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	May 11, 2006

Learning from Nature Photos taken yesterday on my neighbour's lawn and pond. Six adults, 15 goslings in three families. Lots more at my flickr. This is the cure for sadness. I sat on the edge of the lawn for nearly an hour taking these pictures, and wishing I could draw. I couldn't get close enough to capture the astonishing furriness of these little guys. And of course their movement is adorable. Only a few days old, they are already accomplished swimmers, but quite unsteady on their feet, so they waddle, falling forward as they try to master centre of balance. The ones I call "family #1" in the flickr pictures (the five goslings in the top two pictures above, and the two at the bottom of the third picture) appear to be a day or so younger than the other babies, which strayed further from the adults and walked a bit more confidently. The five youngest, which were urged into the water by Dad when I got a little too close, had been (as you can see in some of the flickr photos) trying to sneak under Mom's tail feathers, all scrunched together, and four of them scrambled to stay within inches of Mom in the pond as well. The fifth, the one looking over towards Dad in the water, was already showing a bit of an independent streak (he or she is the one in the lower centre of the third picture above, with a sibling following tentatively and stopping to study everything with great fascination, as Mom and Dad urged them back closer). The Dad (I'm guessing) of family #2, neck outstretched in the third picture above, stared repeatedly at me and my camera (either aggressively or curiously), but as long as I kept my distance I was otherwise ignored. When I had gone to run some errands earlier, family #2 (judging from the six babies in tow) was in the middle of our road. I got the neck-outstretched stare from Dad then too, as Mom patiently ushered the little ones across the road while I waited for the parade to finish. Spending time with creatures who are completely indifferent to our species, who expect nothing from us and accept whatever happens to them with equanimity and grace, is a profoundly moving and spiritual experience. We have so much to learn from nature, and so little time. 6:23:31 AM  trackback []  comment []

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