I have about a million and one things I want to write about, I have literally started and abandoned like three posts, planning to come back to them. But just for a tidbit of randomness, this is what has been going through my head ever since the mass of geese started moving through Colorado. I know I could google this shit, but why would I do that? I would much rather hypothesize and send my weird thoughts out into the universe for you all to laugh at.
Okay here's the deal, do you think there is like the dumb goose who oversleeps and gets left behind from his flock? And if so, what happens to him/her? Can they just join into the next flock moving through? Could they be sneaky and just blend in? Or would someone notice and be like 'dude, get the heck out of here'.
Basically geese all look the freakin' same to me....okay that is racist. I am sure if I sat on a bench and observed them for a period of time I would start noticing the differences. But like do you think they have this whole complicated family structure where one is the dad and one is the mom and their kids all know them and follow them around. And that family unit is part of an extended family unit with aunts and uncles and grandparents and that is what constitutes a flock? Or does some type-A goose just squawk and say "I am outta here bitches it's gonna get cold, you with me or what?", and then like the 30 geese who believe him follow him south. Maybe they get to Colorado and 12 of those geese feel like sticking around for a little while and the rest keep going. Another 20 show up and they regroup and head on their way.
Isn't this the most B.S. post you've ever read? But seriously I am genuinely curious about this shit. Maybe it is because I have the brain of a 5 year old sometimes. I was most certainly the kid who kept asking questions and then kept saying "but why?" when my parent's hadn't explained it to the level of my liking.
Obviously I don't care about the sociopolitical structure of geese enough to actually investigate, but there ya go.
Google. And then report back. Or maybe I could Google too, and we can start a Google trend so if someone else types in 'geese', that 'geese family dynamics' comes up as an option...lol
ReplyDeleteThis is just the kind of stuff that floats around my head all the time! Here's a question my brother and I have been pondering: In the Northeast every year we say, "Look, the birds are flying South for the winter". Do you think each spring people that live in the South say, "Look, the birds are flying North for the summer"?
ReplyDeleteIt's no wonder I can't read a map, do math, or remember peoples names...there's too much of this in my head to have any room for anything else!
Thanks for the comment on my blog btw. :)
Here is the only thing I know about geese and it made me sad when I heard it. Up here the great white wasteland of MN the geese mate in the spring and have dozens of babies. Lots of times, one rogue baby ends up separated from the flock. Most good samaritans take that rogue gosling to the bird sanctuary, which is what my neighbor did this spring. When she got home we were talking and she said that the lady at the sanctuary told her this:
ReplyDeleteGeese can't count, nor are they smart so if a mother goose decides its time to move on - her babies must follow. If one doesn't she NEVER realizes it because she can't count. The gosling that wasn't paying attention is likely not as developed or as intelligent so its Darwin's theory at work - survival of the fittest.
Sad right? But then I started to think about where geese will be in 500 years if Darwin keeps weeding out the dumb ones and evolution has its way? Maybe instead of outsourcing our jobs to China or India we could use geese?
hahahaha - the thoughts that pass through our heads. I've had some of those, not on geese but other things. DH has looked at me and said "You need to google that before you ask that question out loud." haha
ReplyDelete@manymanymoons - that is the BEST thought ever. i wonder if people in the south do say that?!!
ReplyDelete@Oak - sheesh, that is sad, but I guess it makes sense. All I know is when they fly in V formation, when the front dude gets tires, s/he peels off to the back on one side or the other and someone else takes over breaking wind for the rest. That's all the knowledge I have. Sad.
@Natalie - your randomness cracks me up. :)