A like for wide-open, grassy spaces near water. A preference for, yes, blueberries. Fidelity for life, with a mate chosen to match your own size, more or less. “Gang”broods, where several young ones of different families cluster together guarded by one or two adults. And, last but not least, an increasing affinity for life in urban spaces.

Geese, of course.

I met them yesterday in downtown Portland, resting on the sidewalk, until it was time to go foraging on the lawns of the Esplanade. They like grassy areas to be as open as possible so that they have an unobstructed view of predators while munching on the grass which they can miraculously digest.

The product of that digestion, alas, is one of the nuisances of the increasing goose populations in cities: 3 pounds of poop per goose per day. Shall we say it adds up…..

Aggressive, territorial behavior when it comes to nesting season can be another problem. Most dangerous, though, is the possibility that these geese create traffic accidents, including the potential for colliding with airplanes with catastrophic consequences.

Why are they around? Turns out not for the food – foraging in cities is less productive than in the fields or other less built-up places.

It is for safety. 2.6 million geese are “harvested” by hunters annually in North America, as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology put it so delicately. That’s out of a population of approx. 4.2 million. Obviously they’ve heard the news that they won’t be shot dead in cities. Or not at that rate, anyways. It also keeps them warmer – survival rate for geese in Northern cities is 100% compared to their counterparts roaming the wild in winter – 48% do not make it. (Birds for the study cited above, by the way were lured with Honey Nut Cheerios to be tagged for observation – I guess their all time favorite blueberries were too expensive….)

Man, the little ones are cute though, particularly when they unblinkingly stare back at you practically walking across your feet:

As were their human urchin counterparts, busily trying not to let go of the rope……

Music today is one of my all time favorite renditions of the Children’s Corner by Pascal Rogé, in honor of the young one’s facing a life in an ever more dangerous world.

May we learn to share space and protect each other.

A friend who forever points me to interesting sources, sent along the article below. A riveting read. Add to that today’s images: riveting roses.

This is, of course, the time of year, where everything explodes in the garden, scents and sights mingle, and first and foremost roses rule (just in time for the Rose Festival – which I will report on at some later point.) Well, they rule, if you have sun, and take good care of them, which directly implies that today’s photographs are not from my own garden….

Here are some rosy facts:

The tallest rose bush ever recorded stood 23 feet tall.

A Colorado fossil allowed archaeologists to determine that roses have existed for more than 35 million years.

• Hildesheim, Germany is home to a large rose bush that has been growing on the wall of the Cathedral of Hildesheim for over 1,000 years. I still can’t find the photo that I took of it…..
• People in 15th century England lived through the “War of Roses.” The war got its name after roses were used to symbolize which side people supported or were fighting for. White roses symbolized Yorkshire and red roses symbolized Lancaster.

• There are over 4,000 songs about roses out there. Not obvious I’ll find a piece of music that I like…..

• Roses are one of only three flowers mentioned in the bible. The other two are lilies and camphire.
• For years, breeders tried to genetically manipulate different species and colors of roses to create a blue one. In 2004, the world got its first blue rose.
• After he spent 15 years growing it, creator David Austin sold his Juliet Rose at the 2006 Chelsea Show for nearly $15.8 million.

Why would anyone crowd their brain with facts like these? Why not instead let the flowers speak for themselves? Let’s give it a try.

Then again, we might be distracted by wondering about articles like this which suggest rose water cures about any ailment under the sun – and it must be true because the article was “reviewed” by a person who has 6 titles behind her name….although scientific papers seem to concur – see conclusion below:

The R. damascena is one of the most important species of Rosaceae family mainly known for its perfuming. Its major products are rose water and essential oil. 

This plant contains several components such as terpenes, glycosides, flavonoids, and anthocyanins that have beneficial effects on human health. The pharmacological effects of R. damascene are widespread. Most of the CNS effects are hypnotic, analgesic, and anticonvulsant effects. The respiratory, cardiovascular, laxative, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant are other effects of this plant.

Here is a Finnish composer’s ode to the queen of the flowers;

And here is a romp through the entire garden:

Done with grisly – long live grizzlies. I am rounding out this week which was devoted to interesting aspects of fauna in our lives with a short film clip that truly moved me.

It documents the life work of a man who overcame the trauma sustained as a medic in the Vietnam war by devoting himself to the documentation and protection of grizzly bears in this country. To tell the truth, it made me cry.

Then again, maybe it’s the unusually early heat that has me in a dither.

https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/588769/grizzly-country/

Since, as you have correctly assumed, I can locate no bears in my photo archives, I will fall back on the words of the film’s subject: “Saving the wild is the mother of all things. That is where we gather life, the potential for wisdom. If we are to have survival, that’s how and where it’s going to take place.”

My “wild” – as wild as it can get a 10 minute drive outside of a metropolitan area – is a daily refuge, a reminder of change and natural order, a place where I can be found photographing, or simply walking, and where I find occasional misplaced pieces of myself. It sustains me, and if it doesn’t bring wisdom, it does have the potential for joy.

Right now it harbors numerous small flowers, in stark contrast to the splashy bloom you see in gardens across the city. Buttercups, blackberry blossoms, woodruff, false Solomon’s seal, coral bells and, if you are lucky, lily-of-the-valley peek out of the abundant green. The water skimmers race across the surface of the brook and the woodpeckers have made their holes big enough to hide in. Ferns unfurl and little white candles are strewn among light green grass, still not touched by dust.

The deer rest here, digesting their abundant meal of columbine, hostas and cornflower blossoms, served nightly in my garden, much to my dismay.

I used to curse the slugs on my morning rounds, now I yell about the deer. But I can’t stay angry. Who has the privilege to live so close to “wild?” It’s only fair to pay a price, perennials it’ll be…..

Music today is an interesting piece by Leonard Bernstein – composed in reference to Plato’s Symposium, in particular about the two speakers Phaedrus and Pausanias. They both talk about love (Eros for one, Aphrodite for the other.) I figured that would do: love (today for the “wild,”for nature,) wherever it comes from, is captured in the music.

Since my recent description of the lurking dangers of fish farms thoroughly soured many of you on salmon, I feel it’s my duty to suggest alternative food sources.

We could take the Bucklands as a culinary guide, father and son both excelling in devouring the most outlandish food possible. William, the father, served hedgehogs, roast ostrich, porpoise, crocodile steaks and even cooked puppies in 19th century England. It seems he liked the notoriety gained by an unusual diet, starting with mice on toast for breakfast, and once eating, it is claimed, the 140ish-year-old mummified heart belonging to King Louis XIV of France. Long story, details here.

He was otherwise a reputed if eccentric scientist and eventually became Dean of Westminster Abbey. His son Francis followed in his footsteps. “Guests were served steaming plates of boiled elephant trunk, boiled and fried meat taken from the head of a porpoise, roasted giraffe necks and rhinoceros pie. Boa constrictor, sea slugs and ear wigs made their way to his stomach, although he ended up hating those last two. When he heard a panther had recently died at a zoo, he had the curator dig up the corpse and send over some panther chops (“It was not very good.”)

Francis was actually concerned with finding alternatives to help stave off over-hunting and over-fishing. He founded the Acclimation Society of Britain; its goal was to find and introduce exotic fauna to the country in order to gain another food source. Well, that would obviously not do for our own kitchens given how many of these are on the endangered species list.

Marmots were among his menagerie, ready to be picked up by cook when supper was needed. It turns out, though, that we should exercise caution before turning to fry, steam or boil rodents, or, for that matter, eat them raw.

I’m sure you’ve heard: the recent demise of a Mongolian couple after a supper of marmot meat was all over the news. And what did them in? The bubonic plague! I know, it should not be treated lightly when people try to find their protein where they can and then succumb to the plague. But really.

If you think you are safe because those rodents are not on your meal plan, though, think again. The disease lurks in Oregon as well and officials here are practicing what to do in case of an outbreak.

In the meantime, this is what the government suggest you do:

• Yes, plague can be prevented by controlling rodent populations in endemic areas.
•   Eliminate sources of food and nesting places for rodents around homes, workplaces, and recreation areas; remove plant material, rock piles, junk piles,and potential food supplies, such as pet food.
•   Control your pet’s fleas and do not let cats or dogs roam freely.
•   Do not pick up or touch dead animals.
•   Wear insect repellant to prevent fleabites and wear gloves when handling potentially infected animals.

I guess it’s back to chocolate pudding and Fritos, for this here diner…

Photographs today are of pica and muskrats respectively. Cute. Rodents. Bubonic plague……

And for your listening pleasure there are rats, mice and marmots on offer!