From nuisance to invader, Canada Geese have been unwelcome from front yards to golf courses to farms. Bounties and hunting have been encouraged to decimate if not eliminate. However, one mother goose has found a welcoming, even protective home as she nests in this parking lot between a Walmart and a Ruby Tuesday restaurant.  As we drove into the parking lot, the protective father goose was honking back as we sought to encourage him with our horn to get off the road. He charged our truck a few times, his neck twisted and low to the ground to persuade us that he would fight to the death for his mate and eggs containing his offspring.

Leave the debate aside regarding the utility of Canada Geese, their role in fouling lawns or as an invasive species; but some human had enough respect to place a yellow protective tape around the nesting mother goose. Perhaps it was a customer or store/restaurant employee – I’m more likely to comeback as a shopper/diner due to this evidence of respect for animal life and the message of humanity.  Or, perhaps it was a policeman who placed the tape – as the tape clearly says “Do not Cross Police Line!” – something more likely to garner my respect as well as support compared to fear about would-be criminals, terrorists or rioters. Cops who value lives of even “suspects” or “perpetrators”  deserve hero status more than perhaps those who are quick with the draw. Regardless, love and respect for mother is something that unites all of us. Even those who we may perceive as enemy, by culture, religion, or race that somehow instills fear, as perhaps less than human, we all share the love of a mother. And in the case of this mother goose who probably did not choose her nest and surrounding condition so well, we give her respect for her commitment on this Mothers’ Day.