I so love the way the whole gaggle take on responsibility for the goslings. The adults stand guard, watching in every direction while the babies graze. Trevor (the big white male on the right) goes mental if you pick up a baby. He has no real weaponry – no fangs or claws – but he knows his role is to protect them. Jackie, in the middle, sat on the eggs, but Maria stayed with her the whole time circumnavigating the island where she sat looking for threats while Trevor and Kermit (the other adult male) stood guard on the bank.
Search Results for: geese
We are relatively new to geese. The original incentive for trying them was an idea that perhaps they would be territorial enough to ward off some of the predatory wildlife like goannas, and give the chooks a bit of protection. Plus we had, for the first time ever, a secure body of water in a lined dam. And the original pair were so picture-book picturesque.
Watching chooks in a dustbath is a bit like watching geese in a dam – they enjoy it so much.
I think most rural areas in Australia at least would benefit hugely from a big population influx of people intent on creating a simple green frugal lifestyle. But in reality, the majority of the population lives in cities, and it is there that the real work of creating change needs to be done, and will have the biggest effects, for all of us.
It’s a too early yet for onions and garlic, but I’ve planted the first round of parsnips for the season. I had left a couple in the garden to go to seed (that’s the picture), and they reckon it’s the right time to plant seed. Parsnips are from the umbelliferae family, and like the rest of that family their flowers are good for attracting predatory insects like tachinid flies, assassin bugs, lacewings and parasitic wasps. So letting a few flower and seed is a pest control insurance payment, and you get free fresh seed as a byproduct.
My garden came through the frizzle weather of the last couple of days not too badly, though the dam is low now and I’m very much hoping we don’t get more of it before decent rain. Stacking to the north, shade, mulch, and plant selection did the trick though.
My pickings today loaded up my kitchen bench. Mangoes are biennial, and this is a mango year, so I’ve been making smoothies and cakes and pickles and chutney and sorbet, and giving lots away. The spring this year was wet enough for the pomegranates to fruit well – often our springs are too dry – and the tamarillos are all ripening at once. I’m back to growing enough tomatoes to bottle some, the snake beans and green and purple and Madagascar beans are all bearing enough for both eating green and letting mature for the bean jars, and the chilis and capsicums have all started to ripen at once.