Old Wisdom - Nature Ancestral Tracks

Coming to the Golden Grove I noticed the grass had

turned golden, the summer grass, that almost glows.

Ancient Monterey pines stretch out in rows and

forests, among the poplars, elms and hedgerows.

Then I realised everything was allright as it was,

that where I was had its own intelligence, one

that is not always understood by humans.

A little way further on the path, a water fowl

with her young were making their crossing. Sensing people

nearby, she quickly fled with her babies, hiding them in the

tall, golden grasses. She stood guard herself, playing dead.

The water fowl had nothing to fear from me, and she

was beautiful, young and brown, with a sheen of

peacock coloured feathers. She was going on instinct.

Then I moved away and she flew off, as if she expected me

to chase her, which I didn't do, and then raced away from

her babies. A companion on the road said she was

acting as a decoy. Clever. The confusion about her

seeing a nature-loving human as a threat disappointed me.

Why do they have to fear humans so much? And who says

ducks are dumb? I just thought she was beautiful

and felt very proud of her. No doubt this worked with

foxes, where she would make herself a decoy and then

fly off, once the fox was diverted away from the babies, and then

immediately circles back to the grasses back to them.

(You can see her here, far right on the road, although very slightly, because she

wouldn't let me close. The babies are parallel left of me, completely invisible in the golden grasses,

as I take the picture, so she is far away.)

copyright Monika Roleff 2006.