Thursday, October 14- Fly Away Home

This is where they were born.

They used to fall asleep on me like this.

When they were smaller I would stash all three of them in my hood in the morning while I made breakfast and ate. It stopped this day when one projectile pooped and it landed inches from my bowl. :-)

They wanted to be near me whenever I was outside. They would sit on my paper when I was writing. They would try to eat my pens, and zippers, and fingers. They thought my white gum boots were their very special friend. They protected the yard. They hung out with chickens. They wiggled their tails when they ate grasses. They shook their heads when they ate meal. They loved sticky weed.

They stuck their necks out and flapped their wings when they ran. Their tail feathers started growing in last Wednesday, their wing feathers, Friday. One was a boy, the other a girl. One had yellow around the eyes, the other gray. One had a yellow bill, the other gray. They would come running when I called. They liked “A million ways to be cruel” by O.K. Go. They cheeped like chicks. They were nearly the size of full grown ducks. They would let me pick them up and pet them, even though they insisted they were too big for such nonsense. Their necks had just started to get shapely. Their webbed feet were the size of my palm. They went everywhere together. They died 5 feet apart last night of unknown causes and were buried side by side next to Porthos. Craig says that when you have livestock, sometimes you have deadstock. But these creatures weren't stock. They were mine. And like their brother, I loved them. Rest in peace you geese, sweet Athos and Aramis. I will miss you more than I can say.