A Tree Falling in the Forest

Growing up in Maine I had a healthy appreciation for migratory Canadian Geese that would signal the changing of the season with their V-shaped flight patterns. My dad and I would joke about how the ones from Quebec would call "la-honk, la-honk."

Now that I live in Virginia, I hold a visceral hatred for non-migratory Canadian geese. These are the lazy version of the species that prefers to stay in one area year round rather than fly back and forth between the north and south. They are big, mean, and cause a surprising amount of non-point source water pollution with their droppings. They poop as much as a dog without the responsible owner to clean it up.

This morning on my way to work I saw two non-migratory geese swimming in the pool of an apartment complex. My extreme disdain was eased by the two baby geese swimming behind them. But sadly, they two were destined to be lazy geese because of their stupid parents until something even more tragic happened.

As I sat in traffic I watched the parent geese near the edge of the pool. The easily stepped out onto dry land. However the babies were not able to get over the lip of the pool. I was complaining aloud to myself about the stupid parents when my anger turned to sadness. In their efforts to get out of the pool the babies swam into the filter trap near where they were swimming. STUPID LAZY PARENT GEESE! I had witnessed natural selection at work with non-migratory Canadian geese.