Charles Dickens most assuredly had it right so many years ago when he wrote the words I have used as a title for this page.  All around us, every day as we were growing up we witnessed living proof of that fact. Sadly we have done our best  through the years to destroy much of that beauty in the name of 'progress'. And, we continue to do so, at an alarming rate. We simply must reassess our priorities if our children and grandchildren are to be as fortunate as we have been in sharing nature's bounty.

 It is not too late. We still have time. The question is .. do we have the insight and awareness to know what we  are doing ? We inherited a world  which provided sanctuary and safety to nature's creatures.  Gradually through the years we have encroached on their territory to such a degree that now we see more and more species endangered as they are forced out of their natural habitats because of our insatiable desire for the resources of the land we are meant to share with them. Their needs are simple but they do require that we preserve a place for them where they are not squeezed out by man's hunger for progress and development.

 We do a disservice to ourselves by being so reckless with the  wonders bequeathed to us by  God and protected by our forebears. To say nothing of the crime we commit as we force these inhabitants out of the forests and  meadows they made their homes long before our arrival. If we only took the time to  think about what we are doing by making it almost impossible for them to survive might we not think twice?

Have your children ever walked with you in a woods which  is rich in flora and fauna  with their eyes filled with wonder at the beauty and wonder before them ?  Have they ever seen a deer in its natural setting ? Have they ever seen tiny bear cubs  frolicking amongst the trees as their mother stood by  carefully watching that they not encounter danger ?  Have they ever been so fortunate as to see a wee baby fawn struggling to stand for the first time as its mother quietly stood by patiently awaiting its desire for sustenance to prod it into the courage to  make that herculean effort to stand on its own ? If they have been denied that miracle  .. as most have  in this modern world ...  that is a tragedy.

 Seeing nature's creatures penned up by man in a zoo  does not begin to come even close. Would you like to be caged  and on display in an alien environment as your natural instincts were erased so that you could never again fend for yourselves ? For that is what we do to these magnificent creatures. Those that we don't kill or  cause to die because they no longer have a place in our world or a source of food to sustain them. And  for this we should be heartily ashamed.

 Could we not do without at least some of the resources and share them with nature's creatures.
Must we be so filled with greed that we forfeit the magnificence of our land ?  I know I am asking difficult questions and I also know most of them have been asked  many times by many others, but most assuredly it is time that answers be found before more of the animal species and woodlands we  should be cherishing are extinct as so many of their brethren already are thanks to man's lack of foresight in past years.

I know I will always be very grateful that  I grew up in a time when it was still possible to hike in the woods near my grandfather's home, taking a picnic lunch, a good book, and my very active imagination to luxuriate in the sights and the sounds abounding in the mysterious  shadows cast by the  lush greenery which occasionally offered a fleeting glimpse of  one of nature's many  beautiful creatures. I can still remember the feeling of excitement as I watched  a tiny chipmunk  daring to come close enough to share crumbs from my lunch and coming ever closer as I almost stopped breathing to avoid frightening him with even the slightest of movements.

 I still recall the day I came upon a tiny fawn nestled in a bed of wild violets under the bough of a huge bush awaiting the return of its mother. I remember stopping dead in my tracks  afraid to make any movement which might startle the wee babe  and which might frighten it away so it's mother would not be able to find it on her return. I stood like a statue for what seemed ages before carefully backing away and leaving it to it's solitude. I admit I didn't go too far as I did not want to miss seeing mother's return. It was almost dark when she returned but I had stayed  in the woods even though I knew I would have a scolding awaiting me upon my arrival home. The relief I felt knowing the fawn was now safe once again was payment in full for the punishment I knew awaited me. 

 The fact that my grandchildren are not so blessed saddens me. The woods which once stood near my childhood home are now replaced by a massive subdivision  with neatly clipped lawns, carefully planned gardens, and fences everywhere. No sanctuary for my old friends there. And no hidden wonders for a child to discover and  explore. Up until a few years ago there were still pheasants in the back yard  each morning but even they have now been displaced by the ever increasing  urban sprawl.

 Of course there has been another consequence of our change of lifestyle and habitat. No child would  ever even consider being allowed to wander alone in a woods, if they were fortunate enough to find one, given the dangers which abound for children on their own  in this modern world of ours. No small child today is ever left unattended  for fear that someone might harm them in some unspeakable way. We are destroying our wild life and  our environment and  we are creating a world which is filled with danger for our children.

Progress ? A better way of life ?

I think not.

A friend of mine once said something which I consider to be very wise and well worth repeating. He said..."Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." I thank God for the memory of those times as a child which took my breath away and which instilled in me a love of nature and her creatures which has been everlasting throughout my lifetime. It has been a journey I would not have missed.  I  do wish so very much  that  it was still possible that our grandchildren and their children could be so fortunate. They will miss so much which was very precious and which we took far too much for granted. They will have every conceivable modern amenity they could possibly wish for, but they will miss far more than they will ever know.

Our indomitable Canada Geese continue to flourish, adapting as necessary to the changes around them. Nothing phases them. I doubt anything short of a nuclear attack will see them disappear. I admit at times I have found them less than good company, particularly when competing with them for possession of a golf ball in the middle of a putting green  when that putt was the difference between a good game and an average one.

I hesitate to even speak of Canada's biggest sin against nature. The annual seal hunt on our east coast. The slaughter of those defenceless, helpless babies is unconscionable and  horrifying to anyone who cares about animals as I do. Despite the outcry, the slaughter continues and each year as the time for the hunt approaches my feelings are indescribable.

 If man continues on the path we are now pursuing we shall forever forfeit the wonders of nature and all that accrues from her bounty.  If only wisdom was given as high a priority as progress  and the pursuit of the almighty dollar we would all be so much richer in so many ways.