Welcome Home

Welcome Home

By Mark Leitheiser

Ah, here it is at last: spring. That beautiful time of renewal, the season of new life. It didn’t get here easily; it never does, but by the time you sit down with a cup of coffee to read this fine article, spring will be smiling on each of us. The signs are everywhere. The most obvious is bright sunshine, bathing us in warmth and light. Who among us can resist the allure of that first 70-degree day? Even the fresh leaves and flower buds are beginning to peak out, anxious to start their summer.

There are plenty of other signs as well: the roar of a Harley Davidson motorcycle, the happy cry of playful children, the flap of Grandma’s underwear on the clothesline. It’s enough to make your heart sing with joy.

There are many others as well but one sign of spring, above all others, always catches my attention: It’s the rusty-hinge squawk of Canadian geese returning from their winter vacations in the South. I’m sure you’ve heard them, and seen them too. Their majestic “V” formations crawling across the clear blue sky are portraits of beauty only Mother Nature could paint.

While the beauty alone is breathtaking, there’s something much deeper for me when I see and hear that first flight each spring. It’s Dad. It’s no stretch to say that my father literally lived to hunt. If it moved, he shot it and cleaned it, Mom cooked it and we ate it.

Nearly all animals remind me of Dad but there is something haunting about the flight of Canadian geese that touches my soul. Is it his spirit passing by, waving in the rhythmic cadence of their wings? Is he saying hello through their echoing cries as he hurries on his way?

I don’t know. All I know for sure is that each spring the first flock of geese that passes over my yard leaves me standing still as stone as I gaze upward with tears in my eyes muttering, “Hey Dad, welcome home. I miss you and I love you.” Is that crazy? Perhaps. I’ll get some answers about all of this when I get to heaven but it won’t be easy. Dad will probably be out hunting.

The goal of this annual trek is northern Canada where a goose and gander will look for private real estate to start this year’s family. Why Canada? Well, when it comes to finding a little privacy for family-making, it’s pretty tough to beat Canada.

These geese are no dummies. In fact, most of them return to the same nesting place year after year. And who wouldn’t? Combine a private, protected nesting area with a little pillow squawk and, eureka! A new gaggle of Canadian goslings is born, eh?

This trip to the North is incredibly smooth and efficient. That constant squawking is actually communication and encouragement to the other geese. This is especially true for the leader of the “V” who has to work the hardest to break the wind for the others. This leader is replaced often with fresh wings so the speed of the flock rarely slows. All in all, this journey is a motion picture of natural beauty. Yet, there may be one more reason the trip north is so smooth: no goslings.

Let’s do a little brain stretch here and imagine goslings are like children. Now how efficient will that trip south be? Let’s fast forward into October to find out, where it won’t take long for the first problem to begin. “Dad, are we almost there yet?” “There? Are you kidding me? We haven’t even reached cruising altitude and you want to know if we’re there? Good Grief. Goslings these days! We’ll be there when I say we’re there and not a minute before. Is that clear?”

“Dad, my sister’s bothering me again. Make her stop!” “I am not! You started it. You said I had a big honker and I-” “All right, ALL RIGHT! Now that’s enough out of both of you. We still have a long journey ahead and I don’t want to listen to you two arguing about your honkers all the way home.” But Dad-” “Now that’s enough! If I have to fly back there I’ll give both of you something to squawk about! Now, I want less fighting and more flying.”

“Daaaad, I have to go to the bathroom.” “The bathroom? We just flew over two birthday parties, a freshly washed car and a church picnic and you couldn’t go then?” “But I didn’t have to go then, Dad.” “Ugh. Thank goodness my parents aren’t around to hear this. Now, look up there. I think I see a set of white sheets on a clothesline. Either fire away when we get there or you can just hold it until we reach Iowa! Got it?” “Yes Dad.”

And finally, “Mom, When are we gonna stop? I’m tired.” “Tired? Tired! Ya know, you young goslings have got it made compared to when we were young! Why, when we first made this trip, we had to fly upwind, both ways. You didn’t hear us complain and look how we turned out. You youngsters today have it made in the shade compared to what WE had to go through. Your father is right. Quit squawking and start flying!”

Whether or not Canadian geese have the same family problems we do while traveling is hard to say, but one thing is certain: spring is here at last. It’s time to get outside and fill your senses with Mother Nature’s smorgasbord of beauty which might even include a flock of geese heading north for the summer. If you see one, feel free to join me in muttering, “Hey Dad, Welcome home . . .”