As you know I now live on a man-made lake that to my pleasure is filled with wildlife, Koi fish, turtles, ducks, geese, and a variety of other waterfowl and birds. Appropriately, on Mother’s Day weekend, our Canadian geese pair hatched three eggs. Coming home and seeing them was such a delight. Little did I know that the hours spent observing them as they grew would cause me deep retrospection.
Each time I would sit and watch them I would notice for birds, they really had parenting down and so actively cared about and for their offspring. For the first couple of weeks one of the parents stayed awake at all times, watching and guarding for potential danger. They seemed symbiotic in this keeping watch routine, one putting it’s head down as the other would lift his/hers up. Their keeping post also included being sure one of them was on either side of the goslings and kept that vidgil tight until a couple of days ago where the “giving them wings” part of their training started.
While the goslings would swim, the parents would just follow, keeping their side post. They were not nippping at the youngsters trying to get tthem to go where they wanted them to. As a matter of fact I never saw the adults peck at the children, ever. They were always gentle and concerned in their guidance, teaching them to leap up to the edge of the shore, pecking at all the other birds while someone was feeding their babies, hissing at any four legged creatures that would lurk, and pecking at the fish if they got to close.
Watching this love and care amazed me. To sit and witness parenting that seems to be beyond so many humans, mine included, was inspiring. Yes, my mom did well given the jerk she was married to, but she missed the team aspect and the support. She had a challenge to protect us. We can learn so much observing the gifts in nature the Lord has provided us. It brings peace to witness to His miracles.
