One Last Goose

For those of you following the saga of the goose family that I've posted about previously (#'s 1, 2, and 3), here's what I expect to be the final update.

From the Boerne Star:

Weekend mornings are usually pretty quiet on Boerne's River Road, but this Saturday, a miniature parade took place with almost 100 cheering spectators on hand.

Although the event wasn't set to start until 10 a.m., Kim Kuykendall came early; she was holding down a spot by 9:15 a.m.

"I was the first one here," she said with an expectant smile.

A KSAT news cameraman as well as a couple of Boerne policemen added to the general feeling of happy anticipation.

It didn’t seem to matter that the only entry in the parade would be a small family - a mama goose and her three young who’ve been living within the protective confines of a pen, their recent world just a slice of lawn that’s sandwiched between the Dodging Duck restaurant and several heavily-trafficked lanes of road. The procession got off to a festive start when Hill Country Animal League Director J.J. Blackson “released” the mama fowl and her toddlers for the more amenable edges of Cibolo Creek.

The adult white Chinese goose didn’t need much urging. While her human fans briefly blocked traffic from both directions, the watchful parent carefully goose-stepped her wee processional trio on its waddling way toward the riverbank.

Conspicuously absent from the festive occasion was Dad-goose, still recovering from injuries incurred when sentry duty put him up against a passing car. Although the male has spent a good deal of his convalescence inside the pen on River Road, as of Friday night he'll be enjoying the idyllic grounds of the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Rescue organization, a place where his safe future is better assured.

So who, exactly, was that other goose in attendance?

"That's not Daddy," Angel Santiago, HCAL wrangler said with a shake of his head and a hint of a smile "That's just another guy who wants to be a volunteer now. Actually," Santiago added, "I think he's trying to romance her."

A bystander asked the wrangler, "What kind of guy takes up with a single mom and three kids?" Santiago responded with a wry gesture, "Well, there's one taker already."

As the young family and their new protector made it to the creekside curb of River Road, the spectators broke from their corridor-like ranks and into applause. Their cheers started up again when after a few reconnoitering moments, the strong and handsome stranger, along with the mama and her three downy young waddled down the riverbanks and into the water.

With the parade over and the family in the water, still the many attendees continued to hang around; no one seemed disposed to go home, at least not immediately.

"I'm really going to miss them," owner of the Dodging Duck, Keith Moore, said with a wistful, it’s-the-end-of-the-story kind of smile. He watched as the palm-sized goslings satisfactorily managed their maiden voyages. "(Somebody) should write a children's book about this."

Those interested in spotting the female Chinese white and her goslings, should watch for a white-plumed goose whose head and upper neck have been marked with a black Sharpie. The ink will wear off quickly, but in the interim, the markings will allow those who’ve cared for her to monitor her progress.

Pretty much a happy ending, except for the part where the heroic Father Goose, injured while protecting his mate and offspring, is cast aside by his bride once he's no longer of any use to her. She then takes up with another whom she assumes will be a better provider.

Reminds me of my first ex-wife...