Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Final word on the duck and the geese

Jon and I were able to talk a couple times on the phone yesterday, which was so nice. He has access to the Internet, so is still e-mailing as well. Someone asked about the ducks -- really only one duck and a bunch of geese -- and so I asked Jon for an update. Here you go.

"As of the time I left the base with the duck pond, here is an update on the status of the winged creatures living off its abundance: there was one duck, a big white one named Aflack, generally in competition with fourteen geese (three adults, eleven almost adults that were goslings when I arrived in country back in February '06); There was also a blue heron that had begun frequenting the pond about three months ago, and now is observable there for a considerable portion of every day. They, at last report (none of the above), were NOT using the Goose House that had been prepared for them. I was hoping for some goslings at the end of January (based on the goslings this time last year), but these did not materialize--perhaps because the other eleven offspring have not yet left the family to seek their fortune. Probably a good thing, too, as I don't expect they'd be afforded similar protection anywhere else over here, and they were looking mighty healthy and edible to anyone with an eye for geese meat. I'll touch base with the folks over there periodically to see if any goslings materialize, or for news on whether Aflack is successful on the dating scene (he may be overbearing and a little aggressive, lacking in social graces, having only the geese to interact with--and we all know how tough that can be)."

Sheryl

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