Running. With Mother Goose (2).

~ Live & Learn

5:15 a.m.

In bed.

Both knees ache. Hips sore to the bone. I pass my right foot over my left toe, blister forming. I slide it further, abrasions on the tips of my little toes.  Raw.

This would be the 8th consecutive day of running. My body screams No. But that’s not going to happen. She’s responsible. I must see if she’s there.

I check my watch.  43° F, feels like 39°. I bundle up.

5:35 a.m. and I’m out the door. Running. With Mother Goose. (Again.)

My pace is too quick. I’m winded at 0.5 miles, and she’s at 1.7. My God, you’re a child. So anxious to see Her. 

I slow my pace and cross U.S. 1 into The Cove.

I see two of them at the turn, and stop to take a picture. That one above. Pink sky in the morning, sailor’s…

I shake the disappointment off.  Her nest was further up. Maybe that’s not them.

I run, eyes looking ahead for her nesting along the guard rail. Christmas Eve at 8 years old.

I see a male up on the retaining wall.

And then, I see her below.

I slow in my approach. Take my camera out. The female cranes her neck back as if to say: “Good Morning. You’re late.”

I tuck my camera back in its pouch, watch them for a moment.

The anticipation, now expired, as is my motivation. I’m done. My day is complete.  I turn to walk home.

I grab my smartphone: “OK Google, how long do Canada Geese nest?”

“Nesting Period: 42-50 days.”

OMG!

unnamed

Notes:

  • Post inspired by: “I was suddenly made aware of another world of beauty and mystery such as I had never imagined to exist, except in poetry. It was as though I had begun to see and smell and hear for the first time. The world appeared to me as Wordsworth describes with ‘the glory and freshness of a dream’. The sight of a wild rose growing on a hedge, the scent of lime tree blossoms caught suddenly as I rode down a hill on a bicycle, came to me like visitations from another world. But it was not only that my senses were awakened. I experienced an overwhelming emotion in the presence of nature, especially at evening. It began to wear a kind of sacramental character for me. I approached it with a sense of almost religious awe, and in the hush which comes before sunset, I felt again the presence of an unfathomable mystery. – Bede Griffiths, Bede Griffiths: Essential Writings (Orbis Books; 1 February 1, 2004) Thank you Beth @ Alive on All Channels.
  • Photos: Mine. May 7, 2020. Cove Park. Stamford, CT.

71 thoughts on “Running. With Mother Goose (2).”

  1. 7:30am , 58 degrees ( a little cool this morning), sitting on back porch, birds singing, dogs at my feet, iPad in hand and coffee by my side. My body is telling me that being a bit pudgy is OK and all is well with the world. Wondering if DK remembers the words of “Dirty” Harry Callahan… “a man’s got to know his limitations”.

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  3. As lazy as I am, my first thought was, “why does she have to run to the geese? Can’t she walk?” And then I looked at the time you had to get up to photograph them and understood. I’d much rather run than wake up any earlier either. Might I suggest a Segway or Uber as alternates to running, though?

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  5. Awwww, that’s exactly what she’s saying, ” what took you so long, dk?”

    And your inspired by quote, and the Wordsworth quote in it, “the glory and freshness of a dream.”

    Beautiful 🙂

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  9. i’m so glad that she was nesting and that you captured the pink, and she must know that you admire her by now, once you understood what she was doing with all of her time spent there. and maybe her sign to you, is to just take the time to sit in one place for a while and nest a bit. take a break from the frantic pace of running and life itself. mother goose has always been a wise teacher.

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        1. Wonderful! I have to drive for a bit to get to my “wildlife” and my car battery died (or is pouting as I don’t use my car often enough lately… waiting for my son to boost it!)

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          2. I was flummoxed yesterday. Wha? What do you mean there is no key present (damn these keyless cars, anyway)… get my son to buy me batteries… save result. Ummm… Ooops!

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  12. Wow, David, just wow! For what do I wow? For your two beautiful shots; for you caring so much about what’s going on with her that blisters and raw toes you go out there anyway; for running eight days in a row (I’m still doing every other day because of fear for my knees); for your inspired quote. All of it. Wow.

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          3. I find that laying out my exercise clothes the night before is a big motivator. Ya wake up, pull them on and GO before you even have time to think about it. And you remind yourself how VERY much better you will feel when you’re done…😊

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  13. Nice post, DK, but (eeeeeeeeeee!!!!!) you MUST NOT call them Canadian geese. They do not have passports. They are Canada geese. Everything else is great in your post so I hope you won’t take offence but this is one thing that many people do (misnaming those poor geese) and they deserve to be called by their real name.

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  14. Dale & others: a tip- Dale, you might call a local cab company to see if they jump batteries…always good info to know in-case your sons aren’t available to assist you…I called an area cab years ago and they charged $15.00 for the service…

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  15. DK I love that you have the time and have taken the opportunity to be fully engaged in nature! for 8 consecutive days 🙂 Soul Lifting… /// Did I read correctly are you like me “old school” you took out the camera (mine is a little pocket camera) you know I do not have a smart phone my cell is so old it can take a photo though it has never been able to send a photo…/// I grew up across the street, from a large, gorgeous park off of the pond…ducks would come lay and nest in our yard…you can imagine the excitement of 4 little sisters and 2 older brothers had when the ducks came to visit and how we loved playing in the grand park and of course the upper play park…esp. when the lady with the Candy truck pulled up-she also made snow cones…PS we’ve seen great groups of Canada Geese -thousands…it is such an fun sight to be part of…

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  16. Lessons on how to care for oneself during a pandemic. Exercise – run each day even as your body shows signs of wear. Connect – be mindful of the air you breathe and share with all of creation. Create – reach out with compassion in ways that feed your soul.

    All of this and more, so grateful to be a part of your community and see the world through your eyes. Thank you.

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  17. In reply… I’ve been reading your wonderful .com for years so of course I know that you are a gadget up to date tech, addict man (this has not slipped past me, ) ha!…though I thought you might be entering the transformation to super slow and old school ways…” I slow in my approach. Take my camera out. The female cranes her neck back as if to say: “Good Morning. You’re late.”
    I tuck my camera back in its “pouch”, watch them for a moment”
    since you didn’t say cell I thought maybe, just maybe you only had your Apple ? thing that you wear on your wrist that keeps track of your steps, heart rate, exercise, the current time, temp etc…///by the way we also have a land line…since it can record messages-are old cells can’t do that…computers can’t do zoom though are daughte’s pad, can handle Zoom -we were thankful as we had the need to use Zoom recently…(it did cut in and out, though)

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    1. Transformation, me? Ha!

      I liked the definitiveness of that phrase, before and after, with nothing muddling the in-between. After years of living in America, I still feel a momentary elation whenever I see advertisements for weight-loss programs, teeth-whitening strips, hair-loss treatments, or plastic surgery with the contrasting effects shown under before and after. The certainty in that pronouncement—for each unfortunate or inconvenient situation, there is a solution to make it no longer be—both attracts and perplexes me. Life can be reset, it seems to say; time can be separated. But that logic appears to me as unlikely as traveling to another place to become a different person. Altered sceneries are at best distractions, or else new settings for old habits. What one carries from one point to another, geographically or temporally, is one’s self. Even the most inconsistent person is consistently himself.

      ~ Yiyun Li, Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life (Published February 21st 2017 by Random House)

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  18. I’m with Beth, this goose is definitely a teacher for you and who wouldn’t want to sit in this beautiful space and just be. Mary Oliver is shouting ‘YES!’ 👏☘️🌿

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  19. Will it be too cold to go visit the geese over the weekend…Dear Hubby said the Northeast is suppose to have a May Snow!!! A rare Polar Vortex… We had frost again this morning and tomorrow in low 80’s, hmm we’ll see about it being in the low 80’s here tomorrow, I am doubtful…

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