Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Dinosaur-Like Swan Geese


Big birds really look like dinosaurs to me, especially when they come at you aggressively. We had a bit of a Jurassic Park scene at the Calder Dairy last weekend, with the geese looking at us with their reptilian eyes, greedy for corn and shoelaces.


Luckily, no children were pecked (despite the picture above, which includes my daughter's arm), though my husband did get a sharp nip in the rear. The most aggressive offenders were the swan geese (Anser cygnoides domesticus), these strange ones with the saurian bulges at the tops of their beaks.

Any locals interested in visiting the Calder Dairy (down in Monroe Co., halfway between Milan and Monroe) should definitely take a big cooler with ice packs when they go. I recommend the pound and half tub of butter, which is way, way better than the Land o' Lakes blocks from the grocery store, despite the whiff of cow barn that clings to the wax paper covering. And the chocolate ice cream. Or the vanilla ice cream.

I just wish they sold their own cheese curds, too. Why can't we get these around Ann Arbor? Or can we? Please, please leave a comment if you know of a local provider.

3 comments:

Mazenbloo said...

Lurker here (from Arbor Parents board) and if you find out about the cheese curds please post them! We went to Wisconsin this summer and they were/are EVERYWHERE and they are SO yummy. My kids loved them and how they 'squeaked' on their teeth!

I haven't been down the Calder's but I hope to take the kids there soon!

Anonymous said...

Come to Madison WI for the cheese curds! The Saturday Farmer's Market is just the place.

Jennifer (ponderosa) said...

I don't think I've ever had butter straight from a farm. We made it in kindergarten but somehow I think it's not the same : )

Found another "nature" book from the library, you might like it: Eve Bunting's "Night Tree."