An online journal sharing my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, spirituality and asking deep questions.
Unlike humans who incessantly worry about how they look, Canada Geese don’t. Nor do they have a mirror to look into and judge how they look. They are who they are. Wonder, what would it be like if we did not have mirrors to judge and compare ourselves to others? What would people think if I had chocolate on my face or spaghetti sauce or grass? I’m learning to be who I am. Hope you’re having a good day!
Perhaps the first step in making the Middle Passage meaningful is to acknowledge the partiality of the lens we were given by family and culture, and through which we have made our choices and suffered their consequences. If we had been born of another time and place, to different parents who held different values, we would have had an entirely different lens. The lens we received generated a conditional life, which represents not who we are but how we were conditioned to see life and make choices… We succumb to the belief that the way we have grown to see the world is the only way to see it, the right way to see it, and we seldom suspect the conditioned nature of our perception.
James Hollis
Overcast skies this morning, a light mist falling, and almost no wind. I did not expect to watch the sun crest the horizon with all the cloud cover but needed to include time in the Arapaho Bend Natural Area to start my day. The clouds were showing their better side so I accepted a few images. On the top branch of a barren tree two hawks surveyed their land. I listened to the babbling of hundreds of blackbirds. Not far from where I stood a goose or two were in a heated debate over nesting rights. I watched the graceful slow flying blue herons glide over the water in search of a fishing spot. And in the distance one eagle sat perched on a pole. After giving thanks and a few deep breaths I moved on to enjoy a mocha by Issac and an almond croissant at Starry Night. Rain and snow are predicted later today and into the night. Hope so as we need the moisture. I am grateful for the lens my family and culture gave me, with all of its limits, but I am just as grateful for the lens of maturity I am now seeing the world with. It will be a good day to enjoy a bowl of vegetable soup with andouille sausage added for a kick. Enjoy your day!
“A fundamental difference between our culture and Eskimo culture, which can be felt even today in certain situations, is that we have irrevocably separated ourselves from the world that animals occupy. We have turned all animals and elements of the natural world into objects. We manipulate them to serve the complicated ends of our destiny. Eskimos do not grasp this separation easily, and have difficulty imagining themselves entirely removed from the world of animals. For many of them, to make this separation is analogous to cutting oneself off from light or water. It is hard to imagine how to do it.”
Barry López
I would even suggest that man has turned humans into objects! Many do not see the connectedness we have with one another. As William James says “We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep” but many do not see it.
It was -3 degrees at 7:30 this morning and we’ve had light to heavy snow throughout the day. Not expecting to get above 10 degrees today. Probably not going on that picnic today, either.
Well, since you asked, here are some interesting facts for you about Canada Geese. Geese on the ice may be resting or preparing to move on to un-frozen bodies of water when need be. Huddling their bodies together on the ice of a shallow pond can cause it to warm up, especially along the edges, and increase their food supply, so sleeping on the ice can merely be a step towards thawing it out.
Their bodies are built to stay warm. They have insulated underbellies, and enough feathers, generally between 20,000 and 25,000, to keep their upper body temperature around 104°F (40°C). (Goose down has long been considered the warmest filling for things such as jackets and sleeping bags.)
Geese also have an interesting type of circulation through their feet that transfers warm blood back up into their bodies. Since their feet can’t freeze, they often sleep with them tucked underneath their bodies. This heat-transference phenomenon is one of the reasons why sometimes you’ll see them standing on one foot with the other tucked up under the belly, especially when the ground is frozen. 1Courtesy of Google.
Good morning. Southwest airlines has been emailing me almost every day with offers. This mornings email was offering rewards for all days ending in “y”. Now I assume that includes Blurrsday. We had thunder, lightning and rain throughout the night and into this morning. Anyway, I want to rant about the geese….
I find the Canada Goose are interesting to watch. This morning I had a few thoughts I wanted to share with you. First they seem to have no real cares in life except for keeping an eye out for any natural predator, knowing where they are in the food chain. Political issues, the COVID virus, taxes, work stuff are just not a part of their life. They do not seem to be possessive of property but will defend a nesting female within about 10-20 feet of the nest until the young are hatched then it’s back to open land. The gander will fight to protect the female, defend the nest and the young. However, their fighting does not have the intention to kill. Or at least that’s what I’ve observed.
Seeing and hearing Canada Geese flying in formation is a usual fall scene out here in Colorado. Most of us in Colorado consider the Canada Goose to be a pest. They seem to thrive in populated areas. I have two ponds in my condominiums so we have a great place for them. In fall they begin to appear making a natural alarm clock around 5;00 am. By the time December comes around we are seeing many formations like the one above but they can be hundreds of them. Hoping you have a great week!
We are expecting slight snow this morning and cold temperatures. And, the geese will love the weather as they sleep on the frozen ice. Silly Geese!
“To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson