It is always reassuring to me to see the first baby geese of spring. It is as though the coming of the first downy yellow fluff balls is somehow a sentinel event that validates my trust that, yes, spring is really here, and that we really are coming to the end of the grey, icy days. When this goose first started incubating her perfect oval eggs in the cattails, she had ice on her back more often than not, but she was hard-wired to know that this is the time, and this is the place. Mostly, the Earth rewards her offspring for going with their gut impulses, so much so, that it doesn't even need to be a conscious choice. If left alone, natural systems follow their seasonal pulses, and maintain themselves pretty well. I wonder why, when we gained our special capacity for self-awareness, we lost our ability to listen to the heart beat of the Earth, and to be a functioning, balanced participant in those natural systems.
