Silly Little Country

Something Bigger than Me?

I have many religious friends but sometimes a few try to get me onboard and ask whether I do not think there is something larger than I am 'out there'. Well, I drove out of Toronto heading west Sunday morning and there were many things - there was a full moon setting in the east over the Toronto skyline, and a gorgeous orange-red sun rising into my rear-view mirror. All way bigger than I am because I know how far away they are.

But at this time of year there are far more interesting things bigger than I am. I was out golfing northeast of Toronto on Thursday and it was amazing to watch the flow of monarch butterflies, especially as I knew the incredible goldenrod bloom this year would be helping them make it to their target in Mexico. And during Sunday's drive, the electric wires along the highway were covered with a medium-sized brown bird (maybe mourning doves?) but in quantites so great that is was clear they were resting in the middle of their own migrations to the south.

So yes - all much bigger than I am and 'out there'. But how did it come to be there? For me the most satisfying explanation remains best described in this wonderfully short essay (and from a previous post, this guy writes economically compared to another great polemicist on his side).

Reports show those tiny butterflies are continuing their trip - many now cruising across Ohio, maybe some of the same ones I saw two weekends ago in Port Stanley. We will be seeing their descendants next summer back in Canada.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 10:23 PM