Majestic Diary

April 3, 2008

So today I worked on my charm necklace some more.  It looks like a magical prop from a movie or something--very fun!  Isabel is going to go crazy when she sees it.  I found some pics of St Francis of Assisi to put in some of the photo holding charms. I like these two… one has geese… one has a duck.

And I put this photo of Calvin and Hobbes in one of the charms too.  My maiden name is Hobbes, so I like it.

As I mentioned before, I'm a HUGE fan of the Aliens and Predator movies. AVP II comes out on DVD on the 15th--whoo hoo!  Now usually I truly abhor violent/gorey movies, but I am such a huge fan of cool looking aliens that I look beyond all the gore and enjoy the thrill of the monster. I can't wait for Cloverfield to come out on DVD; I missed that at the movies.  Independence Day and Battlefield Earth (although a bit silly) are two of my other favs. I like the alien cultures in them.

There is a GREAT show on Discovery "Man vs. Chimps" and a great show on National Geographic "Hog Genius."

They are very educational and extremely interesting. You just have to check out these 2 shows. When you see some of the things chimps can do better than us, you won't believe it. And pigs… I always knew they were really smart, but amazing how the shapes of their skulls change depending if they are wild or domestic--during their lifespan!  An escaped pig's skull will actually change to those of his wild cousins and if a wild pig is kept in captivity, it's skull shape will actually change to resemble that of domestic pigs.  WOW! Their skulls actually change during their lifespan depending on their environment. So check these shows out!

Now about Mac...

This naughty goose has the WORST manners! I work with him every day to teach him respect. He is just so imprinted on people that he wants to climb right on top of us--trouble is, then he nips. He doesn't bite hard; it is a passionate nip, not an aggressive bite. His former owners apparently let him get away with this and he obviously had no alpha male around to put him in place and teach him discipline. That means this wonderful work is left for me to do.  Oh boy!

I have been sitting in the pen with him and teaching him that he can not get the better of me no matter how hard he tries. Sometimes I use my yellow broom to keep him out of my "dance space." More often than not I just sit there and pet him, and if he tries to bite me I give him a little prod and make a "sssst" noise.

Once you master a goose's moves, it is pretty easy to block their attacks. He has not out-maneuvered me yet. He spends more time standing near me and vocalizing than anything else.

Although this training has to be repeated every single time I go in his pen, and it sometimes feels like I am making zero ground with him, when I see how he treats other people, I am reassured that my efforts are well worth the time. He definitely respects me even if he still insists on "testing the fence."

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(excluding St. Francis of Assisi images, Calvin & Hobbes image and Alien image)