Saturday, May 12, 2018

Oh, Where We Build Our Nests ...



Last evening, driving home from Aurora, we saw (on Old Mill Road) a sight we'd noticed before: a couple of geese have made their home about six inches from the north side of the road. The new-hatched goslings are staggering around within a foot of  the cars that roll by.

How dumb is that? I thought.

A few years ago, a mallard family built a nest right beside our back steps, the steps we use multiple times every day.

How dumb is that? I thought.

Just this spring a sparrow built a nest in an outdoor Christmas wreath still hanging on the wall of our side porch. Every time we walked by (multiple times a day), every time we drove in the driveway (multiple times a day), the sparrow had to dart away, startled wings fanning the air furiously.

How dumb is that? I thought.

We built cities in the volcanic vicinity of Mt. Vesuvius, (Pompeii, Naples), of Mt. Hood (Portland, OR), of Mt. Rainier (Seattle, WA).

We built a city (San Francisco) on the San Andreas Fault.

We built cities in the deserts of our country (Los Angeles, Phoenix, etc.).

We built towns and cities on the flood plains of great rivers (the Mississippi).

We built cities in the favored paths of hurricanes.

How dumb is that? I thought.

No comments:

Post a Comment