Moms

On her daily walk last week my significant other commented on something she saw that was rather interesting. She twice saw a robin chasing a squirrel. Yes, a robin was going after a squirrel. The significant other concluded that to get a robin so ticked off the squirrel had been bothering her nest. That got me thinking about mothers. There are mothers one just does not wish to tick off.

Think about it, mothers protect their young. Often, the male is there is due his duty of fertilization and then departs, leaving the mother with the chore of protecting the young. Like mother robin. The most dangerous mother to humans are momma bears. One does not want to pick on, or really pose any dander to a cub as momma bears are very protective of their young. Bears will tend to leave humans alone, preferring to look for food, but if an offspring is threatened they take action.  It is not only bears, but also other wildlife. A while back there was a video of some person trying to get close to some bison in South Dakota, and the mother bison perceived the person as threatening and went after the person. I think that person probably dirtied their pants. Mothers, of the human variety, have a long history of cleaning up dirtied pants--think diapers. Although today most children probably use disposable diapers.

Marie Barone, the famous television mom in Everybody Loves Raymond, is one well known mom who well protected her two boys, particularly the younger son Raymond. I am not sure what it is about the youngest son, but they seem to be the aspect of a mother's affection. It was that way when I was growing up, the youngest brother was always viewed as mom's favorite. It may be because she was too tired to enforce rules, but he did not have the bed times we had, or other aspects, he pretty much had the rule of the house. 

Marie Barone, played by Doris Roberts, Google images

There are also tiger moms, a moniker given to Asian mothers, and now others, where there is very strict parenting to ensure their children's success. This trait manifests itself in academics, sports and music. Amy Chua, a law professor at Yale popularized the term which was in the title of memoir she wrote. The tiger mom philosophy is said to go back to the time of Confucius. I tend to think some households can be too strict and can tamper innovation and creativity. Not to mention many lessons are learned by mistake. 

Amy Chua, Google Images

Nests are like houses to animals. Last year at one of our favorite campgrounds, we saw a loon nest. Later the most significant other saw the mother loon with two juveniles clinging under her wings. They were hitching a ride, to young to be out on the water much on their own. All of a sudden Land Girl became Water Girl and was out in the kayak on the lake. While out she enjoyed watching the loons. However, she also saw an eagle circling over and then in a tree keeping an eye on the mother and loonlets. The loons, both parents, were making quite a bit of noise. After that day, we saw the mother loon, but only with one loonlet. It made Water Girl very melancholy to think that the other loonlet had been savaged by the eagle, or perhaps a large fish or other predator. Loons are said to be very good parents and very protective of their young. This summer I met a fellow camper, at a another campground who was telling me of a PhD friend who studies loon calls and what they mean, and the lake where I met this man was one that his friend studied.  

Loon on Nest, Author photo 2022

The takeaway from this blogpost is that the moms of varied species have a similar characteristics in care and protection of their offspring. Part of an inbred instinct that is intended to guide survival of a species. All creatures are in need of the care and comfort of a Marie Barone. Moms make the world run. The squirrels learned that from the mother robin.