Saturday, September 18, 2010

Nature's Gifts to All Are Free


"Why, ye tenants of the lake,
For me your wat'ry haunt forsake?
Tell me, fellow creatures, why
At my presence thus you fly?
Why disturb your social joys,
Parent, filial, kindred ties? ~
Common friend to you and me,
Nature's gifts to all are free:
Peaceful keep your dimpling wave,
Busy feed, or wanton lave;
Or, beneath the sheltering rock,
Bide the surging billow's shock..."

On Scaring Some Waterfowl, Robert Burns, Scottish poet (1759 - 1796)
Photo: Lake Erie, Ontario (Click on photo for larger image.