We Get To Witness The Coolest Things On The Farm

Over the weekend, dear reader, I went into my chicken coop to feed my favorite feathered babies and gather eggs. Imagine my shock when I found a HUGE white egg sitting among my chicken eggs. I walked out of the chicken coop, holding up this huge white egg like a trophy, and announced that one of you ladies really went bok-bok over this one! Apparently, dear reader, I am as silly as my geese because Eric pointed out it had to be a goose egg. One of my chickens simply did not have the capacity to grow an egg to that size or to lay one that large. Mystery solved, it was Jordan's silly little goose, Baby, who was laying eggs in the chicken coop. 

Now, our Baby is a delightful little goose, but she is not the brightest crayon in the crayon box, if you know what I'm saying. She gets separated from the flock all the time and cannot figure out how to get back inside the fence she has obviously figured out how to get outside of. She walks the fence line honking in distress until one of us picks her up and puts her over the fence. She chases bugs in the grass as she did as a gosling. She still enjoys hanging out on the porch, waiting for us to come out to greet her. Which would be delightful, except she poops a lot, and big, like really big. 

The Bibbed Wonder is always saying what a dumb bird she is, how he is amazed she is still alive, and how she is a few cards short of a full deck. Well, let me tell you, dear reader, this little goose who appears to struggle with everyday life choices has the egg-laying thing figured out. Every year, we struggle with our geese laying eggs, sitting on them, only to have them stolen by a raccoon or opossum. They lay their eggs in the small hut by the barn; last year, they were inside the barn. That is where Baby and Kiss-Kiss's eggs were found and then incubated. Our silly little goose, Baby, has figured out that the chicken coop is the safest spot on the farm for her to lay her eggs. She squeezed herself inside through the little chicken door, laid an egg in the laying box, had a good meal, and then squeezed back outside through the little chicken door. That to me is genius, not dumb at all. 

She does not sit on her eggs; if I'm being honest, she probably figures some silly little hen will sit on them for her. Again, she is a genius. However, nobody is broody, so I gather them. I am collecting the goose eggs and plan to incubate them again, which makes me very happy. So, how do I know the eggs are fertilized, you might ask? Well, The Bean and I were returning from appointments in town, and we saw our geese doing the strangest thing. It was like they were dancing on water, dear reader. They would face each other, then stretch their necks out as long as possible, and swim toward each other in a zig-zagging pattern. It was beautiful and a bit complex. They did this several times, circled each other, and then they did what geese do to create little goose babies. I have never seen their mating rituals before, and they were quite lovely. The Bean said it best, "Despite the cold weather, I love living here. We see the coolest things on our farm." I couldn't agree more, dear reader. 

Please keep your fingers crossed that Baby's eggs are fertilized, and I can successfully incubate them for her. Although they serve no real purpose other than to boss me around and entertain me, I do love my geese. It is indeed spring when the geese are laying eggs. On this overcast Wednesday, stay safe, be smart, don't underestimate a silly little goose, and keep washing your hands.