A Walk on the Wild Side

Tonight my husband and I escaped for a little while and took a walk through our park.  We live squarely in the suburbs and pretty darned close to the city, but the park across from our house is a beautiful refuge for deer, fox, birds of prey, herons and other woodland creatures.  I always feel very priveleged to have the park, but especially when I have the time to stroll through and appreciate it for what it is.  I enjoy watching the seasons change there and currently summer is in full bloom and the heavy spring rains and yesterdays washout storms made everything lush and green and dewy tonight.  The underbrush was overgrown with huge green leaves, wild vines and grasses of many kinds.  The trees overhead hung low from the weight of left over moisture and if you listened closely you could hear the dripping of the water from the leaves.  Deep in the woods on a trail we were fortunate enough to see a deer, who stopped and looked at us like she just couldn't believe we were right there on her turf at that time.  She stared us down for a few seconds and then bounded into the trees, white tail flagged.  As we started home on the main road the birds were swooping low overhead, looking for that perfect roost in that perfect tree to call it a night.  Red winged blackbirds called to each other and a bull frog made himself known from somewhere hidden in the reeds. 

Life gets a little hectic most days and sometimes it's hard to remember to stop and smell the flowers.  Going to the park is always a guaranteed way to ease some of the stress and bring you back to the moment.  Every day is an adventure, never knowing what wildlife you may find.  There may be a fox on the trail, a deer in the brush, herons in the water or beavers by the boat ramp.  On a good day you may see two or three.  Today, just one.  Tomorrow, however, is another day.