By Bill Plante
May 09, 2008 03:23 am I was wearing a broad-brimmed hat while walking Kay and Babe the other morning, so I didn't see the pair of Canada geese on the near side of Quill's pond until I was within a dozen or so yards of them. I was startled because I had never seen a Canada goose on the near bank of the pond, let alone a nesting pair. Furthermore, they didn't fly off, but instead shuffled in the grassy bank from which their small family of goslings came fluttering out to the pond's edge. "Welcome to my world," I declared as I crossed the street to give them room. I reported my discovery to passing neighbors who told me they had discovered them earlier. Still hoping to be a news carrier, I learned from Daughter later in the day that she, too, had seen them a few days earlier, and I realized I was peddling stale news. Ah, well. The goslings had entered my world as a personal discovery, and that was all that really mattered. The personal worlds we live in are important to our sense of security from unwanted intrusion by those from other worlds out there insisting they be heard. Mine is a good world, not exactly uninvolved with the larger ones I read about or see on television. It's the one that makes for respite from all of that; one that I can build on and take nourishment from without a regulatory permit. We all need our own, and we tend our borders as best we can. Just writing the word "borders" reminds me of that large, contentious world riven by political wrangling. That's a much more complex world, but causes and effects share common roots. Quill's pond is part of the world I savor, but it is life itself for its fish, turtles, frogs and lesser species, as well as for seasonal visitors dependent upon them for food, water and relatively safe retreats for procreation. Survival of species is what it's all about for them, and it's not easy. Thriving in the larger world takes contesting to another level, and usually at the expense of others; which makes for contention and worse. The geese came and are doing what they have to do in order to safeguard their goslings. In that, they'll have to share what's there with others, while those native to the pond have to do what they can to survive the intrusions. Freedom to create and protect our private worlds as best we can is essential to survival for all of us. Knowing what's best for ourselves and how that relates to others is essential to good order; and nature is our handiest teacher. That's not escape. It's understanding how what we need relates to the needs of others. Each of us is unique, but no one exists alone, although it sometimes seems so. There's privacy, and there's withdrawal, but intrusions are ever present. Friendship and love can enlarge our worlds. Needs set us questing. Sharing what we can bonds us. Erecting barriers divides us. Understanding ourselves and our needs is essential to understanding others. I don't know why this matching pair of Canada geese chose Quill's pond for family-raising. I think of the fox den just up the street, and wonder whether that might produce an unexpected outcome for Father and Mother Goose. I don't know whether a hungry fox would want to swim in pursuit of their young. Maybe they do. What I do know is that the pond is a go-to place for those of us who take nourishment from it. It's the last of those several I have known that has survived in my time's passing. I am refreshed by the fact that goslings have been born there. Please do not disturb. nnn Bill Plante, of Newbury, is a staff columnist.
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