This weekend I enjoyed an unexpected two hours of serenity in the little village of Lund. I'd gone on business but when my intended audience failed to materialize I chose to give thanks for an unscheduled time of rest and refreshing.
Lund, an unincorporated village and home to less than one thousand residents, is located at the northern end of Highway 101. Also known as the Pacific Coastal Highway, it starts in the southern part of Chile, winds its way north more than fifteen thousand kilometres until it comes to an end at Lund. Knowing the significance of the highway gives me a new appreciation for the fact that I'm located less than an hour's drive from this northern terminus.
Cresting the final hill before descending into the village, a stone marker notes the end of the road while a harbour filled with boats of every description attests to the popularity of the site for locals and tourists alike.
After that it's stop and enjoy the breath-taking scenery or hop into a boat headed up Desolation Sound. I opted to settle into a comfortable chair high on a deck overlooking the water and that's when I spotted a pair of adult geese with their brood of eleven chicks.
If one ever doubted the tender care of these birds the scene would have removed every question. Mama and Papa carefully herded their offspring to a patch of shore where the chicks proceeded to peck at their coastal smorgasbord. After lunch it was back to the water, always under the watchful eye of their caregivers. Around them boat engines revved, gulls screeched overhead and human voices called but eleven goslings floated, carefree.
"Life is more than food and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens [geese],of how much more value are you than the birds?"
