Is this weird or what?
I live in a secluded place in the mountains of Upstate New York. I have only a few neighbors within walking distance of our #homestead.
It was mid-afternoon on an early December day, we had gotten a dusting of snow overnight, it was cold but not so cold to keep me inside. The sun was shining, giving the snow that glistening sparkle, so out I went, camera around my neck and I hopped on my 4-wheeler.
As I cruised around the neighborhood on the frozen dirt roads, I kept hearing these squawks and honks. Those sounds were very familiar to me , I hear them daily, sometimes at 3 in the morning right after the roaster, who can't tell time, cock-a-doddles and wakes up the gaggle of geese that live down the road. When you live here, sounds in the middle of the night can wake you, even if they are coming from miles away. The forest surround us, at night we listen to coydogs howl ,yip and growl, then suddenly get quiet, I guess they don't want to talk with their mouths full.🤷‍♂
Pet Dogs Creating New Species in the Wild
For years a new species of “dog” has been being produced in the mountains of the Catskills. People of the mountains of New York State love to keep big dogs as pets. These dogs are usually kept off their leash since they have much land and mountain to roam. During the mating season these dogs will mate with their wild ancestors the wolf and coyote. The puppies are called “Coy-Dogs”. When a male house dog impregnates a wild coyote or wolf, a new breed is born and they are born as a wild animal.
https://newyorkstatewildlife.wordpress.com/tag/coydogs/
These #feathereredfriends can be really noisy when they are woken up in the middle of the night. They go into a real frenzy, honking and squawking as if there's a fox in the hen goose house.
These geese, which I thought were ducks, duh, are new to the neighborhood. They arrived here just last summer.
Domestic Goose
Humans have kept domesticated varieties of geese for their meat, eggs and down feathers since ancient times. Domestic geese have been derived through selective breeding from the wild greylag goose and swan goose.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=domestic+goose&filters=ufn%3a%22domestic+goose%22
Before they came to take up permanent residency, the owners were only around once in a while, mostly in the summer months. I would drive past their place, give a wave and buzz on. I would sometimes see a small, thin, gray haired woman walking along the road with a walking stick in hand, never really paying too much attention, yet always waving.
It's a funny thing up here, everyone waves whether they know you or not, it's become second nature to me also, a car, truck or pedestrian, my hand flies up.
On that cold December morning, while I was driving my quad back home, that same woman was at the end of her driveway and flagged me down. I pulled up and shut down the machine.
With a smile and a handshake, we introduced ourselves. I said to her, welcome to the neighborhood, she gave me a funny look and said, I'm not new here, I have owned this place for over 30 years. I was surprised, since I had never talked to her or known her name, honestly, I sort of recognized her size and shape but we had never met face to face in all those years.
She said she was from New York City and had worked in the business district near Wall Street. Her name was Nancy and she had just retired. We chatted for quite a while, she was cultured and polite, easy to talk to and pleasant. Once we compared notes, it was obvious why we had never met. Just as we had done for many years, we only visited, never lived or worked here.
I have a new friend now just down the road apiece, she told me she loved the quiet privacy we enjoy here in the boondocks and I couldn't agree with her more. But it's nice to know the neighbors, at least their name and a little of their story, makes me feel safer.
I also love her ducks geese, they may be noisy, but they are fun to watch and cute to see, as they waddle around on the snow covered surface of mother earth.
Honk Honk
So now each time I drive past my friend Nancy and her friends with the feathers, I Honk too as I wave to my new neighbors.
Best wishes and Happy Holidays to all my #silverblogger friends.
Much Love,
Jackie O' Silver