I've heard quite knowledgeable people say that it is unwise to let geese get too imprinted, that it increases the chance that they will be aggressive later on. Apparently the theory is that familiarity breeds contempt and/or that they come to regard you as part of their flock and try to assert dominance. As you so rightly observe, geese have strong individual personalities. But is the personality determined more by heredity or environment? Personally I think it has more to do with the breed and the gender than with the amount of imprinting. Our late, unlamented mutt gander (probably Toulouse/Embdem cross) was horridly aggressive -- but the two geese, an American Buff and a Pilgrim were not. The females were handled much more than the male because they were friendlier. The "girls" did hiss alarmingly when they were broody and for a couple of weeks after their goslings hatched, but I consider that protectiveness, not aggression. Aggression is biting, pinching, charging to the point of contact and flogging with the wings. Even allowing for the testoterone factor, our gander was way over-the-top for aggressive behaviour. And nothing we tried stopped him. The goslings that our mean gander sired are still okay, but I can see the potential for aggression in them, even in one that is clearly female. And so, I am glad I was able to find a buyer for them and that particular bloodline will end when they are butchered. On the other hand, the pair of Pilgrim goslings from Holderread's (same age as the home-hatched ones and raised with them from an early age) are very gentle. Ben, the gander, is stand-offish but docile. (I have not encouraged him to get too chummy, for the reasons you mentioned, but I am not convinced it would make much difference. I think the stand-offishnes is a "guy thing".) Elsie, the goose, is a bit shy, but friendly enough to take a dandelion leaf from my hand or nibble my fingers. She knows her name and acknowledges it with a vigorous waggling of the her tail when I address her, much as my Buff and Pilgrim adult females do. She behaves much more like Willow (her Pilgrim foster mother) than does Willow's biological daughter, Tall Girl. Tall Girl behaves more like her father did at the same age. An interesting sidelight on this is the behavioural changes that our Buff goose underwent when her eggs hatched, shortly after we culled the gander. She turned the babies over to Willow, the Pilgrim (they had been nesting side-by-side, sometimes even switching clutches) and adopted a male "survey and protect" mode. She did not hover the babies, except very occasionally. When they went walking, she tended to bring up the rear, from which position she could keep them all in her view. But Willow did the decision-making and nurturing - and disciplining - of the goslings. Buff still maintains a ganderlike surveillance and is generally the last one in. After a mere three years with chickens, two with geese and one with rabbits, I am convinced in the the dominance of heredity over environment in determining the disposition for these species. I cull with this in mind, always. I cannot document this observation; it is strictly anecedotal and based on my small numbers of critters. But it would take pretty strong evidence to convince me otherwise. There - more than you ever wanted to hear on the topic. LOL.

I forgot to answer your question about giant swallowtail host plants. I have several wafer ashes, and that's the favorite of GSTs here. I had to cut nearly all the leaves off all of them to feed my GST cats this year, plus I used rue. They didn't lay any eggs on my orange or satsuma trees this year, so I didn't use citrus leaves. Two of my young rue plants died recently right after the heat wave we had in June, and another one has dead parts on it. I've got one rue plant that I've had for years that's still going strong. It's growing in the shade of a my Ellen's Blue butterfly bush and a rose bush, so I think they really need the shade. I'm thinking about replacing the dead rues with more wafer ash/Ptelea trifoliata. I had planted rue, because black swallowtails use it, too. So maybe I'll replace the dead rues with wafer ashes, and when they've attained some size, I'll plant some rue underneath them. And maybe I'll plant some rue in the shade of other plants, like my big orange tree. The leaves have all grown back on the wafer ashes, which is good. I've released 27 giant swallowtails so far, and there are a good many chrysalides left, so I'll probably be needing more GST host plants soon! Sherry

I'm not sure what advice I may be able to give to you rockstonegarden. I'm just going to start with a ramble... Take for instance, Taxodium distichum Mickelson... ok, I can propagate this tree with no royalty charge. ...It also goes by the famous known name: 'Shawnee Brave'. I use that name and now I have to pay a royalty. Someone (it is possible) will buy one of your propagations (from wherever...) and then simply calls it anything they want and now it's being propagated under two names. It's a dirty trick, yes...... This is just an example. 'Mickelson' however was the first name chosen for "Shawnee Brave" - in this particular case, someone "stole" from the original name to make money on a plant already being propagated. This above example was the furthest thing in my mind, so I've chosen to start with the lesser important information. Patents - all that stuff - you probably won't see a dime for 10 or 15 to even as far as, 20 years. I've heard this from old-time grafters as well as a very prominent Author in North America. This is the reason: The time it will take you to get this tree out and being sold and where you make your royalty as well as "all the hassle" of patenting a plant - you'll have already starved to death, waiting... it's really that simple. If you chose not to try to make money, you could get that plant sent around to more grafters who in turn get the plant in peoples gardens. The objective of beautifying peoples gardens. Now I'm just going to say this..... nobody has asked you how long the yellow color lasts - there are already so many spruces that flush yellow, available, that the market is flooded. And there are a lot of good ones too. One quick example before I go to my last thought to actually help you if you are bound and determined to proceed with patenting it is this... a nursery friend who grows Picea pungens in the field finds as a well averaged #, 1 golden pushing seedling per 100,000 seedlings. This year I think he found 4. Here you go... I might look at Buchholz & Buchholz Nursery for your propagation TM/Patent needs. They describe themselves as 'finding the most unusual plants from all parts of the world'. Boyko Nursery in Oregon - would be "my" first choice, though. I don't even know them personally, but I've heard so much good about the guy... and that's exactly what they do... you might consider a simple "growers contract" with one nursery such as them - Good luck. Dax

Boy,am I relieved.This morning at 6:15,I saw Daddy at the box,thought he just might be feeding Mom.I didn't want to check that early in case Mom might be laying another egg.Just now when I came home,I decided to check the box.Dad was in a nearby tree and when I opened the box,there was Mom sitting there all crouched down,nice and cozy.she never even moved.Needless to say,I closed the box quickly and left her alone.I was very relieved and excited.I have no idea if there are more than 3 eggs or not,just happy they are ok.Also on the way back to the house,I walked by a box that has been mounted on the side of the garage for a few years and has always gone unoccupied.My husband mentioned the other day that he saw a bird sticking his head out ,but was unsure what it was.As I walked by,I gently tapped and out came a white breasted nuthatch.How exciting,that is a first for me.Very cool.This box is difficult to open,so I will just have to leave it alone and enjoy.Glad to share some good news.....Jane