Every morning, when I open the pen for the ducks and geese, they like to stretch their wings. We all do.

Geese do it better than anyone, beast or man.

First they’ll honk at you. Maybe squeak. Just a little. They’re hungry of course.

Then, off they go. With a running start, and wings spread wide, they fly.

They don’t get very high, mind you. But they can go.

If you haven’t met them before, they are Toulouse, a french breed. Ours, I’m pretty sure, are the production type (there are two other, more showy types). As I understand it, these are a very popular breed of goose for small farms and homesteads. To the right, leading the way, is Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Granted, I may be wrong, but he’s the only one I’m sure is a male. It’s tough to determine the gender for sure; likely waiting for them to mature and start mating.

I’m guessing now, but by observation I believe we have one other male, and two females. We’re trying to use french names. Naturally. As we get a better idea of who they are I think we’ll assign them.

They are amazing birds. Contrary to popular belief, they are not mean. I kid you not, the first response I get when someone hears we have geese is, “Oh, they’re mean.” Rest assured, ours are not. They weed and weed. They honk and squeak. And this morning I discovered they even hiss.

It’s awesome to watch them fly.