Missing Geese, Lothario (loving description), Gaggle Details

Edited by Bob:

1. Where is Lothario? - Daejanna.
2. Lothario Not Seen in Awhile.
3. More, Quite Beautiful Details on Lothario. - Daejanna.
4. Thoughts on Some of the Charles River White Geese Including Lothario.
5. Bill of CRUWI on Missing Geese.
6. Marilyn on Lothario and Others.
7. Summary, Lothario, Brown Geese.

1. Where is Lothario? - Daejanna.

Daejanna Wormwood wrote:

Hi Bob, Happy New Year and all to you and yours. I have been trying to
clear my "e's" out but I want you to know of something very disturbing to
me. Last thursday, I went down to the meadow with corn and holiday scraps
on my way home from the hospital...walking down into the meadow, I was I
could not locate the flock of white geese by my count, 18, more or less, I
am upset thinking that a major "culling"happened during my absence in
December. I called DCR(mdc)and inquired about the few white geese on the
Charles. A Mr.Ryan told me there were no such plans on the "issue".

...now I have been ill since fall and I know my attendedness has not been as
frequient as it formally was, but I do know how to count. Bob, Lothario was
not among few geese on the meadow and yes I did walk the bank to see if
greener pastures existed I could not fin the rest opf the flock. I spoke to
the water "purification" plant guy but they weren't in with him. There was
an unusally large group of Canadians (reminds me of the Big Foot commercial
on TV). Where are the is the whole white flock??

Please let me know that I am being silly. Thanks for your time, Bob.
Daejanna

2. Lothario Not Seen in Awhile.

Bob Responds:

Dear Daejanna,

You are not the only person who has communicated concerns about missing geese this winter. We have extremely good reason to be concerned.

Normally when they are missing they are just off on the river looking for food.

Regrettably, as far as Lothario goes, I am afraid I cannot give you good news. I have not seen him for at least six months, and I started looking for him because I also missed him.

Lothario, very regrettably, I think is gone.

3. More, Quite Beautiful Details on Lothario. - Daejanna.

Daejanna provides more detail on Lothario in an email addressed to Bill of CRUWI:

My relationship with a very special gander began in 1999 or late summer
of 1998, a neighbor and I would go to a wholesale center and purchase two
40 pounds of corn/month which I kept in the trunk. The support group was
fragmented and my time never seemed to fit the meeting times. Bob kept
me well informed and still does, bless him.

After hours at state house meetings/hearings, I would take the red line
and a bus to Mem. Dr., to meditate if you will on all sorts of things.
After the corn was given out I would pull out a book ( during summer months)
and read verse or prose aloud as I leaned against a tree. Having a forty
plus gaggle downslope, I was not talking to myself!

One day the young gander, who shunned Little Brook's daily ration of
stale white bread, wandered up to me and rested his beak on my
shoulder...whenever I would stop reading he would make clicking soft sounds until I either spoke directly to him or began reading again. Sometimes, you just need to
drop from the real world and spend some time in fantasy...in which case I
would speak to the very young gander. He paid rapt attention to words so I
described each character, whenever I mentioned Lothario, the young
gander would proudly display and strut about, hence his name Lothario. I know
that Little Brook and Marilyn have another name for him which I cant recall
but whenever he heard "Lothario" sung across the field like magic he would
glide across the field. He has strict eating protocal and does not get into
shoving matches with the others. He is not fond of kale but does enjoy
iceberg lettuce and fresh apples. If doe is the only thing around,
Lothario will shun a bagel but snach every danish about. I guess he has a
sweet tooth. As the years went on the regal gander matured and in his first
Mature year, he acquired four ladies, three white and one brown, I am
assumng most of his offspring will show the same regal nunances as
their father.

Having been struck with the longest lasting virus, going on
six months, I have not been to the river at all in January, except for New
Year's day.I knew that there HAD to other feeders because the gaggle
looked healthy and Bob is a keen observer. Thank you and Allison for feeding
them, I believe they are an asset to the riverway. I argue that we live in a
international( or in my own words, global)world so the origin of the
geese is a weak argument which I will not get into until opponents offer
their own pedigree.

Has my rambling about an enchanting animal helped you any? Perhaps Lothario, being a ladies' gander, would stand out more to Allison if she is not too near you? He honestly avoids Little Brook and does not seem to pay much attention to Marilyn but did show interest in her daughter! I am not sure how he and Bob get on. Lothario does not like little children, especially the loud ones, and with his ladies goes off on their own.

Answer from your editor (Bob):

Lothario was a good friend.


4. Thoughts on Some of the Charles River White Geese Including Lothario.

To our friends:

The gaggle of the Charles River White Geese has a few, very few, members who are readily identifiable for one reason or another.

Included in the gaggle are four brown colored geese who clearly stand out. The progeny of these four can be distinguished as well by brown markings on otherwise white coats.

You really have to understand the geese to tell the difference among the others. They mostly look like either White Chinas or Emdens.

When Daejanna refers to Lothario, she is talking about a little Emden Goose who was very pleased to meet people. Lothario, when he saw somebody who looked like a good person, would come over and talk to you, and he, in his honking, would have an excellent conversation.

Daejanna wrote an excellent ode to Lothario because she considered him such a good friend. I repeated that ode in one of the reports which preceeded this blog. I am quite certain that I could find her beautiful ode to Lothario with a lot of looking and I will look. If I find it I will pass it on.

Lothario was a good little goose. I also miss him.

5. Bill of CRUWI on Missing Geese.

I have received a report from Bill of the Charles River Urban Wilds Initiative, the tax-deductible nonprofit which is feeding the Charles River White Geese. The feeding, of course is necessary because of the Starvation Walls across from the Hyatt Regency and at Magazine Beach.

Bill reports that his group has a frequent and regular presence at the Goose Meadow. He says there are no geese missing.

Thanks Bill.

6. Marilyn on Lothario and Others.

Marilyn responds:

I thought from Daejanna's description of Lothario years ago that he was a large white Emden.

So that's how I described him to Bill of CRUWI. Seems I was wrong.

The brown China gosling is like a brown version of Bumpy. He's just as insistent, just as vocal, and has much the same voice.

7. Summary, Lothario, Brown Geese.

Your Current Editor:

Lothario was a White Emden. He could have been one of the larger ones. My memory is the talkativeness. That really stood out. Marilyn is getting into the sort of distinction we experts make. From the point of view of the experts, there are big Emdens and smaller Emdens. The small ones tend to be females or young males. From the point of view of most people, however, they are all little guys.

One of the taller geese in the gaggle is a baby from the 2005 goslings. This is the one Marilyn was referring to. Two of the brown geese are demonstrations of recessive genes coming to play. The Brown China baby is the progeny of two white geese as is Brown Beauty (1996 baby, from Bumpy, the long time leader of the gaggle, assassinated in 2001). That baby Brown China is slender and has a strong voice.

The other two brown geese are Toulouse Geese, females who first appeared in Fall 2000. They are probably former pets whom somebody could not keep. Leaving them with the gaggle was an excellent idea. They have adapted well and clearly have been very happy, except for the terror and starvation campaigns.

Kittie adapts to the cold weather

Karen reports:

Hello Marilyn and Bob,


Just thought I would pass this along to you,

My sister was at home this morning, and her boyfriend said to her, could you come here for a minute, I need to speak to you, he was in the bathroom. She went in and looked and her Maine Coon cat Wolfie was on the toilet going to the bathroom.
My mother told me, tonight when I got home from the health club. I thought it was funny, I guess he sees others in there, so he thought he should too. He is smart.

I swear I think the animals are smarter than most people. Anyway, my sister has his litter box on the deck of their apartment, she has a small apartment, its too cold out for him, to go on the deck, so he thought he would use the toilet,

I laugh to myself when I think of it..... Talk to you all soon, Karen

Wolfie is a cute cat too, and in the good weather spends most of his time outdoors.