Dear Friends:
My grandmother's second husband, Ernie Paynter, whom she married at the age of 77, devoted much of his life to wildlife conservation, and was formally recognized for his efforts to save the Sandhill Crane.
In the depths of winter, I wait for the first birdcall, signalling that spring is not far off. At our local man-made lake, several kinds of ducks and geese stay for the winter, and we always look forward to seeing the baby ducklings. A pair of ducks even come over to the waterway in our complex, looking for a quiet, safe place to lay their eggs. Sometimes there are other kinds of birds who stop over on their long migration south.
As you can see from the above map, the migration of the Swainson's hawk is one of the longest, 10,000 kms., from as far north as Alaska, all the way down to Argentina, between August and November each year. They stop and gather near Veracruz in Mexico on the way down, in the hundreds of thousands. They travel through Colombia, Brazil and Argentina.
It's an interesting thing that in July, Vancouver is preparing to welcome a number of people from our South American congregations - a polar shift, or reverse migration - if you like. The equator cuts across near the top of Brazil, and Vancouver, at the 49th parallel North, would be equivalent to the southern point where Chile and Argentina meet, in the South.
Our friends will find themselves in a different kind of rainforest, but no less abundant in terms of varieties of plants, birds and fish. We like to consider ourselves the "California of the North", enjoying mild winters compared to the rest of Canada, or even BC. (Hey Steph, do you think we could borrow the Stanley Cup just for a little while?)
As in the spring, when everyone can finally open their doors and windows to the sun and fresh air, we will be opening our homes and hearts to our friends from down south. We will have the chance to see things from a completely different point of view. I imagine it could be like "upgrading" from black and white, to technicolor, or listening to the difference between a "western hoe-down" and a conga beat. Imagine the difference between a mallard duck and gorgeously arrayed parrot, or between a dandelion and an orchid. Consider the soft musical cadence of Spanish or Portugese compared to the straight, clipped English language.
This is a window to a whole new world of possibilities, to open up all your senses, consider things from a new perspective. We showed the world how warm Vancouver can be in the middle of winter 2 years ago. Let's see what we can do now in high summer.
Mi casa es su casa
Sparky
P.S. Sometimes a song runs through my head as I am writing, and for this blog, I would like to ask you if you know the ABBA song, "I have a Dream" from Mama Mia. A Spanish version is also available, called "Estoy Sonando"
Maybe I will bring it with me to the conference.
