The House Sitting Goose

Honk! Honk! Honk! The sounds of honking geese were alarming. As I listened to the annoying calls of the birds, I wondered if there was a problem. Why were these animals making sounds loud enough to disturb the neighborhood? Did a predator lurk close to a nest? I ventured outside to seek the answer.

Three geese sat on the roof of our neighbor’s home. The animals honked to each other, one at a time. First, a honk from the one on the left. Next, a honk from the one on the right. Then, the goose in the middle responded. I imagined a crazy conversation between three geese.

The birds usually find spots near the ponds to build their nests. Seems to me that I wouldn’t want a nest near a pond filled with alligators. But, I’m not a goose. Every Spring, we watch as the geese walk down the middle of streets and cause traffic to pause. Cute yellow “fuzzies” arrive and people wait as the parents and babies cross the street. Nests and families are guarded by the adults. They are cute until they begin leaving piles of goose droppings on the sidewalks.

These three geese sat on the roof and continued to talk to each other. I walked to the mailbox and began chatting with a neighbor.

“Did you see those geese? Isn’t that crazy?” I asked my friend.

Her response caught me by surprise. “Well, did you see a goose on your roof?”

“Oh my! I didn’t notice. I’ll go check.”

I rushed home. Yes, one goose sat on our roof. It wasn’t making a sound. It sat there staring down at me. I ran inside the house to get Alan. Alerting him of the strange sight, he came outside and announced, "We've got to make that thing leave before it creates a mess on the rooftop.”

Being the helpful wife that I am, I suggested he spray water from the hose. Perhaps that would make the animal take flight. Alan unrolled the hose, turned on the water, and sprayed toward the top of the house.

Unfortunately, the jet spray didn’t reach the top of the house and the water sprayed back on my sweet husband. Alan stood there with wet shoes, pants, and a wet shirt. I couldn’t stop laughing. He laughed, too.

“Well, that didn’t work.” He responded as the goose continued to stare down at both of us.

“Get me a football or some kind of ball. I don’t want to hurt the goose, I just want to scare it away.”

“We don’t have any footballs here. How about that little green bouncy ball? It’s about the size of  a baseball.” I was trying my best to help.

Deciding that would work, I went inside and found the green ball in the playroom. The face painted on the ball appeared to be laughing at us.

I rushed outside to Alan and handed him the ball. He posed like a professional baseball player, warmed up, and threw the ball. No luck. The throw didn’t reach the top of the roof. After five or six tries, he announced, “I could throw better when I was younger.”

The goose perched on the roof and looked down at the two crazy folks trying their best to get it to move.

We finally gave up and left for the grocery store. Maybe more ideas would come to us when we returned home. Or hopefully, the goose would be gone.

The grocery shopping was completed, and we headed back home. All of the geese were gone. The roof tops were clean. Alan and I laughed at the experience. Honking geese, wet clothes, toy bouncing balls, and a morning full of laughter.

Yes, it’s always a story with the Henderson’s.

Have you had any experiences with geese?

Have a blessed day,

Mimi aka Melissa Henderson

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