Samantha, the Beautiful Goose

She was truly a beautiful goose. Probably not a purebred African since she came from the home of a person who does not separate her geese, but runs them all together, but to us she was a beautiful girl, and very tame. She loved her pony, Beau, and would often follow him around when the other goose (Timmy) and the ducks were busy at the pond or feeding in the pasture grass. She preferred to eat with Beau at his bowl, and they could often be found laying together.

When she was a little gosling, Donald, our demented call duck drake, chased her hard one day and ran her into the henyard fence, hurting her head and making it bleed. I despaired then, and thought we had lost our little gosling, but she held on and regained her strength. She and Timmy throve on the chicken feed and pasture grasses. They were overjoyed to find the little pond and began swimming on it with the ducks, and Tim began to look out for little Donald and his girls.

In time, we lost Tim to the coyotes, but Sammy went onto her nest and protected her eggs against all comers. We could not see how they could be fertile, but she believed it in her heart. We think, we guess, that that is how she became grievously injured two weeks ago, by some creature that came upon her in the high pasture grass and slashed at her. A raccoon? We have not seen any and don't know. Her wounds were too much, though, and last Sunday before church I found her, gone in the horseyard where she spent so many happy hours with Beau and Lacey.

On Saturday we had to put down a small chick of Dovey's, and have watched it's two siblings closely. They seem healthy, but are also both cockerels, so must be found homes for because we have too many as it is. We must keep Baby Rambo, who grows strong and brave in his dog pen with his mama and his two sisters. It is too early to determine what the five Silkie babies are.... but we cannot keep any more roosters than Rambo's last son. Someone here around us will get a ready-made farmer's yard package of cockerels and pullets to start them out on chicken-keeping in a few months.

In the meantime, we miss Sammy, and her honk. She spoke to me daily when I did chores, and I miss her conversations, honks to my comments to her. The Toulouse are nice geese, but Sammy had personality and was a pet, who is much mourned.