Duck Duck .....

Doesn't it always seem that we try all sorts of technical remedies before realizing that it just might be the easy solution that works best? 

Any auto parts store or Val-U-Mart will sell you window cleaners in exotic shades of blue, and after you give up on them, you go back to what works best and cheapest - grocery store ammonia in water, and newspaper. 

Some time ago, they came out with another miracle pain killer - Aleve. Never did a blessed bit of good for me, but aspirin, made from tree roots, always does.

So when the people running the goldfish pond in Lynn, Massachusetts, found the pond overrun by geese (and their byproducts, goslings and goose poop) they tried chemical deterrents, fishing line, holographic ribbons, any number of things.

And..."People love to feed the geese. The more they feed them, the more they want to come," said Howie Stowe with the Goldfish Pond Association. "When they lay eggs, they will come after you. All of the birds get along good, but the geese fight each other."

(Imagine hearing that being said with that Massachusetts accent!)

Well, Mr Stowe and his crew (the Stoweaways?) found the one simple answer - Tube Dudes!

Dancing inflatable humanoids on timers, so that they activate every hour!

"If these were up all of the time, the geese would be up around it. They would love it," explained Stowe, "When they come back on, they fly away, so it's that on and off they don't like. They can get used to it, so we have to be smart enough to come up with something else."

And what a great schedule the tube dudes have! They come on by timer, work for ten minutes an hour, and then go back to Deflateville, waiting for their next turn.

The pond association reports all good news, and they are waiting to see if they will need to hire more blowup men as the goose season carries on.

Our correspondents will keep us posted, I promise.