I watched two geese fly slowly above me. They presented an image of strength, beauty and grace.
Wingspans – maybe three or four feet. Maybe more. Long, graceful necks and strong, powerful bodies. They were undoubtedly heading towards warmer climates. For the long or short term, maybe. No way of finding out at the moment, but one could always make enquiries later. But south would be a good guess.
They’d honked before I actually saw them. Sounding more like bicycle horns than anything else. But the picture they presented belied the vocal raucousness which preceded the sight. They flew in pairs –
beautifully aligned, and in perfect sync and rhythm with each other. Rather like the motion of a pair of superbly matched dancers swaying to some smooth, sensuous pulsating beat felt more in the blood as well as the heart.
Both geese were almost directly above me. A little more to the side, and they’d have been straight overhead. I was nervous, and moved a bit further away, in order to be out of range in case any bird droppings rained down from the sky. Skittish from memories of bird droppings on cars. There were no droppings. Rather, the geese honked again, and then I watched them fly away slowly and powerfully, till they were out of sight.
There are few simple pleasures as enjoyable as watching birds flying. Like a school of fish, their inbuilt GPS systems continue to amaze and attract observation whenever they are seen in action. Perfect sync, perfect turns, nothing out of place and all in harmony. Such can be found in nature.
Two more pairs of geese flew above me, honking intently and alerting interested passersby to their presence overhead. Forcing people to look upwards, forget the chilly weather, and wonder at the beauty of nature.
