What distinguishes New England from other regions of the US? Perhaps it is that we have ponds and we have trees. Not just a few trees or ponds but REALLY A LOT of trees and ponds. And if there is a clearing, the trees at the edge are steadily encroaching on the open space with each passing day and year.
Small ponds, big ponds - just in Plymouth alone there are at least 365 ponds.
The drama of life unfolds visibly on small ponds. Interspecies and intraspecies individuals squabble for food or territory or both. Each is trying to secure his/her individual need in the daily quest to survive in a tough world. Hummingbirds dart and dance, bees and butterflies flit about, blackbirds, finches, grackles swoop, geese, swans swim. I am drawn even more into their world because I stock a bird feeder. I am a food source (although they flee when I walk near to replenish the feeder). The birds eat and drop seeds, the squirrels and other ground foragers scavenge the droppings. They go where the food is and keep coming back.
On the other hand, most humans, rather than hunt or grow all their own food, go to a market for food (and exchange for cash or other goods). That's because we have built a system of cooperation, exchange, and compensation.There might be a parallel there that symbolizes a philosophical difference between our two major political parties. Individual responsibility compared to group cooperation. Whoops, sorry, never mind - this is not a political blog.
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