It’s a
beautiful summer evening. Not too warm, not too cool. It’s that perfect,
elusive temperature we call “lovely”.
The
house is warm and full of smiling, friendly faces and the irresistibly delicious
aromas coming from the kitchen promise a scrumptious dinner is on its way. It’s
all very wonderful, but it has been a long, stressful, exhausting week, and it’s
been SO long since you’ve been in the country. You can’t help yourself. You
slip quietly out the door.
You
wander past the shed to a secluded spot behind the garage where only a thin row
of bulrushes separate you from the wide lake. Another thin, curved row of
rushes a few yards out separates a small patch of water from the body of the
lake, creating a little bit of a pond. Big, brown, velvety “hot dogs” bob
gently on long, green stems. Some of them have burst and are now white, with
bits of fluff occasionally dropping into the water below. Far off in the open
water you can see dozens of little dark specks dotting the surface. You know
these are water birds of all sorts, but they’re way too far away to make out
what kind. You wonder why they can’t come just a little closer.
Suddenly,
the air is filled with a deep, velvety Thump! Thump! Thump! that penetrates to
the depths of your sternum. Your lungs involuntarily gasp as the sky around you
is suddenly filled with a half dozen duck, big and beautiful, their powerful
wings beating the air. They lift out of the little pond and glide across the
lake, quickly blending with the other specks, before you suddenly realize the
pond around you must have been filled with ducks the whole time you were
standing there, and you never even saw them until they moved!
You
walk, quietly, slowly, the rest of the way down the yard, past the garage up to
the walk way. You follow it down to the dock. You glance around. Do you dare?
Cautiously, you put a foot on the wooden wharf and tip-toe, so softly, to the
end. You don’t want to scare anything away, again.
But
Thump! Thump! Thump! Again you’re treated to the sight of these beautiful birds
in take off.
You
stand on the dock for a long time, just watching. You half hope the ducks will
put in a return, but that’s not where your attention is drawn.
Just
stand there for a moment. Look around. Say nothing. Reeds grow thick on each
side of the dock leaving little patches of open water here and there. In the
little patches, tiny ripple circles appear periodically, here, then there, then
on the other side. There’s a constant, subtle slosh, splish, and, occasionally
a heavier splash! A muskrat? A diver like a grebe or a Canvasback Duck?
And it’s
quiet. So quiet. And peaceful. Close your eyes. Take a deep, slow, cool breath.
Absorb the refreshing aroma of vegetation and lake. In the far distance, out on
the water, listen to the gentle, deep voices of the ducks as the mumble back and
forth to each other, or the cry of the grebe chatter. Coming from the Eastern
horizon, hear that tell-tale cry, at first very faintly, then louder, then ever
louder as those dark dots in the orange-ish sky slowly become more bird-shaped,
then decidedly goose-shaped, and finally they become a whole flock of the
creatures, chattering back and forth as they cut through the quiet air and land
on the water with a tremendous splash. Watch them a few minutes.
Now
become aware of an unusual humming sound. It seems to be coming from over
there, near those trees. Look up and see the huge flock of birds over the lake.
There are so many, they’re like a big, cloud in the sky. Yet they swoop and
dive and swirl in a singular motion. They’re so graceful and amazing. You think
they may be Waxwings. You don’t know that for sure, of course, but you know
Waxwings travel in large flocks like this. Besides, as you stand there, a
single, beautiful Waxwing lands on a reed a few feet out of the water and looks
at you.
As the
sun begins to set and a gorgeous, vivid rainbow pours across the sky at the
other end of the lake, listen again. Hear that chirrup, chirrup, chirrup? The
frogs have come out to make the evening come alive!
Yes, it’s
wonderful, amazing and so important to spend a little time alone with Mother
Nature. Even if it’s just for a little while.
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