Tenacity in Art

Had an experience with geese this weekend. Started me thinking about my own artistic tenacity. There is a four lane highway at my end of the Bay and it cuts through a large acreage of swamp land, home to all kinds of wildlife. The road has a speed limit of 40mph but that just means most go 60. I know people who won't drive it at all due to it being a "death alley". The one side, next to the more expansive water, is a gathering place for birds. If you have seen my web album, you know this already. I have pictures of the birds seen there. I love riding down this road every day and night - most of the time. It is also a dugway between two hills and the view as you go down either side of the Bay is lovely.
This time of year, there are many gaggles of Canadian geese hanging out. They can not fly now but concentrate on eating and getting strong for their soon to be fall flights outta here. They raise their young and are rather friendly as people stop alongside the road and feed them.
In the spring I had already experienced a bunch of them trying to cross the road to the swampy side early in the morning and had come home that night to see two females dead in the road. Most people could care less the geese can't fly and this is their land more than ours. They are busy going to work or play. I do care so it all becomes an emotional issue for me.Anyhow, this Sunday morning, on my way to visit a friend, there were these two male geese with several "teen" babies, right alongside the road about to cross. It was not early morning and was very busy. The babies were oblivious, eating voraciously along the side - the two younger, first time parents, males (probably mates of those females killed in the spring) were walking up and down alongside the road -about to head out across it. My senses went on overdrive.
I went past them to top of hill and turned around, came back down, turned around to their side again and pulled over as far as I could out of traffic, put my blinkers on. Picked up the bag of popcorn, I just happened to have, got out of car and went towards them. The babies came right up and were just as pleased as punch to see me. I tossed popcorn over the railing down towards the water and shore which they willingly went after. The two adults, no. Well one thought about it but the other was not about to let me change his mind. He was hissing at me and coming at me and then as the babies ran back to me again for more (man, they eat like power shovels!!!) he was going to lead them right over me across the road if he had too. I was amazed and even got back in car moving slowly alongside the road honking the horn, thinking that would get them to move off road. But noooooo, not that one. He came toward the front of my car and looked as if to fight that!
I won't go into whole story of it. I will say I was very glad when I came home later in the afternoon, there were no squashed geese seen there. If you want to hear the whole story go to my web album. You can see the brave goose that taught me what tenacity and determination is in his worlld. Made me think about it a lot and realize, "I need to be that determined in my own creativity and art. I need to not let the popcorn of life and the creative monsters that seem to attack me AND the road blocks that seem to be in my path, not deter me from what I know I need to do and where I need to go." I have never seen such a stubborn animal in my life and that is what I need to be in my creative goals...