Attitude

This is my beloved cat Twinkie, The King of all the cats around here in spite of his sissy name.

My mother named him that because of his colors.  I would have chosen something a little more masculine given his strong personality. But we don't dwell on such contradictions here. We accept things quickly and move along. It's a survival tactic learned very early around these parts.

Across the creek that same evening, this heron was fishing for his supper.  Herons tend to be rather aloof and territorial.  When another heron gets too close, there's a whole lot of squawking as if to say, "Get off my property!"  A heron is a living, breathing No Trespassing sign, of about the same height and build.

And then there are those whose attitude is off the charts.

Gustav, my mother's killer goose.
He has his own Facebook page.
Just search for Gustav. He's listed as a public figure.
Instead of public nuisance.

I just don't know what it is about this county that gives these animals such arrogance confidence. But they seem to thrive here.

In abundance.

Last night after a storm knocked a tree across the Colonial Parkway causing me to drive all the way to the Naval Weapons Station only to be told to turn back around and drive back to Cheatham Annex to then backtrack down Route 143 to 17 to the Coleman Bridge, I arrived home an hour late to find the entire back yard covered in goose manure Canada geese.

After a very long day at work and a twice-as-long commute back home, I was in no mood for it all.

Observing the whole goose convention scene as I approached from the driveway, I quickly gunned it and veered onto the grass in the back yard, hoping to chase them back into the creek.  They must be in some sort of I Can't Fly stage right now, because none of them took off in flight.

They ran but appeared to be in absolutely no hurry to leave, which of course was unsatisfactory and completely unacceptable to someone who had just taken out some aggression taken the time to drive all over her back yard in her vehicle.

I had to do figure eights and circles and everything, all over the place to finally shoo them off.

Thus concludes another day in the life of a human being trying to survive in an animal world.

Dear Neighbors,
Please believe me when I say that this behavior of frantically chasing geese with an automobile over the span of several people's yards is all for our better good. Or at least it's good for my blood pressure.

Thanks!  
Love,
CBW