Well it was too good to be true. The geese ubiquitous to Georgian Bay and the North Channel have been absent since we arrived in Michigan.
We don’t miss them though as their droppings are one of Maggie and Rocco‘s favourite treats. The dogs swoop down and pick up any they can. Walking the dogs in geese territory is always a challenge: keeping an eye on them ready to bend over and scoop poop out of their mouths. Rocco is easy to catch as he likes to carry them around like a cigar stuck in the corner of his mouth. But no matter how attentive we are they always manage to ingest one or two delicious morsels. There are no disastrous effects on their digestion any more.
However while it may sound cosy and romantic to eat supper in a new place every night with a dog on either side, it leaves a little to be desired when the dogs are seasoning the air with goose toots. So the lack of geese has been a nice reprieve.
Unfortunately, the dogs have now discovered alewife. There is a massive die-off of these small prey fish underway in Lake Michigan. We encounter rafts of corpses on the water, jammed between the boat and the dock, and washed up along the beaches. Sun-dried morsels can be found just about everywhere. Maggie and Rocco seem to be happy with a change. We are not looking forward to fish flavoured farts.
Moon Dance IV 