Heidi Chronicles: A Chill Is In The Air

Hi Terese,

Actually, Dennis' kit did get into the pool several times. That particular one is quite feisty - impressive for his/her size. She had already gotten into the pool along with and against the protests of Heidi's kit once before the fight. I was surprised at the time to see Heidi's kit permit the other to wade around for a while eating peanuts before finally deciding to oust the intruder from 'his' pool. Dennis' kit did get out of the pool when pressed but refused to leave the edge of the pool. The fight broke out shortly after that.

After Dennis broke up the fight, the 2 kits went their separate ways for a while, neither getting the pool, but after a while Dennis' kit wandered back over to the edge of the pool where she climbed up and perched on the edge for a while snagging peanuts as they drifted by, an amazing thing to watch I might add. From time to time she ventured into the pool. Another time later in the night Heidi's kit got back in the pool, and the bickering began anew. This time I decided to head it off from the start, so I spoke to them calmly as I had done with Bast that time admonishing them to 'cut it out and be nice'. That seemed to distract them enough to work.

LOL.. too funny. Even as kits... amazing how intelligent they are. always amazes me.

Psst -- how the chili thing work out?

Terese,

I got all of the particulate matter (i.e. ground beef, onions...) of the ceiling and cleaned the spatter off of walls, appliances, counter tops, and all of the other hundreds of places I found it hiding. By that time, having millions of other things to do, I did not get to the part of dragging a ladder in to try to scrub the ceiling or try any of the other ideas - yet. Hopefully I will get to that this weekend. I think I need to bring a tarp in to cover the counter tops and such as I do not want to risk getting bleach in places where it might do harm. I'm not thrilled to still have the stains on the ceiling, but its not to bad for now as long as I don't look up. ;-)

I'm not ignoring the group on the chili thread. I just didn't have time to talk last night. Otherwise I would have been up way, way too late. Hopefully, I will have some time tonight.

That's my Dennis!!

That lil Dennis just never ceases to amaze me!

>>'m not ignoring the group on the chili thread.

OH -- I know... i did figure "work" interfered with your play time.

Tetley, sorry I am late with this....but Happy Birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day. DH's surprise was wonderful!

Debbie

Oh, yes, Debbie and KyWoods, thanks for the reminder...

Where's the 'chili' thread? I seem to have missed that story, and I am dying to know how chili got all over the place! LOL

KyWoods,

Here it is: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/914696/
I spilled chili on the ceiling. It was quite the mess.

ROFLMAO -- oh, her description of what she did [and the way she goes into details, as we all know] It's like you are in the kitchen with her witnessing it.

...'spilled' it on the ceiling?? LOL, going over to check that thread now!

Edit: Just read it....ROFLMCBO ("rolling on floor laughing my chili butt off")
Hey, I have an idea--have a chili-toss! Invite friends, have each bring a bowl, and paint the whole room! OH, and make sure they all bring their dogs...really TALL dogs, especially. :p



This message was edited Oct 22, 2008 5:41 PM

I had to add a comment to the chili thread even though it is too late to implement it. Had you thought about letting the coon clan in to help with the redecorating? I am sure that they would find some way to get to the ceiling. Not sure what the rest of the kitchen would end up looking like though.

tetley ... that was funny!!

Cheryl -- hope ya doing think we're picking on lil Widget.

Heck, no, Terese.

I thought that was a hilarious image! Very creative, tetleytuna.

And even if you had been picking on Widget that would be ok. I pick on him all the time, so he's used to it. ;-)

I'm just tired. Just got in from feeding the raccoons and sat down for the 1st time to eat dinner about 30 minutes ago. It's a tough time right now, unfortunately.

LOL, I like that idea! I can picture them now, going through all the cupboards, the fridge, playing with the faucet, fighting over things...

Can't you just imagine when, as they are fidgeting and playing with everything in their normal manner, they discover the lever on the back of the faucet, the one that when lifted causes water to flow into the double sinks? Naturally, in their delight at seeing the 'stream' of running water they would undoubtedly allow the sinks to overflow in an endless river across the kitchen floor. Soon everyone would want to play in the 2 new swimming pools, the kitchen sink. Many of the raccoon would bring along the various pool toys they had found in the kitchen: spatula; small, plastic measuring cup; pot holder; can goods; sponge.

Across the kitchen others are on the countertop patiently working to figure out the 'combination' to open canisters. Soon, the 'safe' cracked, one is 2/3 covered in flour while another is busy eating handfuls of sugar. In the pantry someone is busy crunching angel hair pasta into tiny sticks on the floor. Someone else is sure to figure out how to open the fridge after which a gang of raccoons begins climbing shelves, dropping raw eggs onto the floor, spilling milk, and just generally dumping food everywhere.

And this is not to mention what will happen when they find the stash of goodies (their food) that I keep on the baker's rack at the back door, the boxes of Little Debbie cakes, boxes and bags of cookies and crackers, jars of fruit preserves, bottle of syrup, cans of frosting, loaves of bread, bags of peanuts and marshmallows, and such...

(Sorry, Folks, right after my last post above I promptly fell asleep - with the tv and all the lights still on and without taking the dog out. Poor Widget just woke me a little while ago to say he couldn't wait any longer. Hence the new post.)

Cheryl, that's hilarious but it's no exaggeration whatsoever. I'm seen all that carnage, and much more, resulting from just one raccoon trapped inside a house. I can't begin to imagine what a whole extended family could do...

Hahahahahha. Then don't forget when they discover the bathroon and bubble bath and toliet paper and decide to roll the house and have a rimp through the clothes closet. Can ya see all them females trying on new duds. heheheheh

Then ya would probably have heidi sitting on the couch watch the animal splanet while everybody plays good in her mind.

A very funny image but man that would be a nightmare to come home too and one of them would probably be greating Cheryl at the door with one of her own marshmellows saying her we saved ya the last treat. : )

>>with one of her own marshmellows saying her we saved ya the last treat. : )

OR -- saying, this is the last one, got any more??

snicker snicker. chuckle.. chuckle..

ROFL Can you imagine how many plays a video like that would get on YouTube??

Forgive me if I posted this already, but I was able to trap our feral kitten, determine it is a female, and released her into the half-bath in the basement to try and tame her. She went 24 hours without eating or using the litterbox, and arched, hissed and growled whenever I got too close. I would have tried longer, but my parents threw a fit and made me let her go again. So now, KC (Kitty Coon) is back outside, eating with her coon family and happily cavorting about the woods again! She is too young for spaying, so hopefully I can get her trapped again in a couple months for spaying and vaccinations--I'll try to camouflage the trap so her memory doesn't warn her away from it.
I still wonder if she sleeps with the raccoons. If so, she'd stay snuggly warm! Any thoughts on this possibility from the rehabbers?
I did purchase a special heat radiating pad (not electric) for cats, and I can build her a house lined with it.

I wish you parents hadn't made you let her go. I have seen a pad that collects solar energy during the day....and heats the kitties sleeping on it at night. My DD was going to get one for her cat, who has health issues.

Debbie

Sorry that I've been MIA for a little while. Things are just 'crazy' here lately. I had to take a time out.

We've had a few chilly nights recently (and by chilly I mean that when I sit out there in my tank top, jeans, and crocs, I'm not entirely comfortable). The raccoons seem to have switched gears now. They come out, eat cat food, and leave. Their numbers have dwindled substantially now. Many nights I may only see 2 or 3 raccoons while I am out there. I'm sure the others, at least, that is, Heidi, Blondie, their kits, and Trouble, are around, but we are often just on different schedules. I have been less regular as to feeding time lately, and, absent the hungry babies, the raccoons are less willing to wait around for me and more inclined to just swing by from time to time while out foraging.

They seem more driven now as though they have a lot to do and little time to do it. When they arrive it is as though they are on a mission - to gobble up cat food and leave, get in, get out. Although they may take a treat here or there, for the most part they seem less interested in such things now. One of them may eat say a marshmallow or 2 while the others turn their noses up and walk away. The next night they may all walk away from cookies or whatever. Lately, I'm just taking out a tote bag of various things. I may pass out a few items if they seem interested. Other nights they may take no treats at all. The other night I went out with a can of strawberry frosting and 1/2 loaf of bread in my bag. In Summer they could eat 1 and 1/2 loaves of bread without blinking an eye. This time they only ate 5 slices of bread with a small amount of frosting. It was the only treat (other than peanuts which are 'hot' right now) that Heidi had shown any interest in in weeks. She came over to me and ate 2 finger sandwiches (1/4 slice bread with rounded teaspoon frosting) before wandering off again to eat cat food. At the height of summer Heidi would have eaten countless such sandwiches each topped with huge mounds of frosting.

In winter I find that they are considerably less hungry and eat noticeably smaller quantities of food. I guess if they are only going to eat a scant handful or so, they can't afford to take in too many empty calories. In spring and summer when it is all about the babies, it seems they need all the calories they can get and are happy to supplement their diet with calorie dense treats.

Right now it seems both they and I are too busy to do a lot of socializing. Many nights I put the food out, sit for 5 or 10 minutes while a few raccoons eat near me, and then come back inside. Occasionally, Trouble shows up while I am out there. He is almost always up for a treat or two and will sit or stand at my feet or beside my bench to eat a couple of cookies, or marshmallows, or muffins. As I am feeling a bit ignored lately, I enjoy the few minutes I spend feeding him. Although he did rest a paw on my leg once, most nights he will stand without touching anything and wait for me to put a treat in his mouth. He is very well behaved - and always in a hurry less Heidi show up and find him there. If I don't have the treats ready and in hand, he will wander off but will return promptly - expecting a treat - the moment I call his name.

Although Trouble's behavior is much improved over that of early spring 08, should the King return in spring 09 to claim his harem, Trouble isn't likely to do well at all with the ladies. Tonight Ursula showed up. I hadn't seen her in ages. As soon as she arrived and from time to time during her stay, Heidi issued a grumbly warning to remind her of her place. Ursula stepped about sheepishly in search of another bite of Little Debbie cake. Before she arrived I had 3 of them. Except for Trouble, no one had shown any interest in the cakes. I had broken the 1st 2 cakes into 4ths and fed them to Trouble. When she 1st arrived I tossed her one piece, and, expecting that she would turn her nose up like the others, had just handed the last cake to Trouble - whole. As he sat there munching, holding the little raison cake upright on the ground between his two outstretched paws, Ursula tried repeatedly to persuade him to share. After all, he had a whole cake, not just a piece, and this was his 3rd one.

I've seen this before, the females coyly approaching a male to ask to share his food. Being older and much, much wiser, the King would have graciously given her the cake. The younger Trouble, having now apparently forgotten the lessons of spring, did not. Even as she flirted with him, he sat before her stuffing his face and ignoring her advances. I suspect he will live to regret his choices.

Oh yeah, you can bet that Trouble will regret choosing raisin cake over gallantry, come next spring. It's heartening to hear how his behavior has improved over time; but clearly the boy still has much to learn...

Had to laugh at your chilly nights; the last few nights, temps here have been below freezing with high winds added in for kicks. What a difference a few hundred miles make! Now if only the bodies would adjust to the change, we'll all be a lot more comfortable.

LOl. Laughing at Troubles lack of manners with the ladies. Maybe you should write him his ownlittle book on how to treat the ladies.

bet that was intersting nd fun to watch. The flirting process. Have images of Ursula batting big eyelashes and swishing her tail around tying to get his attention. : )

Aww, poor little Ursula! I do suspect that they are enjoying nature's bounty, what with all the acorns, walnuts, etc., out there. Ours aren't sticking around long, either. We have a new critter, now, though. A nice, fat groundhog! I wish I would've had the camera earlier today, as he saw us observing him through the storm door, and rose up on his hind legs to peer at us. Cute! However, I do suspect him of biting off the heads of all my mums......grrrrr. Either him or the bunnies.

Hi KyWoods,

Oh, I would have loved to see that pic. We don't have groundhogs. I've never seen one of the little fellas. As for those mums, I don't know about groundhogs, but I do know that bunnies will do that. Last year when that bunny was living in my backyard cottage garden, I'd walk around every day and see a 'headless' lily here, echinacea there. Seems they bite all of the stems off at 'rabbit height', then if the thing they just bit off doesn't taste so good they just leave the decapitated flower lying there and pick another one.

Speaking of the animals, this afternoon I took off to run to the eye doctor to get my contacts adjusted, so I got home an hour or so earlier than usual. When I pulled up in the driveway 2 white ibis were walking along the grassy strip across the street where they were eating whatever ibis eat. I hated to get out of my car as I was sure that would frighten them and cause them to fly away. I sat there a few minutes watching them before I finally decided I had to get out and go inside. When I opened the car door, they stopped eating and looked over at me. I knew that was the prelude to flying away.

None the less, I gathered my backpack and purse along with my hamburger happy meal and coke (an arm load to say the least) and stepped out of the vehicle only to find the 2 large, white, water fowl, wild bird, I remind you, coming toward me! Oh, yeah! As I got out of the car and started toward the door the 2 ibis came across the street, past the mailbox, and up onto my tiny front lawn to 'greet' me. I was so impressed that I started picking off little bits of my [kiddie] hamburger to throw to them. I have no idea what ibis eat or whether either the bread or the meat might interest them, but it was all I had. A few minutes later a car came by and frightened them. They immediately took flight, and I came inside. Then it occurred to me - if they were afraid of cars, why didn't they leave when I drove into the driveway? Hmm. Has word of my buffet spread to the avian community? Nah, they are probably just accustomed to people around the ponds tossing them bread and such.

Wow!!!!!!!!! Word must be " flying " through the wildlife community that hey there this lady that likes us. : )

What a neat experience. Seems like if they was afraid of cars they woudl have left when ya arrived and walked. Surely they wouldn't know ya had a Mickey D's on ya. Glad I not the only one who orders the kiddy meal. ; )

I think they took a look at ya and sensed you a good lady and was maybe sayign thanks for all ya do for critters.

Hi Ruth,

Trouble really is much, much better now, so much so that I enjoy his visits now whereas they made me cringe in early spring. He is always a total gentleman with me and is also a gentleman with the raccoons, well, most of the time. A few weeks ago on a night when there were lots of teenagers (kits) out with no adult supervision, Trouble showed up. After walking around a bit to determine that there was no available spot at the 'table', he went over and stole one from a kit. The kit put up a bit of an argument, but being much, much larger and heavier, Trouble just barged right in on the food 'bumping' the kit aside. As I watched the display, I though to myself that he apparently doesn't realize yet how quickly those little girls will be ladies - ladies, with a grudge. But, he has come a long way in one summer, so I suspect there is hope for him. The ladies will teach him manners. (Note that Trouble does not behave in that roguish manner when Heidi is around.)

Yeah, when mentioning the chill out, I figured I should qualify that remark as I figure 'chill' means much different things in various parts of the country. This morning I needed a light, cotton shirt over my tank top, but by lunch time the shirt was history. Most of the year here I wear sleeveless tanks and dresses over which I add a shirt and later a suit jacket (for work). That way when it gets back up to 70F in the afternoon, I can always peel off the layers. I used to live some 40 miles (by road) slightly north and west of here. Even that short distance made a noticeable difference in temperature. We had hard freezes there throughout the winter. I think the big difference between my climate and yours is more about our respective proximity to the ocean and the mountains than about the miles between us. That said, I have noticed that as one travels across SC, the climate makes an abrupt change as one approaches the SC/NC border - almost as though it knows the difference.

I am really enjoying this weather. It is my compensation for struggling through summer.

Hi starlight,

It was pretty incredible. I've never been close to an ibis before. Even after they came to me on the front lawn I was still surprised that I was able to [juggle all that stuff and] rattle the paper bag and wrappers to get to the hamburger without scaring them away. That kind of thing, rustling paper and such, will usually scare a newbie raccoon away. When the kits first arrive in spring/summer, they run and hide when I try to open a package of treats for them. Later, once they get to know me and become familiar with that sound, they learn to run toward me when they hear me tearing open packages, but early on it is difficult to feed them without scaring them away.

The image you paint of Ursula trying to persuade Trouble to share with her is right on target. When the females are trying to get the males to give them something, they use their feminine wiles just like females of all species do. Even though I can't hear what they are saying, the body language speaks for itself. A raccoon lady trying to sweet talk a guy looks just like a human female doing the same thing. I know this reference is anything but current, but when I see the display I always think of the young May West sashaying hips 1st up to a guy and saying, "Hey there big boy..."

For any who haven't seen it, in early 07 (before Rupert arrived) I watched as Diva used her coquettish charm to talk HRH out of his food. In fact, I was so impressed with her efforts it was then that I chose to name her Diva. Luckily, at the time I had my camera with me and was able to get a series of several shots as she approached him and talked him into handing over his food and as he walked away. Those pics should be somewhere in the early 07 threads I think. (If anyone looks for them and finds them, please post a link so I can tag them.)

Oh, about those Ibis, as much as I'd love to think that all of the critters here just know how nice I am - and I do think animals have a good sense of who to trust and not, we are a very animal friendly community here - much to my own surprise. Huge hordes of ducks, geese, and other water fowl like herons, egrets, and such hang out around the ponds throughout our neighborhood. (I once sat on a neighbor's porch watching helplessly as an alligator, visible only from the tiny ripple on the water, quietly made his way across a pond in a direct line toward an egret fishing at the water's edge - but that's another story.) As we are in city limits, hunting or otherwise harming the animals is illegal and dogs may not be allowed to run free outside. The ducks, geese, and such wander about freely through our yards. Lots of people enjoy feeding the ducks and geese, so the birds quickly learn to associate people with a free meal.

One winter morning I set out camera in hand to take some pics of the waterfowl. I drove up to one of the ponds and parked along the sidewalk. Before I could even get out of the car a huge herd of ducks and geese started waddling 'quickly' toward my car. I had not anticipated this. I wasn't able to get the pictures I was hoping for. I ended up surrounded by hungry ducks and geese and only able to take pictures of their backs as they surveyed me for bread crumbs. Sorry to have disappointed them, I ended up going home to get a loaf a bread. They ate the entire loaf of bread in minutes. The giant geese were a little spooky - as they were almost as tall as I am (well, it seemed that way up close) and were practically standing on my feet. When the bread ran out I left fearing a riot. Sinse then, on several occasions, I have seen people drive or bike down to that same pond to sit on the park bench and feed the ducks and geese.

Just came in from feeding the raccoons. Tonight was a fun night. Interesting to note that everybody suddenly got friendly out back the night after I started writing again. Hmm. Did you guys have anything to do with that? Is the gang being friendly again so I will have something to write for you? Did you order this?

There must have been 15 or 20 raccoons out there waiting for me - and quite amazingly not one single argument. Trouble was no where to be seen. Ursula was there as was Heidi. Maybe they did something to make Trouble feel unwelcome.

Tonight started out rather ordinary, except that I noticed Heidi was paying attention to me, as she normally does not. A time or 2 she walked up close to me. Finally, she pulled up a chair about 2 feet in front of me to eat cat food. She seemed to want something - or perhaps to know something. So I reached in my bag and pulled out the last 1/3 or so loaf bread and the remains of the can of strawberry frosting. Perhaps she had smelled the open can of frosting in my bag?

I started making small sandwiches and tossing them around. As soon as Heidi finished her sample sandwich, she came right over to me. Wow, is she ever big. I guess I'm so accustomed to feeding the kits up close - and Dennis and Fraidy neither of which is very large. Up close Heidi seems almost as big as Trouble. I guess maybe the cooler evening temps are causing her fur to stand up making her look larger than she really is. Anyhow, it was our best night ever. She stayed there eating maybe 10" from my foot. She took 4 heavily frosted, open faced sandwiches from my hand, taking several with her mouth and the last with her hands.

Each time she finished her sandwich, Heidi would come right up to my knee - no kidding! - to wait for her next one. I would turn back from handing a sandwich to a kit to find her 'big' face right there at my knee. It was so incredible. Such a rush. When I would reach out to hand her a sandwich she would back up at 1st. Then I would talk to her and she would step forward to take it gingerly from my hand. In between feeding treats to Heidi, I doled out sandwiches to a plethora of little faces and hands as the kits (not just Heidi's kits) came to me repeatedly (on all sides) for sandwiches which they each took back to their normal spot to eat before returning for another and another and...until finally the bread and frosting were all gone. I saved the can with a generous coating of pink goo for Heidi. I will never forget the look of 'recognition' on her face that time in early summer when I gave the frosting can to one of her kits and she quickly took it away. She like to lick the can. That day I saw from her face that she also knows what the can is - and she wants it. So tonight I saved it for her. When she walked back up to my leg for more, I held out the can which she took from my hand. She licked it and licked it and licked it all around the yard and for quite some time. The can seems to be the ultimate treat, like licking the bowl when mom makes cake or cookies, I guess. When she finally let the can go, I watched as kit after kit gave it a taste.

After she had finished with the can, Heidi returned to my knee to request more frosting. Of course, at that point I didn't have any more. Having nothing more to offer, I held out a chunk of peanut candy to her. She sniffed it for a second, then reached her nose past it to sniff my hand. She stood for several seconds sniffing my hand and surveying my scent before backing away. She didn't want the peanut candy. Clearly, she wanted more of the pink stuff. She didn't give up right away, either, but kept walking around in front of me, sniffing in my bag and bucket, looking and hoping for more frosting before she finally went off to eat more cat food.

Awww, I sooo want to be you! What fun!

KyWoods, as Cheryl said, it's probably the bunnies who are doing in your mums; they are notorious for it. When groundhogs do garden damage, it's most often from their tunneling disturbing roots, etc. Aren't they adorable? I always enjoyed working with them. They are so curious about everything, and the pose standing upright always cracked me up; their bodies just don't seem built for that position, but they can stand that way seemingly indefinitely.

Cheryl, wow, what a great experience with the ibis (ibises?). I didn't realize they'd habituate to human feeding like ducks and geese do, but it makes sense. And you're right, they and geese can be a bit intimidating because of their size and "otherness:" I just don't find birds as easy to read as mammals. Back in the animal control days, I once had to rescue a baby swan (cygnet) with an injured wing. It was in the water, of course, along with parents and siblings. A fellow who worked at the preserve took me out in a rowboat with my huge long-handled waterfowl net to try to catch the baby: much easier said than done, since they are very very fast and adept swimmers. As the parents glided by in the water, it was unnerving to note that they sat much taller in the water than I did. It didn't help when one parent glided alongside the boat, and the guy from the preserve told me to use my net to keep him/her away from the boat. When I asked why, he said, "they can see we're after their baby, and they'll tip the boat over." Good grief: a bird that can overturn a boat with two adult humans aboard. That's impressive, and distinctly intimidating; after all, they had no way of knowing we were trying to get help for the baby. I did finally catch the baby, and we booked out of there very smartly. Must say I missed the part about being chased by two very large, very angry swans in my job description...

Thank you, KyWoods,

It was a most enjoyable evening!

Hi Ruth,

ROTF! As soon as I heard anything about 'birds' turning the boat over, I would have been paddling in the other direction - Fast! Glad to hear that you stuck with it and were able to help the baby. Sounds like a most adventurous job. I guess you didn't spend many days thinking "same stuff, different day" as we office types are inclined to do - frequently.

Honestly, I have never seen the Ibis (I have no idea what the plural is and am too lazy to look it up) behave in this manner. Usually it's just the ducks and geese who come running expecting a treat when they see people. The other waterfowl: great blue herons, snowy egrets, Ibis, etc, have become sufficiently comfortable around people that they will often continue fishing on the banks of the pond even when we are nearby - which helps a lot for photographing those guys, but I have never seen any of them approach people. What happened today with the Ibis really was a first. I just figured after watching the ducks and geese get treats all this time they decided to give it a try. It really was strange though. I just hopped out of the car, and they headed right for me. Before I got out, they had been on the other side of the street and heading in the opposite direction, so it was clear they turned around to come to me. They didn't come right up to my feet like the ducks and geese do but stopped about 10-15ft away and stood looking at me with that "Hey, can you spare a bread crumb?" look. (Hey, maybe word really does get around in the forest. who knows.)

I didn't find the Ibis threatening, perhaps in part because they didn't come up close enough to walk on my feet. It's the Canada Geese and the Muscovy Ducks I find a bit intimidating up close, the geese because I've heard they can be aggressive at times and the Muscovy Ducks because some of those guys are huge. I swear a couple of them came up to my waist - ok, probably more like mid-thigh, but they are the biggest, darned ducks I have ever seen. I think maybe some of those gargantuan ducks flew here from the Savannah River site, if you know what I mean. Those giant ducks are pushy, too. When I had the bread, I wanted to give some to the smaller Mallards and other ducks, but the Muscovy's were determined to have it all. They were practically stepping on my feet. I had to kick (gently) in their direction just to get them to back up a little and give me some space.

Here is the link for the series of pics of Diva flirting with HRH to get his food. The link will take you to a pic of Diva alone. That is the 1st in the series. The next will show HRH at his dish alone. After that Diva walks up ...
To get from the 1st pic (at the link) to the others, look above the pic to click on the title of the thread ("Now where the heck are those kids?"). That should take you into the thread and to the post containing the picture: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=3709955

The geese's reputation is accurate: they can be really pushy bordering on aggressive, and they tend to come at you in groups, which doesn't help. Awesome birds, but not the pacifists of the avian kingdom.