After their daily bath the goslings need to be dried.
I lift them out of the bath and sit them on a bath towel on my lap, as we all sit near the hot air blower.
They drip onto the towel, and try to pull water off their down with their beaks and shake it about.
Then they sit down and bask in the hot air as their down fluffs up.
Once I am sure they are dry and warm I put them back into their box with their heat lamp on.
Every Friday grandson comes round after school. The first week after I collected them he was wearing his ‘hoodie’ and looking very tough and cool (at ten and a half). I had decided to put off the goslings’ bath from the morning so that Theo could see them, if he wanted to.
He kept his hoodie up all through tea but then he wanted to see the goslings. I suggested he put the hood down as otherwise they would be scared and think he was a bird of prey. Many birds, especially ducks and geese, are very affected by heads and faces. If you are a stranger, or wear something different or scary, they will be upset. So he immediately put down his hood and went into the bathroom
Theo was totally entranced by them: their watery antics, their cuteness, their general affability. He laughed and grinned as they zoomed up and down the bath and could not get enough of them.
When they had had enough, I sat him down on the loo seat, put a towel on his knee and placed the two goslings on his lap. He was thrilled and could not stop cooing over them
and wanted me to take some photos. He was clearly full of wonder at this lapful of yellow, peeping, downiness.
He asked how long geese lived: when I explained that it was a long, long time, barring accidents, he said that that meant that when he was grown up and had his own children he could show them my photographs and the grown up geese. Indeed.
He is also most anxious that they get to know him and will recognise him each week.
When it was time to go home I had to drag him away: he arrived back at his house full of his doings and thrilled with the goslings. His parents had to listen to every detail!!
I am very sad that so many children grow up with none of this closeness to animals: we need to develop a relationship with the other species which share our planet. Theo said that a lot of the other children at his school believe that the Earth is really for humans and they do not see why they should share it. I have to admit I was shocked at this.
I’m amazed that kids of Theo’s age really think that too! We’re just one small faction of the worlds population and it’s about time we realised that we should be looking after it.
p.s. the goslings look wonderful!
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Thanks for dropping in, I know how busy you must be:)
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Your grandson is so cute-and not so tough looking…I am sure that he would hate to know that an old lady from here would think so, but it is true. I am so glad that he was able to enjoy them. They seem to have taken to him, too. That is a good sign, they know their people, right?
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They are the first thing he looks for every Friday now! Our old rescue dog loves him to death too, more than the rest of us.
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Your grandson and the goslings are fortunate creatures. Such fun for them to be able to grow up together. My best friends through my growing up years were our animals on the farm.
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Your farm life sounds to have been tough but very character forming: what kind of animals did you have on the farm?
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We had milk cows, chickens, lots of dogs and cats. Our cousins had sheep and pigs; our neighbors had horses we helped care for.
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That’s a lot of experience. Do you ever miss the life?
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Ah, but isn’t fluff the great equalizer (and hoodie dropper)? How gorgeous that you got to bring that bit of softness to your lad!
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You are so right, you’d have to be heartless to resist some lemonny, downy, fluff ball!
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Oh they’re so beautiful – the boy and the goslings. And having him around on Friday afternoons is lucky for both of you.
I had tears in my eyes at your comment on my blog today. I’ll respond to you later – I couldn’t just dash something off.
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“The Boy and the Goslings” sounds like a Title. Yes. we love our Fridays:)
Thanks for the proffered response to mine on your blog, it will be interesting, knowing you:)
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That’s really very cool – I love to see things that bring out the tender side of boys.
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Absolutely! Shame that that kind of cool is not universal.
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Such a lovely post – the goslings are enchanting and your grandson too. I can understand why he would be so enthralled with them. At his age I lived in a 5th floor walk-up apartment in Paris and we did not see many animals, apart from our dog. But we saw many pigeons in the park and my mum took me often to the children zoo. Here in Georgia we had several chickens when our girls were growing up – different breed, each one with his own pet name.
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I’m really fond of chickens too, they have distinct characters when allowed to develop them. The old breeds are lovely, with their different feathering and egg colours. Our last hen died a couple of years ago and I have very fond memories of her. Your girls were lucky!
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How lucky he is to have you to introduce him to the natural world and the love and appreciation of animals. Cute photos!
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So cute and adorable! (both the ones with wings, and the one with arms 🙂 How fun to be able to be a part of raising them. Valuable and rewarding.
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Apart from the emotional enjoyment I am loving watching their development and noting at what age things change.
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