TERRITORY

(APRIL 12, 2010) This story begins Sunday evening as Sadie and I went back to Angler's Park where we had enjoyed the rugby games the day before. When we got there, at about 6:00, the tournament was winding up and we passed a number of cars and a large bus on the winding hill down to Angler's Park. When we arrived, the players were packing up. Upon getting out of the Jeep, I noticed a strong smell of beer and sweat. The Budweiser concession was still there doling out cups of beer to the thirsty players.

The field was full of empty cups. At this moment the term "territory" came to mind as I thought of this as part of my territory and the field had been terribly littered.

We walked toward the bridge, stepping over cups here and there, and Sadie saw a larger dog squatting in the field; the owner had a bag ready to clean up the mess. I thought about the mess on the field and that it would likely remain there until tomorrow when the city work crews came and swept up the cups. As Sadie pulled to get nearer the larger dog, three of the players walked by and one said, "He knows a good piece of butt when he sees one." I turned to the fellow and said, "First of all, Sadie is not a "he"; Second of all, she has been spayed and has no interest in the other dog except for friendship purposes, and lastly, if Sadie gets near the larger dog, there will likely be some butt sniffing, but I'll guarantee there will be no conjugal relationship between these two dogs." The three players seemed to get a chuckle from my comments, and we completed our short walk as I thought, "Territory."

This morning on the Riverwalk, I passed a lady I hadn't seen in some time. She said, "Happy New Year" to me, and I realized that she hadn't been out on the Riverwalk this year. I acknowledged here and walked on toward the train station. At the 3/4 mile mark we spotted our friendly mockingbird sitting on the bush in his usual photogenic way. I took a few pictures as I thought about how he looked so angelic now but had buzzed Sadie on a number of occasions when we got too close to the mockingbird's nest.

On our way back from the train station, we started to cross the bridge near the Public Works department and I looked over the bridge and saw a mallard couple swimming under the bridge toward the river. Another mallard drake landed just around the corner where the creek met the river. This mallard swam rapidly toward the female mallard causing the female to take flight; he did the same movement towards the drake, and he flew away. The conquering mallard did a little victory dance on the water. It must have been a territorial thing.

This evening we went to Angler's park where I had hoped to see the red-winged blackbirds. I was not disappointed; there were 4 of them in the tops of trees making their rrrrrngggggg sounds. I took some pictures and then started shooting pictures of what I thought were more blackbirds, but, as I looked at the pictures taken, I realized they were some large bird I hadn't identified yet. Well, the blackbirds were not too happy to share their marsh with these birds and dive bombed them. The other birds flew away, and the blackbirds continued their songs. Territory seems to be very important to birds.

William Faulkner once referred to property as his "little postage stamp of native soil." Humans need territory as do the birds and other wildlife.

It was another beautiful day (and evening) on the Riverwalk.

SWALLOWS

It was a foggy morning on the Riverwalk as Sadie and I started our morning walk. The river stopped half way across with a wall of fog obscuring the other side. As the sun broke through, the fog lifted showing a beautiful blue sky and birds enjoying the sunlight as they fluttered around and sang their melodious songs.

It was also cool this morning - in the 30s when I set forth. There were few people on the Riverwalk and only two young men fishing near the bridge at the Public Works Department. They had felt the chill and had started a small fire on the bank of the river to keep them warm.

We stood and watched 5-6 tree swallows as they played above the wires in one of the large fields near Dan Daniel Park. They would do large circles in the air, fly out over the river, skimming it, and returning to the field, perch on one of the wires, and then flutter off again. Often they would do a duo dance where two would look as if they were in a whirlpool in the air. I assume this is a mating ritual.

As we got near the parking lot on our way back to the car, we saw a squirrel on the rim of a trash barrel enjoying the wealth of munchies left there the day before. He was a happy fellow, munching away, until he saw Sadie, and Sadie saw him. Sadie paused, pointed and stood motionless, as she does when she sees an animal. She is very graceful as she tip toes forward ever so slowly - ever so gently placing one paw down and then another one. However, the squirrel let her get only so close, and then up the tree he scampered. Sadie went around to the back of the tree to see where the squirrel had gone - she didn't see him. He was about 20 feet above us safely hugging the tree.

It was a cool, foggy start this morning on the trail, but it was another great morning on the Riverwalk.

COLORS

(APRIL 10, 2010) During this time of year there are splotches of purple, blue, yellow and green in the woods and in the fields of the Riverwalk. This morning I saw a bluebird staking claim to his bird house and a couple of swallows flitting about before landing on the rung of a large pole at Dan Daniel Park. There were also the purple, blue and yellow flowers surrounded by the lush green foliage of Spring.

This morning we walked from Dan Daniel Park to Angler's Park. We enjoyed the colors of nature, but at Angler's Park there were multi-colored shirt on the large field as a rugby tournament was being held. Sadie was humbled by a large black lab (about twice her size held back by a lady with a Cornell t-shirt) and wanted to chase the strange looking ball the ruggers (don't know if that is a word, but I may have just made it up - it sounds right, though) were carrying and kicking a football shaped ball to score points in this very rough game where there are few pads and the object is to get the ball to the other end no matter what happens. The game is continuous, and I noticed three rescue squad vehicles lined up ready to take care of any broken bones or cuts or any other medical care needed in this very physical game. We stood and watched for a half hour, spending some of that time talking with friends who were working there with the Rotary Club and the Parks and Rec. dept. It was a perfect day for any outdoor activity.

It was another great day on the Riverwalk.

MUNDANE

(April 9, 2010) Some mornings as I start my walk on the Riverwalk, I think that this will be the day that everything is mundane and there will be nothing new to see.

There have been days when I felt that I had just stepped into Bill Murray's role in the movie "Groundhog Day." As Sadie and I walk along, we see the same to Canada geese who start honking as we approach and waddle their way to the river and, if they seem threatened, will fly into the river. There are the same squirrels that seem to be feasting on goodies left over the day before in a trash can. The same cardinal is in the tree, the two mallards are near the rest room, where they stay during this part of the year, and the same cars are parked in the parking lot in the same spots as the day before.

And then, something happens - something ALWAYS happens - that makes this day and this walk special. It may be the sight of an osprey or hawk or bald eagle; it might be the multiple bluebirds as they make the dark woods more colorful; it might be a couple of mourning doves on a power line, cooing and looking so "dove like" in love.

Or it might be like today.

What did we see today that was not mundane?

The first thing that comes to mind is a fallen bird house. It either snapped during the storm last night or was vandalized, but was lying flat on the ground with a male bluebird flying around, examining the damage. The weather is a more logical explanation since there are few signs of vandalism on the Riverwalk except for graffiti on occasion.

As we walked over a wooden bridge, I heard a fluttering sound coming from the creek under the bridge. When I looked to my right, I saw a great blue heron lifting itself out of the creek and start flying in a direction away from me and away from the river. I knew that the great bird would be making a circle to the river, so I waited and saw it as it flew against the light blue sky and watched as it flew out of side down river. It was a marvelous sight.

The fishermen were out this morning at the dam at Dan Daniel Park. Some had their children with them (Easter vacation, but none seemed to be catching much - just enjoying the cool morning air. There were two fishermen in a boat near the dam. The water was high from the heavy rains last night, but the boat seemed secured near the dam.

And, finally, a few squirrels in Dan Daniel Park caught Sadie's attention. One squirrel was enjoying a morning snack on a picnic table and didn't pay any attention to us until we got within 10 feet of it, and then it scampered up a tree, and Sadie stood under the tree with a dejected look on her face.

We walked back to the car. It was not a mundane day at the Riverwalk; it was another good day at the Riverwalk.

HOUSE HUNTING

My mama used to call it "settin' up housekeeping" or "keepin' house." All creatures seem to want to make a home and enjoy the comfort of familiarity.

Three ladies on the Riverwalk this morning told me that they had seen a beaver swimming in the river with sticks in its mouth, heading to its underwater home to add the sticks, making its home more comfortable.

A week or so earlier, I had posted some pictures here called "NESTING," pictures of some geese nesting on the logs and other debris washed down as the result of winter flooding. During the last few days, one of the white geese seems to be missing and its nest abandoned.

For me the early sign of spring is when I see the bluebirds and swallows selecting the birdhouses that have been placed for that purpose on the Riverwalk. The population of both types of birds has increased over the years because of these houses that only the bluebirds and swallows can fit in.

Last night I was talking with a colleague who had just come to Danville. She said that she had been house hunting for months and just couldn't find the right house for her. She said it was a tough job.

Perhaps I am anthropomorphizing the situation of the birds when seeing their challenge in a human way, but I assume it is just as difficult for birds as it is for humans. However, for the birds, selecting the right house or place to nest, may be the difference between extinction and survival.

IT WAS ANOTHER GREAT MORNING ON THE RIVERWALK!

MISSED PHOTOS

What pictures did I miss this morning as the result of not being quick enough to point and shoot or because I had a dog on the leash who wanted to go in a different direction right at the moment I was focusing in on a bird or plant? Here is today's list:

1. Flock of Canada geese: The city worker was mowing the large field where the Canada geese hang out and caused them to fly right at me - wonderful photo op. However, I missed the shot because I was standing there holding a bag while Sadie was depositing that which was to be placed in the bag.

2. Mallard Couple: A pastoral photo of a mallard couple was interrupted when Sadie decided to take a step or two towards them. The mallards didn't bolt and fly away; they just walked into the woods.

3. Perfectly Lighted Daffodil: I was focused in on the lovely flower when all of a sudden a dog's paw (I won't mention who the owner of that paw is) landed squarely right on top of the flower turning it into a less than perfect plant.

4. Small Sparrows in a bush: (see #2 above).

Disappointed? Angry? Depressed?

Not at all. There will always be more geese, ducks, flowers and sparrows, but there is only one Sadie. That "once in a lifetime" shot will happen again; the time spent with Sadie on the Riverwalk is priceless.

It was another beautiful morning on the Riverwalk.

FLYING

(April 5, 2010) This morning, though the trees are showing more foliage, there seemed to be more birds about in the lower branches. I saw my first goldfinch this year as two of them played around in the trees, and there were the hyperactive chickadees and bluebirds.

The cormorants gathered in a group of 6 on the log in the middle of the river, and the ducks and geese were carrying out their spring mating rituals, though they seemed less stressed since some were nesting and others were hanging out with their own sex. I got a great shot of a female mallard as she stood cautiously watching Sadie - her usual male counterpart was nowhere to be seen.

I told Elizabeth last week that I had heard, somewhere along the way, that the male birds were more colorful so they could distract a potential predator away from the nest of the female and eggs. I'm not sure if that is true, but as I stood on the hillside near the restroom at the public works department, I saw a pair of cardinals eating something off of the ground. As I approached, the female flew a little distance and the male stayed put. As I got nearer, the male flew toward me and then off in location where he could still be seen. As I walked toward the female, the male made his appearance again in a threatening way (as threatening as a cardinal can be) and stood between the female and Sadie and me. And then he walked off as if to suggest that I follow. We walked around the birds and left them there as we ventured further down the trail.

Each morning I start taking pictures of anything that moves thinking that I might not see anything that is more interesting as I walk the trail. Each day I am wrong; there has yet to be a day where I didn't see something that was more unique or more beautiful than the day before. Today I noticed the birds flying - the Canada geese and the mallards. The pictures of the geese, in their formation against the morning sky, and the picture of the two mallards, in their colorful dress, provided me those moments again.

The pictures not posted here include some very interesting chickadees and goldfinches and, of course, the beautiful female mallard. If I have a morning when I don't see something unusual or beautiful, I'll go back to my files and go right to April 5, 2010 - another beautiful day on the Riverwalk.