Monterey, CA, revisited (October 2013)

I lived in Monterey CA in 2008.  Visiting in May 2010, I ran across a motley Goose family at the Naval Postgraduate School.  What a delight.  A white domestic goose had crossed with a Canadian Goose and they had five little goslings, that had really mixed up genes.  That was also another older male Canadian Goose hanging with them. 

May 2010

This visit, I decided to try and find them.  I looked all over town.  At one point I saw a flock flying and spotted one light colored goose and thought that might be them.  But I returned again to the Naval Postgraduate School my last day in Monterey, and found the very same geese.   In the above photo, you see one dark gosling.  The group I found had the two older Canadian Geese, plus one more that looked like them.  And then the white goose, and three other light colored geese with faint markings like a Canadian Goose and the fifth goose kind of looked like a Canadian goose, except his head.

October 2013.

The family of eight is still in tact and are either sterile or nor reproducing.  That swim together though there is a larger flock of Canadian Geese nearby.  There where in the water very near where I first saw them three and 1/2 years ago.  The males looks smaller than the neighboring Canadian Geese.  I think they are beautiful.

A lady who works there told me any time she is near them, they attack her, but small children and other people can walk by them and they don’t do anything.  I’m writing this off line as I am out of internet range… but want to search online to learn more about how old geese are before they mate, and if the hybrids are sterile???

OK, yes, it fascinates me.  Forgive me if I am boring you.

On-The-Road-Again

June 20, 2010

I left Monterey CA yesterday after having breakfast with my friend, Betsy, at Sweet Elena’s.  Anyone visiting Monterey, CA should try and find this place.  Really great food, especially the pastries.

Then I drove to Camping World between Gilroy and San Martin, CA.  There I found the map I’ve been looking for… that I will mount on plexiglass and then put on the inside of one side door.  There are little state stickers that I will put on the map for each state I kayak.  I was tired from not sleeping well my last night in Monterey, so I spend the rest of the day in the Camping World lot… and even slept through most of the night.

I am writing this from San Luis Recreation Area/Reservoir where I stopped to replace the fuse for my trailer lights (again) but am unable to find my wiring/fuse kit I so carefully put together.  It is not in the space I allotted for it… so I’m going to drive on in to Los Banos Ca and try to find fuses.  There I also hope to catch up with Betsy’s granddaughter, Deanna, who is in the area training horses.  She is a budding young horse whisperer just starting up her own business, Natural Horsemanship.  I’ve known her since she was a baby, and in fact knew her mother Elle when she was only 6 years old.  Hope to take Deanna to dinner when she is done with the horses.  Then find a quiet place for another night’s sleep…. quietly.

Last thing I did in Monterey was to track down my favorite motley geese.  A Canadian Goose crossed with a white domestic goose and they had five gosslings.  I’ve been watching them grow and they are now as large as their parents.  Below is a picture of the five, the domestic goose parent is in the upper right corner.  Four of the babies are off white in color and the fifth looks like a washed out faded Canadian Goose.  They are much tamer then Canadian geese… their domestic parent’s genes are coming through.  Wonder if they will fly off when the Canadian geese do???

O.K. I’m on the road again in search of a grandson.

 

Darling Zoey seeing her baby brother, Will, for the first time.  O.K. it’s my turn.