A FOWL SITUATION: Now that summer is here, so too are the 2,000 migratory Canada geese who’ve made their summer pilgrimage to Lake Merritt and are leaving their poop all over the sidewalks and grassy areas.

One of these dear birds can apparently produce one pound of droppings per day, which will surprise no one who has tried to walk, barbecue or engage in any kind of recreation at what is supposed to be Oakland’s crown jewel. There are some stretches of the walking path so littered with droppings that it is almost impossible to avoid stepping in them.

The goose droppings pose health risks to people as well as other animals. They pollute the lake waters. People have been complaining about this disgusting problem for years, but there’s little city officials can do without running afoul of federal laws that protect many of the birds that live near the lake. The geese love the climate (what’s not to like?) the surroundings and the fact that there are park visitors who feed them.

Which of course leads to more poop.

The animals can also be downright unfriendly, hissing at walkers and their dogs. They act like they own the place, gathering in large clusters in the middle of the sidewalk and refusing to budge for anyone trying to make a path through.

The one good thing about summer’s end is that these rude visitors will return from whence they came, leaving behind a far smaller population of about 140 resident geese and tons upon tons of less feces.

MAKING TRACKS: Visitors to the annual Pear Fair in Courtland are never quite sure what to expect when it comes to the festival’s parade — a delightful slice of small-town Americana that has been entertaining the crowds for 44 years.

In addition to the familiar procession of fair-queen contenders, bagpipers, antique autos and “pear blossoms” — those young’uns who may one day join the fair’s royal court. This year’s parade featured a display of military might not seen in this Delta burg since World War II.

Two huge tanks supplied by the Garbarino World War II Museum in San Rafael brought up the rear, lumbering along the petite parade route with flags flying in a scene reminiscent of Allied forces rolling victoriously through a liberated European city.

There was no liberation for the streets of Courtland, however, as the treads of the armored vehicles left their mark on the sun-baked asphalt, tattooing it with divots and black tire tracks in their wake. The pavement may still bear the scars when the 45th festival returns to town July 30, 2017. A small reminder that freedom to celebrate one’s rural heritage isn’t free.

A GOOD NIGHT TO SING: It may have been Jose Canseco’s premier for the Pittsburg Diamonds baseball team Thursday night, but several employees of the Pittsburg Unified School District got some swings in, too.

Superintendent Janet Schulze threw out the first pitch — looked like a strike from the Eye’s angle — and stuck around to join six district employees for a rendition of the pre-game National Anthem.

Good examples of community involvement for the estimated two-dozen or so school-age kids in the stands.

Staff writers Tammerlin Drummond, Glenn Gehlke and Sam Richards contributed to this report.