Father Nature

You can smell it on her breath, hear it in her voice, her highest reaches gone white — Mother Nature.

Winter cometh.

Accordingly, I deconstructed and stowed all implements of lawn management in the shed. You’re on your own now lawn. Sleep sleep…

Still, yesterday it was 53^o, although mornings have the unmistakable chill to let you know change is a comin’.

And yes it’s Mother nature, you never hear Father nature. Why is this? Or, more curiously, why does this sexism persist in our metaphors, especially in an enlightened age when diaper changing stations are found in the Mens room? Not trying to short shrift Moms here mind you, only to acknowledge that Fathers do their share of coddling the youngsters too. In some species fathers do it all.

Consider the Emperor Penguin:

The dad penguin keeps the family’s eggs on his feet, covered with his feathers, for 60 days or more! Contact with the ice will result immediate death to any of the embryos. During this ordeal the male penguin eats absolutely no food. Once the chicks hatch, he feeds them with a substance he produces in his throat. The female returns once the eggs hatch and she takes over just some of the care.

Of the Siamese fighting fish (Betta):

The female Betta lays her eggs and the father catches them in his mouth and drops them into a nest he previously prepared. The male Betta then guards the nest and baby fish when they hatch.

Still unimpressed? Okay then, how about Father Seahorse:

The male sea horse may be the animal world’s most unusual dad. The male seahorse has a pouch where the female lays her eggs, literally impregnating him! The male has a placenta-like pouch that supplies nutrients and oxygen to the eggs. The father then looks after the eggs for about two months until they hatch and can leave the pouch. He continues to protect the young until they are able to live on their own.

So, the next time you raise your glass o’ lemonade — spiked or not 😉 — skyward acknowledging a beautiful day, consider a paternal salutation: Thank you, Father.