I just loved on Shmuel

I just gave my gander a neck twirl around and pick up, holding his strong white wings close to his side. The girls gave a squawk of protest, but he made nary a peep or bray. I hadn't used this disciplinary measure for awhile, hadn't needed to. But today, I was getting a little bit tired of him taking a good, healthy chomp into my hand when I was offering he and his harum some nice romaine lettuce, something I do most every morning. And he knows better, he can gauge where the lettuce ends and my skin begins. This was calculated today, intentional, premeditated. So I lifted him a few feet off the earth and held him there. Truth be told, it wasn't all disciplinary; I'd been wanting to pick him up and pet him. But he's usually so tough and proud and blustery, with a flutter rush of his tail feathers and a "keep your distance" dip to his long neck, a glare of his Moby Dick eyes warning you back. "Have you seen the great white goose?!" That was one advantage to when he was recovering from his coyote neck bite late summer, I could be as close to him as I wished for he didn't have the strength to put up a fuss. He was vulnerable and tender, his bites were like litte moth nibbles. Oh he was so defenseless and weak. I never thought I'd see his tough side again and, yes, I longed for it back. And now ... oh whatever. So I held him and stroked his neck and thought 'You know, many times when I've done this, he's hit the ground, and turned around and come after me, wings whipping the air for a good punch, beak out for a bite of me. What's going to happen now?' And you know what happened when I let him down? Nothin'. He walked over to the girls who asked if he was alright, if he'd been hurt in any way. "just my pride, just my pride" I think I heard him say. But I loved on him, I pet him, that's all. He didn't know what to do with that. What a great bird he is.

On the other bird front, Richard is moving his 5 turkeys over to a small section of the upstairs level of our neighbor Royce's barn. Not enough room at the chicken inn. Those turkeys are growing much larger, much quicker than ever imagined and though we thought the chickens and turkeys would be able to make it through the winter co-habitating, it ain't working out that way. The turkey tail feathers alone are cococking the chickens whenever the turkeys turn around. And there are mites - Richard dusted all the birds today with a white powder that suffocates the mites and kills them, but one poor turkey has been particularly droopy of late and we've had to quarantine her in her own crate and give her special treatment - some cayenne pepper in her food, a little tetracyline in her water. She's got something and we're hoping we can nip it in the bud. Richard is so good with his birds. He's learning so much all the time, getting great advice from the various bird sites on line. Very helpful.
He loves it, he loves them, and it shows. Great to see.

It's a stunningly beautiful, frigid day here. When it snows, which it's been doing off and on today, you feel as if you're in a snow globe in the middle of a gentle, light, continuous powdered sugar dusting. The fire in the kitchen wood stove hypnotizes you with warmth. So cozy. A perfect January day of puttering around, getting good work done, writing, musing, catching up, making plans ... and hugging geese.