Browse

bulbs deer repellents topiary Statues Planters TABLE OF CONTENTS Books Magazines And Videos Bulbs For Other Wildlife For The Birds Fountains Garden Accessories Garden Art Garden Giftware Garden Supplies Home Jewelry Boxes Not Tagged Outdoor Living Planters Repellents Supplies Time Pieces Tools Topiary Water Gardening Weathervanes Yard And Garden

Baby Geese!

Have you noticed the yellow-green bits of fuzz around the Canadian geese lately?!!  The little goslings are being born!!!

I know what an annoyance the geese can be. I spent all of my summers as a child with my grandmother on a beautiful lake up in Rhode Island. If I was up early enough, she would have me chase the geese off the shoreline. Later, I would get the lovely task of picking up their droppings with this very old trowel and tossing them in her flowerbeds. When the geese became more plentiful, I would be tossing the stuff into her compost pile instead.

My love of gardening came from those early days with my grandmother. I never once saw her use any type of store bought fertilizer much less a pesticide or weed killer. I remember her friends coming to visit this little summer cottage. They would enjoy a cup of coffee with her home baked goodies, trade flower seeds and just go on about how beautiful her gardens and flowerboxes always looked.  (Afterwards, I would have to go dump the old coffee grounds into the flowerbeds as well.)

Well, the times have certainly changed. Now, the goose population has gotten so out of control, we sometimes have to take drastic measures to chase them away. I have heard that they are fearful of things flying overhead - some scary oversized mylar balloons are being manufactured to help deter them. A scary balloon hanging over my head would make me nervous too. Metallic streamers seem to help. So do dogs. Geese, generally do not land on your lawn but come up from the water. Probably one of the best methods to keep them at bay is to set up a shoreline hedge. There is also BobbexG which helps prevent browsing of geese by it's taste and odor.

Well, I know my grandmother would find it crazy-all the time and money going into these measures but I don't really remember her purchasing a lot of shrubs and trees either. She seemed to acquire most of her garden from swapping with friends.

What I do remember from my youth, is getting very excited whenever I got to see a flock of geese in their characteristic V-shape flying by.

5/6/00