The Emperor Caesar did not have a fun day on March 1st either, but at least our Caesar had the people, not of Rome but of Loch Alpine save him from his adversary, Clyde. Although he lost his empire he lives into his 33rd year on a much lesser body of water - a duck pond to be exact.
I ended my last LORE article on a sad note - asking for help in finding a safe refuge for our old, lame cob. His very long existence on Greenlook Lake, with pen #l Cleopatra the second, and pen #2, Cleotoo, had finally come to an end with the February arrival of a young pair of mute swans, Bonnie and Clyde.
B and C were so unmerciful in their pursuit of both Caesar and Cleotoo that I put the pair in my garage until the first of March, at which time the ice had melted, giving them room to flee and hide. With more water becoming available during the spring thaw, I was hoping the newcomers would choose an uninhabited lake on which to settle. I think Greenook was the spot where they were hatched because, two months later they are still here, making amateurish nests and producing infertile eggs.
A safe home for Caesar was suggested by Sue Adams on Woodland Dr. Sue is the assistant manager of Domino's Petting Farm and she offered their duck pond, free of charge to Caesar. At that moment I had Caesar in the garage for the second time, having been forced to collect him from the middle of Midway Dr. Sue's offer was happily accepted and the very next day Caesar had a mini-van ride to a nice pond inhabited with all sorts of small fry. He is very puffed up being the largest fowl on the pond. A Toulouse goose is his constant companion and they graze together in perfect peace.
Cleotoo was not a worry because she could fly but for a while she sat at the box culvert on Bridgeway Lake waiting for Caesar to come back. She finally fled to the river where I saw her yesterday, May 6th, near the Delhi rapids. She does a fly over almost daily. You can always identify Cleotoo - she came here ten years ago with two tail feathers missing. Soon she'll be moulting and will be flightless for about seven weeks so she won't be visiting. If she survives the winter on the river, perhaps she'll find a strong young cob and return in the spring to challenge B and C - it could happen and then "Adios, Bonnie and Clyde."
I am grateful to Sue Adams for taking Caesar under her wing and caring for him at the Petting Farm - if you take your children to see the animals there - say a big hello to our very old friend.