The two chinese geese

Before we knew anything about geese we ordered two Chinese geese. We did not know what Willow was. We did not know whether Willow was a boy or a girl. So we decided to get two female geese so that even if Willow turned out to be a female it would not matter because there would be no fighting. Our plans were ruined when Willow unexpectedly died. We got a lot of goslings and that was not the plan. We were going for only a few geese. We still planned to get the Chinese geese as well.

The two Chinese geese were named Sugar Maple and Rocky Mountain Juniper. I had named Maple after a goose who had appeared to a lonely Willow in a dream I had once. She was a calm, shy goose in this dream. Quite the contrast of what Maple really was. Maple was not too smart but she was obnoxious and was always eager to get food. Juniper was the smarter of the two and she was shy. But paranoid. 

Maple proved to be an excellent layer while Juniper was not very good. She did not lay until the end of the laying season. Luckily, once everyone else stopped she was still laying. Some of the traits Juniper passes on to her goslings is her personality, a long neck, a long beak, a lovely brown eye-color, and a small size. Not necessarily all of these traits in one goose but a few or most or almost none of them. Most of Maple's goslings looked a lot like her and had very similar voices. They also had brown and gray feathers on their back which the more African-blooded geese do not have. African-blooded geese usually just have gray feathers tipped with white. 

I only have Juniper now but I was fortunate enough to get the daughter of Maple. Maple's daughter is named Siberian Elm in honor of another goose I had in the beginning of my goose raising. 

This very day Rocky Mountain Juniper is two years old. Happy Birthday, Juniper!

Rocky Mountain Juniper

Sugar Maple (She got a small rounded knob. I failed to update)