It is no small feat to raise a family of Canada Goose goslings
on the big pond at Turtle Rock Farm.
Dad has helped.
With his bulldozer, he made islands on the pond
one year it went dry.
He also built nesting bowls
and put them on tall poles
in the water along the shoreline.
All this
to provide a place safe from coyotes, raccoons
and any other predators
so the geese could raise families.
They don’t use the nesting sites.
They do nest on the islands.
We’ve watched parents
circle the islands
day after day
protecting the nest.
And we’ve seen the rains come,
the waters rise
and nests lost.
We feared that had happened this year,
but there
floating around the pond,
following their parents
(who are monogamous
and mate for life)
in
a
line,
are seven fledgling goslings.
Happy are we all.
