The wild geese were in our neighbor’s backyard. Dr. Grissom had a large yard full of vegetation that attracted geese. Many times during the year, his yard was invaded by a number of Canada geese.
I became fascinated watching these creatures. I particularly noticed the broad, white band across their necks and cheeks, and their long necks and long legs.
They ate like they had a siphon for a mouth, appearing to inhale the food they found.
They were very cautious. When the geese ate, two or three others stood guard against possible danger from cats, dogs, and humans.
Once Eric Bourne, a neighbor boy, moved up to a goose with the intent of petting it. Suddenly, three geese ran at him, flapping their wings and honking. Eric took off running at an Olympian pace for his home. The geese did not pursue him for more than 30 feet, however.
Whenever the geese departed, they flew as a group, and I marveled at their wingspan as they disappeared into the blue, only to appear again to fill up on all of the food they could ingest.
When I was in my teens, a nest of blue jays lived in the oak tree in our backyard. They were very noisy, squawking in loud, harsh tones whenever they were annoyed, which was often.
One summer day, I was mowing near the oak tree when I heard the piercing screech of a jay, and I hit the dirt just in time.
The bird soared over me by about a foot, and I heard a thud. The bird had not pulled up in time and hit the side of the porch. I got up from the ground and went to where the bird was lying in a crumpled heap. I was certain that the bird was dead.
I went to the garage to get a shovel in order to dig a hole in which to bury the bird, but when I came back to the place where the bird had dropped, it was gone.
Rather perplexed, I returned to mowing when another jay swooped toward me, but I was able to quickly leap to my left, and the bird flew past me and landed about 20 feet away from me.
I wondered what the bird would do next, so I stood my ground and watched the jay as he stared at me with his mean, beady eyes.
After he stared me down, he gave me a tongue lashing and flapped his wings.
I wondered what was coming next, but the bird simply flew away to the east squawking all the way. Once again I resumed mowing, but at a faster pace wondering if I would be attacked again.
Well, I wasn’t attacked then or ever again
Someone once told me that young blue jays make great pets. That may be true, but as adults they’re mean and dangerous.