This is a recent picture of Gooseport, PA, a tiny haven in my Appalachian back yard for the two geese that live here year round.
It's also a place for summering ducks, wood ducks, egrets, herons, and king fishers, as well as the usual gathering of smaller song birds.
You won't find it on any map and maybe that's a good thing. I created it. But it's not mine. It belongs to the wild birds that live and summer here. And that makes me very protective of this little waterfront town.
Unlike the readership I never encountered as an independent author, the full and part-time residents of Gooseport, PA make me feel like I'm still living a full life, as the author of a different kind of creation, for followers of a very different breed.
At long last, I have finally been allowed to make a positive difference in the world. It's a wonderful feeling that you can't beat with a stick.
Author's Note 8-31-12: Our two geese "pals" are dead now. Broken Wing was killed in February 2008 by a nocturnal predator and I found Big Mouth dead one morning in September 2011. He probably died because there's too much sewage in our pond the past several years, running off people's overflowing septic tanks above us, right through our yard and into the pond. The ducks don't summer here anymore and neither do King Fishers or egrets or Blue Herons or other geese. I don't mow Gooseport anymore and I took the sign down in September 2011. I also removed the cracked-corn trough with the shingled roof (The New Gooseport Lunch Counter) in September 2011 because I don't want the birds to drink this pond water. Hell nobody likes sewage. Not even barn swallows.
