Martyn Gorman / Newburgh: Return of the wild geese
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in noting the constant creature movement across the globe, perhaps topped by the radio-tracked female pecchial hawk that spent 42 days flying 10,000 kilometers from South Africa to Finland, which helps put the upcoming move by the keeper and Phyllis into some perspective, it being of only a kilometer or so from one west-side independent living venue to another.
Not all global shuffling is well understood, such as a bird traveling halfway around the world in the interests of propagation; and if science were applied to the move by the keeper and Phyllis there would also be some questions, not having to do with propagation, but perhaps addressing the “why” of the matter.
Words like “new” and “adventure” and “space” and “view” come to mind, but they are as vague as if they were applied to the pecchial hawk’s incredible travels.
The keeper and Phyllis are moving because they want to, and in this season of global migratory excess that has to be enough of a reason.
The keeper hastens to dismiss any movement comparison to that of the pecchial hawk, and is more comfortable with considering the activity of monarch butterflies, and even Canada geese, some of which only make it to southern Illinois.
