A Goose is not just for Christmas...it's for life

One Day I suspect we will have to leave the village.
Chris' career will, I am sure, necessitate the move to another University in another part of the country, but that day, I am sure, is not rearing it's worrying head just at the moment.
When it does, I will cope with the fact.
We did it once,
we can do it again.
The "short term" animals have a tendency to replace themselves easily. Hens, ducks,guinea fowl can always be found a new home or  can be replaced. The dogs , the blind Cogburn and Albert can go anywhere, for they are more adaptable than humans, no, my only worry amongst the menagerie if we did have to move would be the geese.
My geese do possess a particular corner in my heart.
There is something very special about them.


I understand that much of this attachment  comes from the fact that I hand reared the three females from goslings (see above video of Winnie and Jo after imprinting on me soon after hatching)
But, I also know that it also comes from the fact that geese can live to well into their 20s.....
It's a sobering thought when you realise that an animal will be with you longer than the average child stays with their parents.
Even dogs only remain with you a decade or so.

I had a dream this morning that we were off to live in Japan
(why the hell was I dreaming of Japan?)
Anyhow in the dream  we set off in the Berlingo to drive to our new home (it's only 6000 odd miles!) with the dogs , cat and Rooster Cogburn all sat on the back seat ... and sitting in the boot, all calm and still and compliant were the geese.....

A Goose is not just for Christmas
In our Cottage
They are .......well for...... life!


46 comments:

  1. Oh John, please don;t let Chris get a job in Japan - I like to think of you there in Trelawnyd and could just about cope with you moving in this country (why not get Chris to apply for a job in York, then you could move to the Dales!!)

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  2. Just thought - if you did that I could dog/goose/hen sit when you went away.

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  3. I am sure this post will set the cat among the pigeons!

    Britain is a small island. Friends will visit you wherever you are.

    Nx

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  4. I'm sure you would be happy wherever you go, but I would recommend hiring a van !!

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  5. Sounds like you are preparing yourself for a move in the near future my dear John Gray. Really now do you think the Berlingo would really make it to Japan? Ha !

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    1. cindy, dont worry it wont, if at all , be for a while yet

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  6. well that's soemthing new I have learned today, about geese having long lives, didn't know that,

    Gill

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  7. Anonymous11:51 am

    Yes, follow the leader, John. I did. Not that I regret it. Lucky me that I didn't end up on the moon. That you should dream of Japan, of all places, shows deep anxiety. Main problem with the Japanese that they are so impregnably polite you never know where you are with them. That probably goes for their fowl as well.

    I do share your fondness for geese. Not least because a gander makes as good a guard dog as any Alsation. The upshot being that I am heartbroken, John, at the thought of you leaving for anywhere. Still, there is a rainbow somewhere hiding in the clouds: People who know me well always envisage me (in my old age some time in the future) in some cottage in the middle of nowhere - probably Italy. However, I am flexible. Name me a price and I am yours (or rather your flock's). After all: What's the difference between Wales and Italy?

    All you need to do is give me a crash course in ... see previous posts of yours ... and we'll all be fine and I'll send you lots of photos of those you abandoned in the name of love for a creature called Chris. May you weep.

    Will be relying on Aunt Gladys and the delicious Jason to give me plenty of moral support not least when I have to chicken coop. Other than that I will be clutching a much cherished book by John Seymour (beautifully bound, and a treasure trove) "The new complete book of SELF SUFFICIENCY - The classic guide for realists and dreamers".

    Inconsolably yours,
    Ursula

    PS This development as bad as Tom aka Hippo and I fighting over you as our future Butler. Life is tough, I tell you. And then your dreams evaporate.

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  8. Do they really live that long? Amazing. I think of your Berlingo every time I have a problem with our Renault. The latest things are one of the hub-caps falling off and one of the passenger doors jamming shut from the outside....sigh. Talking of Japan, I hope to have one of their cars sometime in the future.

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  9. You are such a fascinating mix of cuddler and carnivore. Oddly, before we moved to Spain, I had a dream of driving all the way from California.

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  10. There can be other adventures in other villages but it's hard to imagine you anywhere else. Kind of like the Dr.Seuss book..Oh The Places You'll Go.And you will brighten whatever plot you land in! My biggest fear is that my animals will outlive me but I have made kids and grandkids promise to care for them. Just like a stalker I will follow you wherever you go!

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  11. Anonymous12:46 pm

    It would seem you are worrying about being uprooted John. Surely Chris wouldn't take a job so very very far away, but I know, any kind of move is unsettling.

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  12. I had you down as a future Mayor of Trelawnyd. You can't possibly leave!

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  13. Well don't worry about what might happen tomorrow John, try to just keep enjoying today....which come to think of it, you do...you don't seem to be too much of a pessimist...and always listen to your dreams...they are worth their weight in gold.

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  14. Come to Somerset, then we can do the zombie walk together in Glastonbury!!!

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  15. I too share your love of geese. They are very special indeed.
    But sitting in the boot all calm, still and compliant? I suppose it was a dream..

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  16. You may be better off with an ark for that distance...

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  17. I feel the same way about my three pigeons.
    Jane x

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  18. I always hated moving when I was in the Air Force.

    Hope it doesn't come for a long while!

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  19. I would stay and let him commute back and forth!

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    1. gale
      nothings happening at the moment dont worry xx

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  20. Geese aren't just for Christmas, they aren't just for life, they are just a pain in the arse!

    I brought my goose up from Lubango in the south of Angola to Luanda, the capital where I live as hand luggage on a commercial flight in a wicker basket with every intention of fattening it up and eating it for Christmas. That was six years ago. It is mean, scares the crap out of the dogs and my customers, shits everywhere, munches my seedlings and is only happy when it is nestling on my feet under my desk.

    Every day for six years when the noisy bastard wakes me up at OH MY GOD Hundred hours I swear I am going to kill it.

    Can't you send me a gander or two for Christmas? I think he seriously needs to get laid...

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  21. May the geese be (always) with you.
    sorry, couldn't resist.

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  22. I know how you feel. I'm the same way about my flock of turkeys who are confused and sad this morning sitting in the foot of snow that has covered their entire world.

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  23. You sure know how to shake things up, John!! lol

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  24. John,

    Sometimes it's a real challenge to write a decent comment without offending 99% of the crowd.

    But, what the hey?

    Warning: If you are conversative, under 18, animal lover, and enjoy life in the slow lane - my apologies...

    Here it goes:

    Forget the "going gently". Fight like a motherf@#$er till the cows come home.

    You are a zombie-loving-apocalyptic-fighting-badass (slap...slap...).

    Embrace change. Change is good. Change helps us discover and un-cover our passions.

    New homes... new jobs... new opportunites... new people... and yes, new chickens... it's all movement!

    WTF? You want a rocker and afghan?

    [ouch! I think a rock just hit me!]

    Nitty Gritty Momma

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  25. nitty gritty momma has been hitting the bourbon early today!
    tee hee x

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    1. LOLOLOLOLOLOL...

      Sorry. I'll behave myself. Half-promise (with my fingers crossed).

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    2. don't you dare..you foul mouthed yank!

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  26. John, your first sentence caught at my heart. If a move is indeed in your future, i hope it can be to a place you love. If not, then i hope there are other options you and Chris can consider.

    said she, who lived for many years in a nice place that didn't feel like home.

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  27. It's a gorgeous video. I was a bit sad when I though of you moving from there one day (possibly). You seem such a part of that village which I feel I know a bit without ever having even seen it. If you ever do have to leave I hope you find something equally wonderful for you.

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  28. I can relate to what you mean John. There is no way I could ever live anywhere else but on a smallholding. Town and cities have everything except the livestock. I couldn't live with out my cattle... No way!

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  29. Responsibility for our animals looms larger and larger as we get older and older. We considered a new puppy when our Cairns died, but not having a good heir for a dog we settled on an old rescue gal. She has ten years under her belt, so we get along comfortably.

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  30. That video is so cute....

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  31. Should you intend to drive to Japan, it will not inconvenience the geese. They float.

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  32. You should housebreak those geese in case you have to live in an apartment.

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  33. I, for one, hope that you and Chris forever stay in your blessed Trelawnyd home.
    It would be hard to imagine the cottage and allotment without the heartbeat you have so painstakingly nutured.
    ~Jo

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  34. Geese live into their 20s?!?! Hmm, I better get some now while I'm merely 48!!!

    I have moved so many times, I never want to move again (and never plan to!) Hope life works out however you two want it to. :)

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  35. Never raised geese. We're down to only 3 bantams. A pair that were amongst our original chickens and a free range hen that roosts in the Magnolia and occasionally crows. Up to 5 dogs, though. How are ya? Been long enough? Trying to get me old blog back up. Having issues on my tablet, though.

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  36. Hate moving. Its always good to finally settle somewhere and dig in for the long haul.

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  37. I love your commitment. And of course the geese would come with you - they are family after all.

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  38. Why am I now singing ...Uncle Tom Cobley and all ?!

    That was a reassuring dream as you must have been feeling unsettled.
    When we moved from an appartment in Palma Mallorca to a house in a pretty village we only had a tiny Seat which had a tendancy to overheat. We had accumulated quite a lot of stuff by then so moved with pot plants etc sticking out of the windows of the tiny car ! ( No Geese though )

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  39. Can I have first refusal on your house when you move please ? ? ? ? ? you can leave the geese then, I'll look after them, and anything else ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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