WAITING PATIENTLY

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

WAITING PATIENTLY

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(JUNE 23, 2010) Patience is a quality that is either learned by all creatures or lost. For humans patience is something that is more of a convenience than a life or death quality. For many animals in nature patience is the difference between survival or death.

This morning on the Riverwalk, Elizabeth and Sadie waited patiently as I took pictures. Of course their patience was the result of my own patience of waiting for a photo opportunity to appear in the trees, the underbrush or on the trail.

Elizabeth and Sadie found shaded places on benches along the Riverwalk and waited until I caught up because I was waiting patiently for an insect to appear near flowers along the trail, knowing that if I waited long enough, there would be life among the flowers. I was right.

Not only were there bumblebees and damselflies, I saw a spider on its web waiting patiently for something to get into its web; something did. A white dot showed up on the web a few inches away from the spider; the spider left its placed, danced over the web and grabbed the white dot and it disappeared. Patience - if you build the web, something will come to it, and for a spider that means breakfast.

Below the bridge to the train station I saw a white goose STILL sitting on her nest. She has been there for over a three weeks and . . . NOTHING, so far. As she sits on her nest with several eggs under her, she is using her patience in hopes that soon the eggs will hatch and there will be little goslings running about. She sits and hopes and has determinant patience.

Also below the bridge there was a cooter turtle swimming near the Canada geese that had gathered there in large numbers. What the turtle was looking for, I'm not sure, but the turtle moved very slowly with the patience of hunter. The turtle just hung under the water in suspended animation, waiting and looking at the Canada geese with its head propped up above the water.

Many days I have watched the great blue heron as it waits patiently for a fish to swim by before snatching it and swallowing it whole. I have also seen the osprey perched on a high tree ready to dive at the sight of a small bird or fish. Just this past week a water moccasin was spotted patiently trolling the banks for a quick meal. And Sadie, when she sees a moth or butterfly or other insect, patiently creeps forward with very slow and precise speed toward her prey. Sometimes she gets the prey; most of the time the insect flies way.

This morning Elizabeth and Sadie showed patience as they waited for me when I would get a quarter of a mile behind because I had stopped to take pictures. They found a nice, cool bench and sat there until I showed up.

Fishermen also show great patience as they wait for a fish to attack their line. This morning there were several fishermen along the banks waiting for "the big one." From what I could tell, "the big one" hadn't been caught on this warm summer morning. For a fisherman fishing requires patience to wait for a fish to find the bait but part of the experience is just being in nature and having the patience to enjoy it.

Patience is very important to man and other animals along the Riverwalk. Without patience, the Riverwalk is just another trail in the woods. The Riverwalk is much more than that. It is a place that with a little bit of patience, it will earn benefits.

It was another good day on the Riverwalk.

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"DON'T TRADE YOUR DOG FOR AN ELEPHANT"

(JUNE 19, 2010) This morning we saw some lovely sights as we ventured to the Riverwalk at 6:15. The mother mallard and the six babies were out at Dan Daniel Park and the flora and fauna were plentiful. But, one comment made by a regular Riverwalk biker/walker stayed on my mind as we ventured forth. He said, "One bit of advice: Don't trade your dog for an elephant." What was the meaning of that? I pondered that question throughout my walk until I saw a water moccasin swimming close to the shore.

EXPRESSIONS

(JUNE 1, 2010) Often we see expressions in animals that are similar to humans. Sadie sometimes swallows a moth she has been stalking, and the look on her face says, "Sheesh. That didn't taste very good." The picture above shows some interesting expressions on the faces of a goose family. There is the gosling looking up at the adult with respect,, the other goslings looking over the adult goose with an inquiring look, and the adult in the background showing stress. Within this one photograph is captured many emotions.

SHALL WE GATHER

(MAY 25, 2010) People gather each morning to walk or ride bikes together on the Riverwalk. In addition, there are many "gatherings" on the river each morning among the wildlife there. The waterfowl gather to communially dip in the river or fly off together to graze in the rich meadows or just sit on a log in the middle of the river - watching. There is another type of "gathering" that goes on as well. Look closely and watch the swallow and the bluebird and the robin and other songbirds gather nesting for their homes or food for themselves and their off-spring. Look closely and see the insects gathering whatever they need for sustenance - the small bug drinking from the rain water "gathering" on the leaf or the bee gathering nectar from the budding flower. All of this is the age old activity of gathering by the river.

THINGS ARE DIFFERENT

(APRIL 14, 15, 2010) There have been many changes on the Riverwalk over the past two days. The search for the young 5 year old who fell out of the boat near Dan Daniel Dam, the small flowers that were once there are now gone because of the cooler weather, and the river has gone down because of the drier weather. However, amongst these changes there are some constants: the same people we see every morning on our walk are there, the river continues to provide a home for wildlife, and robins can be spotted along the trail.