Closely related to geese is the handsome shelduck. We have had a pair visiting the east coast of Scotland in the past week.
Heaven, I'm in Heaven... Three guys died together in a terrible accident. Fortunately, they went to heaven. St. Peter says, "We only have one rule here: Don't step on the geese, as they are God's favorite creation." They enter heaven and see geese everywhere, and it's almost impossible not to step on a goose. The first guy accidentally steps on one, and soon here comes St. Peter with the ugliest woman you've ever seen. St. Peter chains them together and says, "Your punishment is to be chained to this ugly woman forever." The next day the second guy steps on a goose, and sure enough, St. Peter comes with another real ugly woman and chains them together. Seeing this, the third guy is very, very careful. He goes for months and doesn't step on any geese. Then one day, St. Peter comes along with this beautiful woman. He chains them together and leaves without saying a word. The man remarks, "Wow! This is great! I wonder what I did to deserve this?" The beautiful woman says, "I don't know about you, but I just stepped on a goose."
Cry of the Wild Goose My heart knows what the wild goose knows And I must go where the wild goose goes Wild goose, brother goose, which is best? A wanderin' foot or a heart at rest? Tonight I heard the wild goose cry Wingin' his way through the lonely sky Tried to sleep, but it warn't no use 'Cause I'm a brother to the old wild goose My heart knows what the wild goose knows And I must go where the wild goose goes Wild goose, brother goose, which is best? A wanderin' foot or a heart at rest? My woman is kind and true to me She thinks she loves me, but more fool she She's gotta learn that it ain't no use To love a brother of the old wild goose My heart knows what the wild goose knows And I must go where the wild goose goes Wild goose, brother goose, which is best? A wanderin' foot or a heart at rest? Oh, you wild goose The cabin is warm and the snow lies deep And I've got a woman who lies asleep When she wakes at tomorrow's dawn She'll find, poor soul, that her man is gone My heart knows what the wild goose knows And I must go where the wild goose goes Wild goose, brother goose, which is best? A wanderin' foot or a heart at rest? Let me fly, let me fly, let me fly away Spring is comin' and the ice will break And I can't linger for a woman's sake She'll see a shadow pass overhead She'll find a feather beside my bed My heart knows what the wild goose knows And I must go where the wild goose goes Wild goose, brother goose, which is best? A wanderin' foot or a heart at rest? Wild goose, brother goose Wild goose, brother goose Wild goose, brother goose Wild goose, brother goose Wild goose, brother goose Wild goose, brother goose SONGWRITERS GILKYSON, TERRY
Geese appear all over the place at ancient Egyptian sites. The following are from the tomb of the pharaoh Itet and Karnak Temple in Luxor.
Tilly....the goose that got the plastic beak. Dentist Chris Siddons has fitted plenty of dentures in his time - but never to a goose.
Not a goose, but ducks have crept into this thread often enough to allow room for one of our commonly-seen birds around the North Sea coast. The common eider is a dashing fellow in black and white and eiders are, of course, renowned for the warmth and softness of their down. Eiders are easy enough to spot, but you also hear them calling, particularly when we get close to the mating season. The male has a wonderfully seductive "woo, woo" call with which to charm the ladies.
I like all kinds of animals and birds. I live in the middle of a bird sanctuary and on the west side of a forested mountainside. This post reminds me of the movieFly Away Home, where a young girl found a nest of gooselings in an area that was being demolished by some company that was going to build things on it. She took those gooslings and raised them and had a horrible time with the naturalists about giving them up. She taught them to fly and her father made a flying machine that she used to fly those goose to Florida. It was the kind of thing that I would do if I found something like that.
Here's a couple from a family of Geese who live on the farm .. wandering across the road on our lane...