view recent changes - User contributions [en-ca]

View Recent Changes

2020-07-16T23:29:08Z

Simon:

==Introduction==
view recent changes is a collaborative project featuring works by artists [[Oscar Alfonso]], [[Simon Fuh]], [[Matt Nish-Lapidus]], and [[Sophia Oppel]], in collaboration with [[Hearth]] - a Toronto artist-run space co-directed by [[Benjamin de Boer]], [[Rowan Lynch]], [[Sameen Mahboubi]] and [[Philip Leonard Ocampo]]. view recent changes presents an assemblage that considers the ways in which the human, digital, linguistic, machinic, vegetal and animal correlate. Hosted as a wiki, a platform that allows for communal contribution, the project foregrounds lateral hyperlinking and reflects on the possibility of a digital commons. This project considers how to circumvent the individualizing, commodifying qualities of online spaces to explore positive forms of relationality and intimacy.

This exhibition is presented as part of [https://2020.vectorfestival.org Vector Festival 2020] and has been graciously supported by Joe Lobko and Karen Powers via the Benjamin Hart Lobko Memorial Travel Award.

----
===[[Goose Cakes]]===
by [[Rowan Lynch]] & [[Simon Fuh]]

Goose Cakes deploys the digital as a site to consider our relationships with the non-human. The project is based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine as we attempted to learn more about geese in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 20th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake in Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

----

===[[A Hostility Index]]===
by [[Benjamin de Boer]] & [[Sophia Oppel]]

Sophia Oppel and Benjamin de Boer's navigable webspace examines online environments as sites of hostile architecture, manufacturing desire in the hyper-capitalization of online interfaces. A Hostility Index seeks to create the equivalent of a digital public space in which to loiter and consider the politics of the background, and the supposedly transparent or invisible.
----

===[[I’m not sure I remember all of our names / No estoy seguro en nuestros nombres]] ===
by [[Sameen Mahboubi]], [[Oscar Alfonso]] & [[I%E2%80%99m_not_sure_I_remember_all_of_our_names_/_No_estoy_seguro_en_nuestros_nombres#Relations|Relations]]

This project is a reflection on expectations and relationships: about the family members Oscar missed out on as a kid in Vancouver, of the friends he left to move to Toronto, and of all of the other folks who have entered, left, remained, or moved on, into so many other directions. Honestly, I’m not sure I remember all of our names. Living through a pandemic no one wants, he currently rents and owns nothing that can be called home, is still in school, and has no child. In Mexico City, he at least has his avocado trees. Relations were invited to provide stories for these trees by responding with narratives that connected with ideas of travel, diaspora, expectations, obsolescence, or stationariness. As with all diasporic storytelling, responses came from various unexpected sources: close friends, mentors, adoptive aunts, and the occasional hook-up. For now, and forever, our children they will be.

We would like to inform that the video-recording of these stories will be carried out over the course of the exhibition, due to the lamentabe accident caused by Avena (Oatmeal), my grandmother's cat, who trimmed the trees on their daily outing to the patio.

Stories will be added throughout the exhibition run.

----

Este proyecto es una reflexión sobre las expectativas y las relaciones, sobre los familiares que Oscar extrañó cuando era niño en Vancouver, de las amistades que dejó para irse a Toronto, y de todas las otras personas que han entrado, salido, se han quedado, o avanzado en tantas y otras direcciones. Honestamente, no estoy seguro en nuestros nombres. Viviendo en una pandemia la cual nadie quiere, él no alquila ni es propietario de nada que se podría llamar un patrimonio, todavía esta en la escuela, y sigue sin descendencia, en la Ciudad de México él a lo menos tiene sus arbolitos de aguacate. Se invitó a diferentes relaciones a compartir pensamientos para estos arboles, respondiendo con cuentos que sean relacionados con ideas del viaje, diáspora, expectativas, obsolescencia, o “stationariness” - el estar pausado, fijo, o estancado. Como suele ser con los cuentos diaspóricos, las respuestas provinieron de varios lugares inesperados: amistades cercanas, tias adoptadas, y la aventura occasional. por ahora y para siempre, nuestros niños serán

Queremos informar que la grabación en video de la lecturas de estos cuentos se hará sobre el transcurso de la exhibición, ya que tras un accidente lamentable los arboles fueron podados mientras salieron al patio para tomar su baño de sol, por Avena, la gata de mi abuela.

Cuentos serán agregados sobre el transcurso de la exhibición.

----

===[[I'm Feeling Lucky]]===
by [[Philip Leonard Ocampo]] & [[Matt Nish-Lapidus]]

[[What was gathered from the reservoir?]] by [[Philip Leonard Ocampo]]

[[Poems of Relation]]

Using an image recognition relations dataset as the basis for automated found image assemblage, I'm Feeling Lucky creates unique real-time image sets for each of the 15000+ in the dataset. The set of terms is laid out on a single page as links, flowing to fill the screen. Each link leads to a collage/assemblage of images found through using the phrase as an image search, and arranging the results. [[Matt Nish-Lapidus]], in collaboration with [[Philip Leonard Ocampo]], addresses the human labour behind machine learning, specifically aggregated data-sets that quantify and itemize the different types of relationships between objects/subjects in images online. I'm Feeling Lucky considers (and unravels) the linguistic poetics of code, and address the implications of addressing the human on an in-human scale.

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T20:49:51Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 20th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and salted, shelled sunflower seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest. The oxalic acid [https://opensanctuary.org/article/daily-diet-treats-and-supplements-for-geese/#things-that-are-toxic-to-geese/ interferes] with calcium absorption.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sunflower Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Iceberg Lettuce || Causes Diarrhea.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Avocado || Toxic to geese. for a full list of food recommendations and information, visit [https://opensanctuary.org/article/daily-diet-treats-and-supplements-for-geese/#things-that-are-toxic-to-geese/ www.opensanctuary.org]
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

[[File:Beet-sweet-potato-tartare-photo-1-1360x1845 (1).jpg|300px|right|thumb|Inspiration for tartare recipe ([https://www.cilantroandcitronella.com/ from Cilantro and Citronella])]]
===Deconstructed Corn Bread Tartare===
Success: Untested (will present on July 20, 2020)

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Fresh Corn on the cob (2)
<li> Assorted unsalted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed (optional)
<li> Carrots
<li> Sprouts or micro greens
<li> Beets (2)
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Podded Peas
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Cut the corn off the cob in niblets. Set aside half the niblets, and lightly blend the other half.
<li> Dice the beets and press them into a tartare mould. Alternatively, use an empty food can.
<li> Press the corn on top of the avocado.
<li> Place the mould in the fridge on a plate until ready to serve.
<li> When ready, remove the mould and garnish with micro greens or sprouts, unsalted nuts and seeds, carrot shavings, and the rest of the un-blended corn niblets. Serve to hungry geese.
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T20:48:07Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 20th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and salted, shelled sunflower seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sunflower Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Iceberg Lettuce || Causes Diarrhea.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Avocado || Toxic to geese. for a full list of food recommendations and information, visit [https://opensanctuary.org/article/daily-diet-treats-and-supplements-for-geese/#things-that-are-toxic-to-geese/ www.opensanctuary.org]
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

[[File:Beet-sweet-potato-tartare-photo-1-1360x1845 (1).jpg|300px|right|thumb|Inspiration for tartare recipe ([https://www.cilantroandcitronella.com/ from Cilantro and Citronella])]]
===Deconstructed Corn Bread Tartare===
Success: Untested (will present on July 20, 2020)

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Fresh Corn on the cob (2)
<li> Assorted unsalted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed (optional)
<li> Carrots
<li> Sprouts or micro greens
<li> Beets (2)
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Podded Peas
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Cut the corn off the cob in niblets. Set aside half the niblets, and lightly blend the other half.
<li> Dice the beets and press them into a tartare mould. Alternatively, use an empty food can.
<li> Press the corn on top of the avocado.
<li> Place the mould in the fridge on a plate until ready to serve.
<li> When ready, remove the mould and garnish with micro greens or sprouts, unsalted nuts and seeds, carrot shavings, and the rest of the un-blended corn niblets. Serve to hungry geese.
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T20:30:02Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 20th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and salted, shelled sunflower seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sunflower Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

[[File:Beet-sweet-potato-tartare-photo-1-1360x1845 (1).jpg|300px|right|thumb|Inspiration for tartare recipe ([https://www.cilantroandcitronella.com/ from Cilantro and Citronella])]]
===Deconstructed Corn Bread Tartare===
Success: Untested (will present on July 20, 2020)

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Fresh Corn on the cob (2)
<li> Assorted unsalted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed (optional)
<li> Carrots
<li> Sprouts or micro greens
<li> Avocado
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Podded Peas
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Cut the corn off the cob in niblets. Set aside half the niblets, and lightly blend the other half.
<li> Dice the avocado and press it into a tartare mould. Alternatively, use an empty food can.
<li> Press the corn on top of the avocado.
<li> Place the mould in the fridge on a plate until ready to serve.
<li> When ready, remove the mould and garnish with micro greens or sprouts, unsalted nuts and seeds, carrot shavings, and the rest of the un-blended corn niblets. Serve to hungry geese.
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T20:29:24Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 20th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and salted, shelled sunflower seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sunflower Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

===Deconstructed Corn Bread Tartare===
Success: Untested (will present on July 20, 2020)
[[File:Beet-sweet-potato-tartare-photo-1-1360x1845 (1).jpg|300px|right|thumb|Inspiration for tartare recipe ([https://www.cilantroandcitronella.com/ from Cilantro and Citronella])]]

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Fresh Corn on the cob (2)
<li> Assorted unsalted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed (optional)
<li> Carrots
<li> Sprouts or micro greens
<li> Avocado
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Podded Peas
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Cut the corn off the cob in niblets. Set aside half the niblets, and lightly blend the other half.
<li> Dice the avocado and press it into a tartare mould. Alternatively, use an empty food can.
<li> Press the corn on top of the avocado.
<li> Place the mould in the fridge on a plate until ready to serve.
<li> When ready, remove the mould and garnish with micro greens or sprouts, unsalted nuts and seeds, carrot shavings, and the rest of the un-blended corn niblets. Serve to hungry geese.
</ol>

File:Beet-sweet-potato-tartare-photo-1-1360x1845 (1).jpg

2020-07-07T20:27:08Z

Simon: Inspiration for corn tartare

== Summary ==
Inspiration for corn tartare

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T20:24:49Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 20th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and salted, shelled sunflower seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sunflower Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

===Deconstructed Corn Bread Tartare===
Success: Untested (will present on July 20, 2020)

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Fresh Corn on the cob (2)
<li> Assorted unsalted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed (optional)
<li> Carrots
<li> Sprouts or micro greens
<li> Avocado
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Podded Peas
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Cut the corn off the cob in niblets. Set aside half the niblets, and lightly blend the other half.
<li> Dice the avocado and press it into a tartare mould. Alternatively, use an empty food can.
<li> Press the corn on top of the avocado.
<li> Place the mould in the fridge on a plate until ready to serve.
<li> When ready, remove the mould and garnish with micro greens or sprouts, unsalted nuts and seeds, carrot shavings, and the rest of the un-blended corn niblets. Serve to hungry geese.
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T20:23:35Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 20th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and salted, shelled sunflower seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sunflower Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

===Deconstructed Corn Bread Tartare===
Success: Untested (will present on July 20, 2020)

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Fresh Corn on the cob (2)
<li> Assorted unsalted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed (optional)
<li> Carrots
<li> Sprouts or micro greens
<li> Avocado
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Podded Peas
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Cut the corn off the cob in niblets. Set aside half the niblets, and lightly blend the other half.
<li> Dice the avocado and press it into a tartare mould. Alternatively, use an empty food can.
<li> Press the corn on top of the avocado.
<li> Place the mould in the fridge on a plate until ready to serve.
<li> When ready, garnish with micro greens or sprouts, unsalted nuts and seeds, carrot shavings, and the rest of the un-blended corn niblets.
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T20:23:05Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 20th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and salted, shelled sunflower seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sunflower Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

===Deconstructed Corn Bread Tartare===
Success: Untested (will present on July 20, 2020)

Ingredients:

<ul>
<li> Fresh Corn on the cob (2)
<li> Assorted unsalted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed (optional)
<li> Carrots
<li> Sprouts or micro greens
<li> Avocado
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Podded Peas
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Cut the corn off the cob in niblets. Set aside half the niblets, and lightly blend the other half.
<li> Dice the avocado and press it into a tartare mould. Alternatively, use an empty food can.
<li> Press the corn on top of the avocado.
<li> Place the mould in the fridge on a plate until ready to serve.
<li> When ready, garnish with micro greens or sprouts, unsalted nuts and seeds, carrot shavings, and the rest of the un-blended corn niblets.
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T18:26:54Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 20th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and salted, shelled sunflower seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sunflower Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

You will need:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T16:00:16Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and salted, shelled sunflower seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sunflower Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

You will need:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T15:56:16Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.
 
Written by Rowan Lynch

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

 
 
Written by Simon Fuh

==Experience with Geese in Toronto, ON==

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and sesame seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sesame Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

You will need:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T15:47:46Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==Isolating with Geese in Regina, SK==

[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

===Project Background===

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

===On Wascana Park, Regina===

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

===Goose Feeding and Friendship===

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and sesame seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sesame Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

You will need:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-07T15:42:47Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]
Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary in Regina, Saskatchewan, the project followed Simon Fuh's own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
[http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/gustafson/FILM%20161.F08/readings/berger.animals%202.pdf We look at animals,] and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given that geese pair up in their second year, perhaps they are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance, and sincerity. Prudence? Temperance? Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: specifically, a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park during a pandemic, to return to one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of 20-25, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose/ "Relationship with humans?"]

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I'm sure the geese do not see it this way, but it dawned on me that we have settled on a method of interaction that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. That said, one incident stands out. During a visit to feed the geese at Grenadier pond, we placed the dish full of corn we were holding onto the grass to see if the geese would help themselves. Instead, their enthusiasm vanished. They retreated, tense, their fear of the unfamiliar container cancelling out the allure of snacks. I guess they need things done a certain way to feel comfortable, and we were happy to oblige.

I know that for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our aim of goose-human recognition is futile. So rather than heading back for the pond, I'll write it plainly here.

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for de-centring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. Global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.

On June 27, 2020, Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch, and Sameen Mahboubi went to feed the geese living there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and sesame seeds, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Observations:
<ul>
<li>The geese showed great interest in the corn, middling interest in the sesame seeds, and no interest in the greens
<li>We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell - they seemed to aggress one another equally
<li>We noted that while the geese were enthusiastic about food when it was thrown on the ground for them, they were scared of the container holding the corn when we attempted placing it on the grass (to see if they would feed themselves)
<li>After a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join
<li>Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn
<li>The "pecking order" amongst the local birds seemed to be Swans > Geese > Ducks
<li> If humans were to be added I believe it would stand at Swans > Humans > Geese > Ducks


==Goose Food List==
Based on trial and error, and research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height:400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || The natural staple of their diet.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Mustard Greens || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Sesame Seeds (Salted) || Mild interest. Unsalted equivalent deemed safer.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest. Fresh seed likely healthier.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-
|}

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
Success: 2/10

You will need:

<ul>
<li> Arugula
<li> Assorted nuts (optional)
<li> Bird Seed
<li> Carrots
<li> Fresh corn
<li> Grass
<li> Margarine
<li> Pumpkin seeds
<li> Raspberries
<li> Vegan suet
</ul>

Instructions:
<ol>
<li> Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
<li> Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
<li> Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
<li> While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
<li> Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
<li> Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!
</ol>

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T18:16:38Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

LOREM IPSUM GENERATOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==Recipes==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]

===Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)===
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

==Common Goose Foods List==
Based on either trial and error, or research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height: 400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale (Organic) || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || No interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Pumpkin Seeds || Mild interest.
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Bird Seed (Dollarama) || High interest.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion.
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T18:11:15Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

LOREM IPSUM GENERATOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==

LOREM IPSUM GENERATOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum

===Recipes===
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

===Goose Food Information===
Based on either trial and error, or research done by Simon Fuh and Rowan Lynch.

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height: 400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || mild interest
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || no interest
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale || no interest
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || no interest
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution.
|-

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T18:08:32Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

LOREM IPSUM GENERATOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==

{| border=2 style="text-align:center; width: 800px; height: 400px;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;" | Grass || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Fresh Corn || Perhaps the most successful so far. They love corn niblets cut from the cob.
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrots || mild interest
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Spinach || no interest
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Kale || no interest
|-
| style="background: Chartreuse; color: black;"| Carrot tops || no interest
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Poutine || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Hot Dog Buns || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Ketchup Chips || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: Yellow; color: black;"| Corn Nuts || Haven't tried this one. Probably best to err on the side of caution, though.
|-
===Recipes===
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:59:06Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

LOREM IPSUM GENERATOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==

{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;" | Grass || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Carrots || mild interest
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Spinach || no interest
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Kale || no interest
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Carrot tops || no interest
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
===Recipes===
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:58:34Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

LOREM IPSUM GENERATOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==

{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;" | Grass || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Carrots || mild interest
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Spinach || no interest
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Kale || no interest
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Carrot tops || no interest
|-
| style="background: LightCoral; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
===Recipes===
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:57:13Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

LOREM IPSUM GENERATOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==

{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Food (Healthy, Unhealthy, Unsure) || Notes
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;" | Grass || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| style="background: red; color: black;" | Bread || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Carrots || mild interest
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Spinach || no interest
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Kale || no interest
|-
| style="background: lime; color: black;"| Carrot tops || no interest
|-
| style="background: red; color: black;"| Stale french fries || Not healthy for goose digestion
|-
===Recipes===
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:45:29Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

LOREM IPSUM GENERATOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==

{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:35:26Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

LOREM IPSUM GENERATOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==

{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:34:12Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==

{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:33:05Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==

{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Vegan Suet Goose Cupcake]]
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:31:58Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:31:31Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

 1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
 2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
 3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
 4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
 5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
 6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:30:50Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:30:16Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Cupcake with Vegan Suet, Grass Icing and Assorted Fruits and Vegetables (Test Cupcake 1)
 Success: 2/10

You will need:

- Grass
 - Raspberries
 - Arugula
 - Vegan suet
 - Bird Seed
 - Assorted nuts (optional)
 - Carrots
 - Pumpkin seeds
 - Fresh corn
 - Margarine

1. Mix together vegan suet with seeds and other assorted nuts until combined into a form-able paste.
2. Line a muffin tin with margarine and pack the paste into the tray tightly.
3. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. While the seed-muffins are freezing, blend together grass and remaining vegan suet. Add water as necessary to maintain a viscous texture. The grass will get stuck in the blades of the blender. This will be very hard to clean out.
5. Once the grass is blended place it in a pipette and pipe it onto the frozen cupcakes.
6. Use the remaining fruits and vegetables to decorate the top of the cupcakes to make them look cute!

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:13:30Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park/ fishing]. On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:12:05Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over. Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot [https://www.swampfest.ca/evidence-exposed/ T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)], a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters. Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.[source wiki] On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:10:53Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: [https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-waves-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-wascana-lake/ the die-off of invasive carp], whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.[source wiki] On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:08:15Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-big-dig-10-years-on-1.2581176/ 'Big Dig'], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.[source wiki] On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:06:30Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([https://wascana.ca/nature-in-wascana/faqs/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.[source wiki] On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:05:11Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary ([http://wascana.ca/nature-in-wascana/ among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.[source wiki] On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T17:02:51Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-new-orleans-rats-precautions-streets-empty/ rats in search of human waste] that had suddenly disappeared. The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.[source wiki] On June 27, 2020, we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress one another equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T16:57:54Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]

Grenadier Pond is a body of water located on the Western edge of Toronto's High Park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing.[source wiki] On June 27, 2020 we (Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch and Sameen Mahboubi) went to feed the geese there. Simon brought fresh uncooked corn cut from the cob, and Rowan and Sameen brought an assortment of greens including carrot tops, kale, and lettuce. The geese showed great interest in the corn, but did not eat the greens.

After only a short period several geese from across the pond swam across to join. Two large white swans were also nearby and partook in eating corn.

We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T16:48:46Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|A map of Wascana Park indicating where to feed the geese.]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|350px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T16:47:30Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T16:47:00Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Uneaten Goose Cupcake, resized]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:Grenadier_2.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Grenadier Pond at High Park, Toronto, ON.]]
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

File:Grenadier 2.jpg

2020-07-06T16:45:53Z

Simon:

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T15:58:48Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob)"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Cupcake, Confirmed]]

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T15:57:54Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "Toxic Algae Blob"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Cupcake, Confirmed]]

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T15:52:05Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Looking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "Toxic Algae Blob"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Cupcake, Confirmed]]
[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

File:Grenadier 1.jpeg

2020-07-06T15:49:26Z

Simon: Sameen and Simon feed geese

== Summary ==
Sameen and Simon feed geese

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T15:44:22Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Loking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "Toxic Algae Blob"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves, and communicate directly. But at the end of the season, they always gather together as a flock and fly confidently as a group to their next location.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Cupcake, Confirmed]]
[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T15:40:49Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Loking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "Toxic Algae Blob"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained their trust, and fed them out of our hands. I think this moment caused me to revisit my romantic view of the geese, who, before this, I had been peering at from the distant shoreline. Spending time with them deepened their character to me: they are flawed yet resilient animals. I think Rowan described them well when we visited Grenadier Pond: "Swans are like the aspirational version of love. Geese are like the reality of love." It's not that geese are less loving than other animals (swans too, I'm sure, have their moments of disagreement), it's that they wear their needs on their sleeves. At the end of the day, season, they gather together as a flock and fly on to their next location.

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Cupcake, Confirmed]]
[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T15:27:31Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Loking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "Toxic Algae Blob"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed. So, I planned to make Goose Cupcakes: a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods. I bought several types of nuts from the bulk foods section at my local grocer, and gathered grass from their feeding area to blend into a pipe-able icing for the cupcakes. After I shaped the nuts and seed in a muffin tin, I topped them with the icing, as well as sliced carrot, pumpkin seed and raspberry. I took several photos of the cupcakes to post to Instagram, where I was sure they would be a hit.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. I suspect the blended grass turned them away, as it looked suspiciously like goose feces. I also believe the sweet scent of the vegan suet was too unfamiliar. In the end, they completely ignored the goose cupcakes that I spent an afternoon making in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them. The only part of the cupcake they ate were the carrots and pumpkin seed on top. So, while my ego had taken a blow by their refusal of my gift, I learned that some fresh foods in bite sized portions are likely to be eaten with more enthusiasm.

I returned with a friend a week later with a bag full of fresh carrots and bird seed. The seed attracted several geese in the area to us (around two dozen), while the chopped carrot landed with moderate success. The geese's enthusiasm over the seed created a bit of a commotion, as certain dominant geese began to charge at others that were feeding. The dominant geese would lower their necks, run swiftly at another goose with their wings partly outstretched, and hiss aggressively. They'd bite at the white feathers at the base of the neck, pinching and pulling the skin. Blood was never drawn, but the aggression was always enough to stave off the less dominant geese. This social reaction to feeding concerned my friend and I, who protected the others from the aggressor to ensure that the all geese had an opportunity to feed. We never witnessed this sort of hoarding behavior over the grass that all geese had access to - it was only upon introducing excess, highly desirable seed that certain geese asserted dominance.

 For the most part, though, this second feeding was peaceful. We gained the trust of the geese, and fed them out of our hands.

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Cupcake, Confirmed]]
[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T15:03:45Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Loking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

[[File:Swamp_TAB.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Swamp Fest Regina's popular mascot "Toxic Algae Blob"]]

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed, so I made plans to make goose cupcakes, a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods.

[[File:Cupcake_Close.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Goose cupcakes made with vegan suet and seed, topped with blended grass icing, raspberry and carrot.]]

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. They completely ignored it in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them."

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

[[File:Goose_Feeding.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Attempting to feed Goose Cupcakes to geese in Regina, SK ]]

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Cupcake, Confirmed]]
[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

lorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsumlorum ipsum

==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet

File:Swamp TAB.jpg

2020-07-06T14:53:59Z

Simon: Toxic Algae Blob of Swamp Fest Regina

== Summary ==
Toxic Algae Blob of Swamp Fest Regina

Goose Cakes

2020-07-06T14:48:34Z

Simon:

{{Infobox
|title = Goose Cakes
|artist = Simon Fuh, Rowan Lynch
|year = 2020
|text = more info/material/etc
|link1 = [[Link to Livestream]]
|link2 = [[Writing]]
|link2 = [[More Writing]]
}}

==Introduction==
[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Cupcake, Confirmed]]
Based on a series of field notes and writing compiled collaboratively throughout the months of quarantine, Goose Cakes is an attempt to learn more about the geese in our proximity in order to gift them a cupcake specific to their dietary needs and wants. This work will conclude with a live-streamed artist talk and goose feeding on July 19th, 2020.

Beginning with observation of geese near Wascana Lake, Regina, a man-made lake hosting a migratory bird sanctuary, the project followed Simon’s own COVID influenced migration to Toronto. The second half of this project was then marked by an active search for the geese in this second city, concluding at Grenadier Pond, and an interest in the implications of the new patterns of movement COVID has introduced to our lives.

==Locations==

===Wascana Park, Regina===
[[File:Frozen Lake.jpg|600px|right|thumb|Loking south at geese on frozen Wascana Lake, Regina, SK. April 14, 2020.]]
[[File:Goose_Map.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose feeding zones in Wascana park, Regina, Canada]]

This project began somewhere in the early weeks of the COViD-19 pandemic’s initial surge in North America. I’d gone back to Saskatchewan to self-isolate, and after about a week or so it dawned on me that the only other ‘people’ that I’d really spent time with other than my partner were the Canada geese that populate Wascana Lake, Regina’s man-made water feature that dominates much of the central and southern parts of the city. The apartment that I was staying at was near a large nesting ground (Sleeping area? Hangout?) for the geese, and every morning at around 5 am the two of us would awaken from the distant honking overhead. A chorus that once unconsciously signaled the arrival of spring in the backdrop of day-to-day life had, in the absence of ‘activity’, or ‘life’, as I usually understood it, bubbled to the surface of my recognition.

This was one of the odd side-effects on social life that the pandemic seemed to have had on cities throughout the world. In the quietude of empty streets emerged birdsong, animals from the surrounding area, and common ‘pests’ like rats in search of human waste that had suddenly disappeared.[1]
The geese in Regina, however, arrive perennially. It was as though, rather than witnessing a re-emergence, it was instead my attention to detail that changed. Locked away inside (like most others who have the privilege of doing so) my daily walks became requisite for the maintenance of my own sanity. And, in my moments of boredom between anxiety, I started to notice more than did before: I walked across the frozen lake in March, and took note of the way the top of the ice sheet gradually melted in the day before freezing again at night. I observed the daily patterns of my neighborhood geese, who gathered nearby in the mornings before flying to a bay across the lake to rest at night. I stood and watched as the flock, hundreds large, organized smaller groups that marched in unison before flying away, like peeling an orange in sections. I watched the geese throw their necks up in a flailing stretch and beat their wings against their bodies. I tried to recognize their different types of honks, hisses, and mumbles, and wondered about their relationships.

As the spring unfolded, the geese spread from their initial icy landing pad. The single large flock dispersed in search of slowly greening grass in the surrounding municipal park, and they began nesting eggs in the goose-specific islands in the southeast portion of the lake: Goose Island and Tern Island, in the Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

The coexistence of the animals in the sanctuary (among them, Mallards, Sandpipers, Black Tern, three varieties of Grebe, Pelicans, Loons, and Beavers, to name a few[2]) has a tinge of strange irony to me. The lake itself is entirely artificial, and only exists because of the damming of Wascana Creek in 1883. As a self-described (small) city kid, it never really dawned on me that the lake could inhabit that much life, and, quite honestly, be that beautiful. Citizens of Regina will be familiar with the common trope that Wascana Lake is really more of a goose toilet bowl than it is a source of clean fresh water. In fact, the smell emanating from the lake got so bad in the early 2000s that it spawned a city project, the ‘Big Dig’[3], to deepen it and improve the flow of oxygen. Over the last few years, yet another ungainly tradition: the die-off of invasive carp, whose large bodies sometimes float to the surface in the thousands after the ice melt because their oxygen is cut off during the winter freeze-over.[4] Wascana Lake’s unfortunate reputation has even spawned satires like Swamp Fest, an annual music festival whose lore features the mascot T. A. B. (Toxic Algae Blob), a creature borne out of Wascana’s mysterious and poisonous waters.[5] Given this history, my newfound fascination with the lake as a genuinely picturesque biodiverse ecology was something of a surprise.

This surprise spurred me to get to know the geese on a more intimate level. So, as they unfurled their wings and began to feed, I planned a gift for them in conversation with Rowan and the rest of the What You See crew. Vegan suet, it turns out, is commonly used as a binding agent to make three dimensional shapes out of bird seed, so I made plans to make goose cupcakes, a decorated cupcake made from seed and other goose-friendly foods.

For whatever reason, though, the geese didn’t like the cupcake at all. They completely ignored it in favor of the plentiful grass that surrounded them."

[[File:gooseimage1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Cupcake, Confirmed]]

===Grenadier Pond, Toronto===
[[File:aggression.jpg|500px|left|thumb|Goose at High Park, Toronto, aggressing a duck]]
[history of the pond]
We tried to guess which geese were paired up, but it was hard to tell. They seemed to aggress each other equally.

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==The Virtues of Geese; On Goose/Human Relations==
We look at animals and in the silence between us we insert ourselves, or rather the ways they are more or less like us. I could say: geese are more blundering, less wise, show more aggression, less tranquility. This framework presents itself in the first place because humans are aggressive too! We’re loud, we lash out. We socialize in groups, we marry for life (or rather, idealize the concept). Given divorce statistics, perhaps geese (who pair up for life in their second year) are more fidelitous. Geese display perseverance. Dignity? Not so much. Charisma? Hard to say. Are they introspective? They certainly don’t seem to overthink.

This impenetrability leaves ample room for projection. The geese become whatever we need from them: a reason to risk a walk through the green pathways of High Park, one of the only spaces I’ve found in this city where you can forget where you are. I’m looking for geese, and when I find them, they are not in any of the park's secluded areas. They are in a group of about 20, directly beside an occupied picnic table, claiming the terrain between a main walking path and the water of Grenadier Pond. We are drawn to the geese. I watch children risk their fingers to throw them grass and seeds. Are the geese drawn to us? Our activity certainly doesn’t seem to disturb them. Did you know, on the Canadian Goose wikipedia page, there is a whole section reserved for “Relationship with humans?"

Within the motions of gift-giving, acceptance itself implies awareness of involvement in the act, with all the meaningful associations that go along with it. Giving and receiving each stand as an active role. I am sure the geese do not see it this way, but regardless, we have found a method of interacting with them that provides an illusion of mutual receptivity. I know for all the enjoyment i’ve derived from it, our efforts towards this goal of goose-human recognition are futile, so why not write it plainly here:

Thank you geese for reminding us of the continuation of cycles tied to the seasons, and for decentring the moment we are in; thank you for your levity. From what I understand, global warming and human intervention has and will disrupt this too, but for now, thank you geese for your steadiness. Thank you geese for being here at the expected time, despite everything.

==On Goose Diet==
[[File:cupcake.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Goose Test Cupcake 1]]
{| border=1 style="text-align:center;"
| Safe || Unsafe || Notes/Goose Preference
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|-
| Grass || || the natural staple of their diet
|-
| || Bread || do not feed them plain bread!
|-
| Carrots || || disinterest
|-
| Sesame Seeds (unsalted) || || actively enjoy
|}

===Recipes===
Goose Test Cupcake 1
 Success: 2/10
- grass (blended)
 - raspberries (whole)
 - arugula
 - vegan suet