lunch with geese lunch with geese

Now that summer has finally taken hold of Boston, I’ve begun escaping the corporate confines in the afternoons to eat lunch by the river. Sometimes I’m joined by a family of Canada geese. When I first spotted them, the goslings weren’t babies, but what could only be described as gawky teenagers – nearly as tall as their elders, but with spiky white fluff where the adults have smooth black necks.

Today as I was finishing off my lunch, I looked up with a start to find that the alpha goose was leading the whole family right over to where I was sitting, apparently because he liked the looks of my cherry pits. I tossed him some more, and he pecked away at them, spitting out each pit indignantly after all the bits of cherry were gone. Then some of the teenagers followed his lead, each one growing a little bolder, until one started taking pieces of salad right from my hands.

Geese are very fond of carrots, but only if they are shredded, because geese don't have teeth.

I know this because one bit me. (I ran out of carrots.)

I wonder if they’ll remember me tomorrow…



  ¶ 7/10/2003 03:36:00 PM