Lovely -- and full of crap!

Here's a "crappy" fact I find a bit alarming. One Canadian Goose defecates 28 times a day!

And if you do the math -- and apparently there are people that have -- that groaning effort produces up to two pounds of, ahhhh, feces per goose, per day.

Down here in the "Land of Cotton", it would seem that that's a nugget of info that's interesting but of little concern. Au contrair, mom ami!

Let me explain. There's a lovely walking path in my neighborhood, parallel and only a few yards from several parks, natural green space and the Chattahoochee River.

I spend a good bit of time there, exercising and thinking, watching people and being watched in return.

Walk far enough -- the trail meanders about for nearly six miles -- on a gorgeous day when the Georgia sky is a deep blue and the temperature has yet to break a sweat and there's a good chance you'll share the space with joggers and bikers, kids on skateboards and teens on rollerblades.

There are often couples cuddling on blankets and families having picnics; fishermen on the banks and boaters in the water; dogs and cats, squirrels, chipmunks and an assortment of other critters too shy to show themselves.

And there are Canadian geese -- gaggles and gaggles of geese -- waddling about, drawn by the river and the inviting marshlands nearby. They spend their days doing what geese do -- sleeping and swimming, eating and pooping.

Did I mention they crap up to 28 times a day?

So, other than aesthetic considerations, why should this concern me -- and you, if you happen to live in an area that these flying rats call home?

It turns out goose turds are loaded with all sorts of bad stuff. Recent research at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta confirms that Canada goose excrement is laden with potentially dangerous bacteria, including E. coli and salmonella microbes.

So, the CDC suggests, be careful where you walk, where you eat, where you play when visiting the Chattahoochee. Because it turns out my lovely walking path -- and other similar areas across the U.S. and Canada -- is nothing but a pretty toilet for our feathered friends.