True Love

Boerne (pronounced "Bernie," not "Born") is the nearest town to where we live. When I go in to town one of my favorite stops is a microbrewery called The Dodging Duck. It's across the street from River Road Park (below), a small green space that parallels a local creek that meanders through town.











River Road Park's biggest claim to fame is that it is home to an assortment of ducks and geese that were first attracted by the dammed-up creek, but stayed when they realized that the people who came to the park were more than willing to feed them. Thus we have a population of lazy, overweight waterfowl who have become dependent on handouts from others for their sustenance (think democrats with feathers).

One of the consequences of this avian lifestyle is that the birds have become conditioned to associate people, and by extension automobiles, with food. So the ducks and geese often wander into traffic. This requires some fancy moves by both drivers and birds to avoid fatalities. Hence the name of the brewhaus - The Dodging Duck.

Our love story starts with the decision of a pregnant goose to build her nest underneath some shrubbery running along the front lawn of the brewhaus. As the local paper reports, her loving and devoted mate has stationed himself a few yards in front of the nest and zealously chases off any person, dog, or car that comes too close (if you're not familiar with geese, they make great guard animals).

This particular goose is so diligent that he now has his own 'parking place', delineated with orange traffic cones, in front of The Dodging Duck. Regular patrons have learned to take a detour around the nest, and Papa Goose has learned that they're not a threat, so he usually lets them pass. He also ignores the traffic, as long as it stays out of his parking spot.

























Geese mate for life, and tend to return to the same nesting area year after year, so this may be the start of an annual tradition. Boerne is a friendly place, and a small enough town, that things like this are not just tolerated, but encouraged.

The eggs are expected to hatch soon. I don't know what will happen when a bunch of little goslings start waddling around, but I sure hope they don't wander out into the traffic. I'd hate to see such a happy story end in tragedy.

In the meantime, I'll spend some time sitting on the Dodging Duck's front porch sampling their wares and watching Papa Goose chase off the newcomers. Great way to spend a summer afternoon...