissimo”placed second and his “Crown Gold” place first.
Nicholas’ “Dateline” placed second. Joshua’s “Thalia” placed second.
Needless to say, this has opened a desire to compete each year. Hopefully our daffodils won’t bloom at the end of January again next year. The lady running the show said this was the earliest bloom in 18 years. They have two more shows over the next two weekends and believe there won’t be any flowers for competition for the second show and only a few for the show before. Early bloom and a big rain and wind storm the night before. Not the best combination of events for a daffodil show.
Our tulips are in full bloom.
Enjoy the weekend,
Karen
Sorry to hear about the goose loss. What a shame. Hope you can figure it out, and quickly. Congrats to the boys on their flower awards. The flowers are all so beautiful!
Yeah, we better figure it out or soon we won’t have any.
If it is raccoons we are out of luck because raccoon season ended on 3/1 so we can’t kill them anymore.
loved reading this post, thank you
Thanx for visiting!
Congrats to the boys!!
I was both surprised and disappointed when we went to our Sierra City cabin in early March; over half of the daffodils had already bloomed out, but the “late” bloomers were already blooming. So we did see some flowers. We are returning next week(when we usually see the start of the daffodils). I wonder what will be blooming then.
I will let the boys know you said “congrats”. It has been scary mild so far this year.
They are saying it will be quite the forest fire season. Probably start in June! The moisture level in trees in the Cascade Range are at levels usual for August.
I hope there are still lot’s of beautiful blooms when you go next week.
Hugs to you and Huff,
Karen
Please extend my congratulations to Joshua and Nicholas. They must be very proud.
I am sorry to hear about your geese. If they died in the water, I would consider a water-dwelling mammal or a snapping turtle. In my state, there is no hunting season for snapping turtles. You can shoot them any time, just like coyotes. We usually look for a dark oval spot in the water. Sometimes they float with the nose sticking above the water. Sometimes they rest on a log. We shoot the snappers because they are capable of taking our ducks. Our ducks are large Pekins (12 Lb or so). A snapper will drag it under water and hold it there until it’s dead. The fact that your geese were floating in the water made me think of a possibility of a snapping turtle.
Racoons and foxes are habitual killers. They will come back every night for an easy meal. You may be dealing with one of those as well. If you report to your Dept of Fish and Wildlife, they are most likely to give you a year-round permit to hunt “wildlife nuisance” that is damaging to your property.
I’d set a life trap where the geese were killed. Hopefully you’ll get the varmint.
A couple of years ago I called my friend and neighbor and told her to go to church without me. I had to process three chickens that Sunday. The chickens were injured by a raccoon. The animal reached through a crack in the coop wall, injured two chickens and killed a rooster. It severed two legs and one head. Hubby heard the commotion and shot the coon that night. After I was done processing my chickens, I skinned, gutted, and cooked the varmint. I fed it back to the chickens. . . When I told the story to my church fellows the following Sunday, they were laughing. They likes the idea. Since that incident, I have a reputation in my neighborhood. They call me “the lady who feeds the predator back to the prey”. They find it amusing and they buy the chicken eggs from me regularly.
I hope my little story will lighten up your frustration with the geese. We rotate our ducks and chickens. And when I buy a new flock, I always buy a few extra to account for losses to predators. I guess it’s just life in the wilderness.
I hope you hunt down the varmint. Best of luck to you.
Kimberly
Well, I can only say that the goose story is indeed sad, and it has been the hardest part for me of living on the farm is when those of God’s creatures that bless our land, die. But then, the mostly good story is the magnificent blossoms of yours flowers. And so, your lives are too in full blossom. God’s multiplied blessings. We love you
It is really hard. We are not allowed to trap and kill the raccoons since it is out of season. Not sure how to keep them safe.
I also am sad because I think all the females are dead. Not sure but that is what it looks like.
Yes, the flowers are so beautiful. It is a blessing. On April 12 it will be the one year anniversary of the first time we saw this house.
The bulbs were in bloom and I just fell in love with the land.
Take care.
Hugs,
Karen