standing in eternal time...

did you see the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"? near the
end, several impressive space ships zoomed by and impressed the people on
the ground... then, just as they thought it was all over and were
starting to pack up, the mother of all spaceships slid into view, so big
it obliterated the sky... big beyond all imagination...

well, i had that feeling today. shadow and i were out for our morning
walk... a bright blue empty sky above... then, i heard the faint cry of
geese... a flock coming our way, heading south... within a few minutes,
the always magnificent sight of a V-formation came into view... must have
been 30-40 geese, honking and chatting and having a great time of
themselves. (I've read of this phenomenon.. the geese are actually
shouting encouragement to the leader... something such as "go, baby",
"you da' man", "if you can't do it, nobody can..." and other such bits as
geese are prone to shout...)

anyway, we watched this marvelous spectacle for several minutes,
listening to their song of the wild until they were over a quarter mile
distant... suddenly, within a few minutes, the whole process repeated.
Yes, another beautiful V-formation, this one flying just above the
treetops and very loud... probably 40-50 in this group that was almost a
double-V. Again, we paused and enjoyed the annual spectacle of geese,
reminding us all that winter was here, repeating the journey that they
have done for tens of thousands of years... unlike us, they are blessed
in not counting years, for time is eternal to the wild goose. they were
doing this long before there was any civilization of any kind...

beautiful sight, it was, for sure. by this time, I was beaming at the
feeling of participating in this magical display of nature at its
finest... a migration to warmer climates....

we were heading home, had reached our driveway and shadow was sniffing
around the mailbox post (as she always does...)... when there it
appeared from over the housetops.... a V-formation of what must have been
five hundred or more geese, flying in a V that easily spanned three
hundred yards or more at its widest, with several small V's overlapping
and attached and weaving in and out of the larger V. The flock kept
appearing and growing ever larger as it came into view... by the time the
last geese flew over, the lead goose was several blocks distant... I was
mesmerized by the sight and stood motionless until the V was a fine line
in the sky, carrying such a cacaphony of nature with it as I rarely hear.
such a beautiful experience to end the year. :)

Anne Jackson...

Every time I see a skein of wild geese, I'm reminded of the last verse
of the Violet Jacobs song 'Norland Wind'. It's a song of someone who
is homesick for Scotland, asking of news from the North wind:

Norland Wind

Tell me what was on yer road, ye roarin Norland wind?
As ye come blawin frae the north that's never frae ma mind
Ma feet, they've travelled England, but I'm deein for the north
"Oh man, I saw the siller tides run up the Firth o' Forth"

Wind, I ken them weel eneuch, and fine they fa' and rise
And frae the fields the creepin mist on yonder shore that lies
But tell me, as ye passed them by, what saw ye on your way?
"Oh man, I rouch the rovin gulls that sail abin the Tay"

But saw ye nothing, leeing wind, afore you cam tae Fife?
For there's muckle lyin yond the Tay that's mair tae me than life
"Aye man, I swept the Angus braes ye havnae trod for years"
Oh wind, whaur gae a hameless loon that canna see for tears?

"And far above the Angus straths I heard the wild geese flee
A lang, lang skein o' beatin' wings wi their heids towards the sea
And aye their roaring voices trailed ahint them on the air"
Oh wind, hae mercy, haud your wheesht, for I daurna listen mair.

**Lin**...

That sure brought a tear to my eye!
Lin

Jean B....

WOW! That must have been quite an experience. I doubt I have
seen more than, say, 15-20 at a time.

david...

Joy...

Isn't that the most magnificent experience? I experienced it 14 years ago
when my brother and I drove with my mother as she moved to Alaska. It is
just breathtaking! I hadn't thought of comparing it to Close Encounters,
but I see what you mean.

david...

it was the appearance of two prior flocks, both of which were beautiful and
experiential, causing a sense of completeness -- immediately followed by
this immense third flock, that caused me to relive the close encounters
comparision. had there been no first two flocks, the sensation would have
been different, i agree... :)

mmj1...

I am so jealous, That must have been awesome. Did Shadow react to it?

david...

uh, ma'am... uh, how do i say this?... :) shadow doesn't 'look up'
unless dalin or i is standing at the kitchen counter fixing a meal. and
then she begs for tastes... :) now, on that walk... if she could talk and
cared to share her experiences, she'd probably brag to you that she found
another pile of dog poop on our walk... yes, several neighbors have dogs
that are allowed to poop in the yard and, while such repositories are
probably less than 5 on the entire walk, she remembers every one she last
smelled and always wants to check inventory to see if they're still there..
and on that walk she discovered a new one... *That* is what she reacted
to.... :) i'm sure this is a pleasant experience for her, for more
interesting than a bunch of birds flying over.... :)

well, i had always taken it for granted, our two annual sightings of wild
geese on the wing, heading either north or south. but dalin made a comment

mmj1...

Cowboy loved the wonders of the ground and the thrills of the smell but I
have to tell you there wasn't a hot air balloon safe in the neighborhood
when he was out. Never any geese but now and then a hot air balloon. Oh,
certainly glad you clarified the birds not the poop were awesome.

to me that opened a new window for me. we're in their flight path. i know,
we may think of wild creatures as flying willy-nilly north or south, but
we've talked to people living 4-5 miles east or west who never see the wild
geese... and we often have them fly so low that we can't carry a
conversation until they have gone by... so, while I don't know what kind
of navigation tools they use, our house/neighborhood must be some kind of
marker beacon.... :) we regularly see 40-50 at a time... just a
magnificent way to close the year... :)

Jean B....

Isn't that interesting? And it does make sense, since we know
they are good navigators.