Migrating elephunks. Or telephongs. Or birds…

pondOne of the perks of having a cubicle in “my” “business” park is that it is next to the Ann Arbor Airport. Not that I have ever or will ever fly out of there, just that I love to watch small airplanes and the occasional commuter jet or helicopter or blimp land and/or take off. Another perk is that our building is in a business park on an old farm. It is called Avis Farms and it was once owned by the same Mr. Avis that owned the rental automotive vee-hickle business with the same name. Folks that I work with who have been there since our building was first built remember old Mr. Avis being driven around the grounds in a golf cart by his caretakers.

I don’t think I will ever willingly participate in any decision to turn Fin Family Moominbeach into a business park but Mr. Avis did that with his land and he enjoyed it and of course, he enjoyed the profits he received. It was his own decision and so be it. And so, my building is in a beautiful spot with a nature trail and a number of ponds where all kinds of water birds collect.

I have been working in my cubicle for almost two years now. I’m kind of amazed at that in itself. Who knows how long it will last. Almost nobody’s job is safe these days. But back to one of the perks of working where I do… Throughout my whole life, I have loved nature but I but I but I but I but I tend to look at with a rather broad brush, like if you squint at those trees there in one of the ponds in Avis park, you might even see elephants, like Mouse did when she saw the picture over my shoulder. But of course, there is more too it than that and so yesterday when I saw a V of geese taking off from one of the ponds, I was totally enthralled. Yes, I have seen geese flying in a V formation before. Ho-hum, roight? The difference is that this time I think that I saw these geese in training for this flight pattern on the ground a couple of weeks ago. They were standing on a gentle grassy slope to the left of the elephunk trees and I swear they were lined up in a diagonal line. Like a V. This is the first time this year I have seen geese flying in formation. I have watched them with their newborn goslings and I have watched those goslings grow into teenagers. And now they are flying. In formation. I have been able to watch an entire cycle of life and even though it is not finished yet, well, I am just amazed.

The title is quoted (or maybe misquoted) from my favorite poem *ever*, Eletelephony, by Laura Richards, not sure when she wrote it but it’s just about what I think about telephones in general. Blech.

One Response to “Migrating elephunks. Or telephongs. Or birds…”

  1. Margaret Says:

    That would be cool if they have practice before they fly in formation. I’ve always wondered at the magic of that. Safe jobs are hard(impossible?) to find/keep these days. It’s frightening how quickly things can change.