Thursday, October 22, 2015

Migration Journeys

Migration is the process by which people come to often move
to another place, usually a city or another country to find work.
This process is called 'immigration'.
Migration is also the seasonal movement of a complete population of animals from one area to another...usually in response to changes in temperature, food supply, or the amount of daylight...and is often undertaken for the purposes of breeding.

In the cartoon 'Buckles', the little dog sitting on green grass, sees a golden leaf fall at his feet. He looks in wonder as another leaf drifts to the ground and in the third frame, he is amid several falling leaves. Then viewing the leafy ground cover, he smilingly concludes...suddenly fall is everywhere!

Reasons for Migration
Before the wide berths of transportation developed, families remained in their birth locations. Farms were passed from generation to generation. Business owners were confident their sons (or daughters) would be their inherents to carry on said businesses. Educational institutions were born. Transportation gave opportunities to 'transplant' to other locations for learning beyond elementary level. Discoveries and inventions appealed to the new generation. And we, as humans, 'migrated' to these new challenges.

Jon Porter stated, “Jewish immigration in the 20th century was fueled by the Holocaust which destroyed most of the European Jewish community. This 'migration' made the United States home of the largest Jewish population in the world.”

The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources ~ because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples,” said Lyndon B. Johnson.

Message re Refugees
When Europeans arrived on this continent, they 'blew it' with the native Americans. They plowed over them, taking as much as they could of their land and valuables....and respecting almost nothing about the native cultures. They lost the 'wisdom of the indigenous peoples: wisdom about the land the connectedness to the great web of life”. We have another choice with all these refugees. People come here penniless, but not cultureless! They bring us gifts. We can synthesize the best of our traditions with the best of theirs. We can teach and learn from each other to produce a better North America. (Mary Pipher)

What befalls the earth...befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. (White Wolf)
The bear...the deer...the great eagle...these are our brothers. (White Wolf)
Some day the earth will weep; she will beg for her life; she will cry with tears of blood. You will make a choice, if you will help her or let her die...and when she dies, you too will die.” 
(John Hollow Horn ~ Oglala Lakota)

The older bird of three sitting on a barren branch, observes,
This is October, already!” The two smaller ones reply, “EEP!”
In the second frame of the cartoon 'Mutts', older bird sees the other two
flying off into the sky...and muses: This is Migration Motivation!!!

Migration varies from one specie of animals to another. The groups of animals include: birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, fish, insects and crustaceans. It's amazing how organized these creatures are, when the seasons call for a change.
Pronghorns gallop as herds through the Rocky Mountains.
Devil Rays gather and swarm closely together in Baja, Mexico.
Sharks congregate in the Waters of Fakarava.
Sandpipers flock tightly together in Canada.
A large group of White Pelicans migrate to the Mississippi areas.
Sparrows migrate by the thousands to Berlin, Germany.
The skies are alive with Snow Geese in Canada.
African Buffaloes trek through the wild planes.
Roan Antelope migrate to Namibia in Africa.
Swarms of Locusts flood the skies of Madagascar.
Red-Crowned Cranes flock in the Holy Land and Hula Lake, Israel.
Mayflies join together on the River Tisz in Hungary.
Yellow Fluorescent Fireflies light up the forests of Japan.
Ladybugs migrate to the waters of Blakus, Denmark.
Sandhill Cranes amass in the Platte River, Nebraska.
Red Crabs assemble for swims on Christmas Island.
Wildebeests cross the Mara River of Northern Serenset.
Flamingos form a crowded design along the Yucatan Peninsula.
Monarch Butterflies cloud the skies of Mexico.
Walruses migrate to the freezing Arctic waters of Svalbard.
Flocks of White Ibis head toward the Gulf Coast.
The Arctic Tern holds the long-distance reward between Arctic breeding grounds
and the Antarctic each year.

Earl and Mooch (from the cartoon Mutts), standing beside a tall tree trunk,
question a bird, “How do you know when it's time to fly south?”
Birdie, standing on grass at the base of the tree, replies, “A little voice tells me.”
He flies to a low limb...the voice urgently 'speaks' to him:
C'mon, Let's Go! We're Late! Hurry!”

Bird Migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south, along a 'flyway' between breeding and wintering grounds. The timing of Migration is controlled primarily by changes in the day's length. Migratory birds navigate using 'celestial cues' from the sun and stars (the earth's magnetic field).
Many bird species migrate to different places
while others 'tough it out' in the cold.

Migration might be One of the Great Wonders of the Natural World!

Remove the artificial watering holes and the elephants will resume their natural behaviours of seasonal migration...giving places they have left, a chance to recover,” quotes Rudi Aard).

Carl Jung speaks for the owl who says, “Everything that irritates us about others,
can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”

There is a new concept for we humans of the Animal World: If we do not change our negative habits toward climate change, we can count on world-wide disruptions in food production, resulting in mass migration, refugee crises and increased conflict over scarce natural resources like water and farm land.
This is a recipe for major security problems...for all.
(Michael Franti)

Merle Baird-Kerr...scripted October 2, 2015

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