Hi Everyone,

An e-mail discussion with a local Chestertown homeowner led to my re-finding this gem about the origins of Barnacle Geese and Goose Barnacles:

On Goose Barnacles:

"In the days before it was realised that birds migrate, it was thought that Barnacle Geese, Branta leucopsis, developed from this crustacean, since they were never seen to nest in temperate Europe, hence the English names "goose barnacle", "barnacle goose" and the scientific name Lepas anserifera (Latin anser = 'goose'). The confusion was prompted by the similarities in color and shape. Because they were often found on driftwood, it was assumed that the barnacles were attached to branches before they fell in the water. The Welsh monk, Giraldus Cambrensis, made this claim in his Topographia Hiberniae. Since barnacle geese were thought to be 'neither flesh, nor born of flesh', they were allowed to be eaten on days when eating meat was forbidden by religion." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose_barnacle)

Beautiful.

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com

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