Jessie and I made it to the park this morning by 5:45. I was motivated to get up early today and get there because I overslept yesterday and we didn't arrive at the park until 7:00 a.m. What a difference! It's as if there are actually 3 or even 4 different parks. Night time - which I haven't visited (the park is actually "closed" from sunset to sunrise), dawn (depending on the season, 4:30 to 5:00 until about 6:00 a.m.), morning (7:00 - 9:00 or so) and daytime (everything else). The creatures who live in the park adjust their lifestyles to the visitors who come during those periods. During the daytime, you would see Mallards and Canada geese, squirrels. Robins. House sparrows. Maybe a chipmunk. A hawk flying overhead. Even during the morning, you don't see much more, maybe because it is the favored time of exercisers - runners, people 'walking' dogs (including those that ignore the leash law and let their dogs run--not a particularly creature-friendly activity), bicyclers, old people (yes, even older than I) out for their morning constitutionals. I guess so much activity, which increases from 7:00 to 9:00 or so, dampens the creatures' enthusiasm for hanging out. I used to be a morning person. Now I'm a dawn person. There are a few others, but not many. This morning Jessie and I were the first.
Still, today there weren't a lot of creatures out and about even so early. A very large gaggle of Canada geese, all the adults and all the juveniles, who are 80% as large as their parents. I learned that Canada geese mate for life; when one of the pair dies, the other "mourns" and even has been reported to itself die of no discernible cause. The long rows of swimming geese that I remarked on in this blog before- adult at front, juveniles in a row, adult at back - is exactly how they do it, one of my books confirmed. Father in the front, offspring, mother bringing up the rear. Apparently they are not great nest builders, usually build in the grasses at the pond/water edge.. Occasionally build nests in trees and then have to (literally) push the juveniles out of the nest, hopefully into the water below.
At home my feeder has become a money pit as the birds in the area have learned of it and shared the news and it is now being emptied at least once and sometimes twice a day. I've seen house sparrows (feisty little suckers), male cardinal, house finch (beautiful red feathers), cat bird, mourning doves, white breasted nuthatch, crows. But the regulars are the house sparrows and spit and fuss with one another over who gets what perch.
My cousin C was in a car wreck; another drive ran a redlight or stopsign and t-boned her. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She broke her pelvis in a couple places, a couple ribs, nicked her spleen and broke her wrist. At first they thought it was pretty bad, but she fooled them - stubborn old broad (those are MY family's genes!!!), and she's doing okay. She was in the hospital a couple days and now is in rehab for 10-14 days. Those who are inclined to include her in thoughts and prayers, it would be appreciated. My own thought/prayer is to be thankful that it was not much worse, she is going to be okay.
You never know, do you, walking through your life not paying attention (sitting in your car as you have the right of way and drive through an intersection), and wham! Everything changes!
I see Dr. R for my first 3 month check-up on Wednesday. I feel a background noise of anxiety, nothing terrible, nothing even in my consciousness most of the time, but there in the background like emotional white noise. Not sure what I am worried about. I just have a blood test and talk to her. Clearly I am doing well. I guess it is a milestone and I look forward to putting it behind me.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to sign up for another class at the Wooden Boat School - this time Lofting. It's the last week in August. It will be a present to myself - a vacation doing something interesting in a beautiful place. Looking at everything so differently than in July 2009 when I was there last . How the world changes.
Love.
Peace.
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