Of Geese and and Tortoises and Snakes

Of Geese.  Just about every day when we stop at Jeff and Amy's home on our way home, we see the family of Canadian geese that live there.  They are such beautiful birds and fascinating to watch.  Lola, especially, wants to go see the "ducks" as she calls them and says, "Come on, Papa," while grabbing his hand.

When I was looking up facts about them, I saw all kinds of posts of how to keep them away from settling near you.  I was shocked!  We love them!  Maybe we won't be saying this later, but right now, we think it is so amazing. 

The first year Jeff and Amy lived in this neighborhood, there was just a mother and a father.  Last summer, they had four little ones who have now grown up.  Canadian geese find a mate usually during their second year and stay together for life.  (However, if one mate dies, the other will re-mate.)

As Lola gets closer to them, you hear, "Honk . . ."  Then from another, "Honk, . . .  I found out that they communicate with different sounds.  In fact with about 13 different calls for things like greetings, warnings, and contentment, they may be one of the most talkative animals after humans.  Goslings, or baby geese, begin communicating with their parents while still in the egg! 

Then there was a whole bunch of "honking" and in perfect unison, they all take off together.

They had definitely given the "warning" honk, and they all obeyed!

Of Tortoises.  Another animal that lives near our home, is a tortoise.  They live in holes in the ground which they dig with their powerful claws.  Friday night while Jeff took the boys to the "Father and Sons" Outing with the church, Amy had to help with a school carnival, so George and I took Lola exploring for our tortoise.   

We were disappointed when we found his hole empty and full of leaves, so we wondered where he had moved to.  Soon we found a new hole, but he wasn't home.  After driving about a half mile away, there he was crawling along. 

He doesn't like a lot of visitors, so we didn't stay long.  See you later, Tortoise!

Of Snakes.  Saturday was "clean up the rain gutters" day.  George was outside with the ladder in the pick-up next to the garage since the ladder  wouldn't reach from the ground.  Danger!  I couldn't believe he had started before I was out there to hold the ladder.  Little did I know that falling wasn't the biggest danger!

After George could breathe again and wasn't so pale (Hah!), he re-enacted what had happened.  He had climbed the ladder, luckily with his gloves on, and pulled out the first handfull of leaves, but as he brought the leaves downward, they were wiggling in his hand.  The he noticed that not only did he have a handful of leaves, he had a handful of snake which was about two feet long!

After throwing him on the ground and covering him with the recyling bin, he showed him to me. 

Fortunately, he didn't look like a poisonous snake, but when you grab a snake unknowingly above your head, your heart doesn't care whether it's poisonous or not.  It starts racing!

We called the kids to come over.  Isaac was definitely the most brave at first. 

Then Jeff decides to pick him up behind his head . . .

The little guy didn't like that at all and gave Jeff a bite on his finger--it actually broke the skin!  What if it had been posionous?

George has his gloves on and lets the kids touch the snake. 

Jeff puts the snake in a pillowcase so we can transport him to a new home--a long ways from ours!

 

We released him in the field by the landfill area.  There are lots of critters around there for him to be friends with!

Off he goes.  Bye-bye, snake!  Don't come back!

We had brought all the yard waste to the landfill.  The kids had fun playing while George and Jeff emptied the truck. 

Yes, Florida is a "wild" place to live.  You never know what "wild" thing you'll meet next!  This was enough for one weekend!