Social Distancing Nature

Social Distancing Nature

Saturday was such a beautiful day here. We were out walking (what else?), this time in a local nature park. The site was closed to cars but not to people. Fortunately, there weren’t too many walkers that day so we only had to divert our path a few times. One man was fishing in the creek. A family was biking. 

And then there were the geese. Usually there are many geese in the park but only a few were around on this day. They seemed to be in their own form of social distancing. This goose was eating on its own after being chased away by a connected pair. It seemed to want to gather food near us. As we backed up, it came closer. It seemed to want company and comfort as if it was looking for its family. I softly reminded it to keep a safe distance.

I wondered if animals are as prone to get the corona virus as we humans are. I read that a dog was recently diagnosed with the virus but then I read that dogs were being trained to sniff out the virus in those without symptoms. There are so many questions about this pandemic. But one thing to remember is that social distancing can help us contain the spread.

I hope the goose eventually finds its natural family. I hope that we all are safe and healthy and remember that while at a distance isn’t our natural way of interacting, it is necessary at this time.

Canadian Geese

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/overview

Climbing Trees

This bunch of tree trunks huddling together reminds me of my younger days when I was a tree climber. I remember looking over the rooftops of the houses on my block in Brooklyn, watching the world go by. There was something so peaceful about being so high in the air. I could feel the breeze blowing gently through my hair and I smiled as I sniffed the scent of the flowers that the gentle wind lifted into the air.

But there is more to this picture than my memories. I can imagine each seedling starting its life, reaching up as it grew and finding others like itself nearby. They all matured and found themselves so close that each became more than an individual, all of them connecting like a family that bonded together.

It has me wondering why we humans have so  much trouble connecting with other humans. We may experience differences but we are still of the same branch, so to speak. We are all people. I hope we can embrace our connection and climb up and away from whatever keeps our family at odds.

A Flock is a Family

 

A Flock is a Family

I apologize to my all backyard friends for my not having posted for a while. Sometimes life demands our attention in one direction or another, as happened with me. My sister was battling a rare illness that took too many years to diagnose and it finally took its toll. These past several months she was in and out of the hospital, then in a Hospice facility and she recently passed away. As you can imagine, my thoughts were not focused on my blog.

Then I saw this tree. There were so many birds on it. The birds were grackles, a species that travels in flocks, sort of like traveling with a large family. It made me think about the concept of family. There are many individuals connected to each other. Sometimes the connection works, sometimes not but when it does, it is a joy.  Family members can provide support and caring, a sense of belonging and sharing.

Grackles can be aggressive with each other at times, like siblings, but they can also join with other birds like red-winged blackbirds and starlings to increase their family connection. We can choose friends to be part of our family, too. It is as much a concept as a definition. I was lucky to have a great sister as both a relative and a friend.

Info about grackles:

http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/grackle.html

A discussion about what “family” means:

http://family.lovetoknow.com/about-family-values/meaning-family

Our Dog

Our Dog

You never know what’s going to happen when you're away on vacation. We were walking along a pleasant street, just trying to get a feel for the area, when we came upon two dogs having a great time playing with each other. They seemed to be part of the family that was standing by a car and talking. We moved along not thinking about it until we noticed that one of the dogs was walking alongside us.

“Hey, dog, go home,” we said. He didn’t.

As we walked further he came with us, measuring his pace with ours. We looked back down the street to see where its people were but they were gone. We wondered if this was a stray. His hair was ragged and he looked skinny. His muzzle was gray so we knew he was an older dog. Was he lost? Confused? But what could we do? We were on vacation. 

“Go home,” we repeated hoping he had a home.

We tried crossing the street; he followed. We walked slower and let him get ahead of us but he stopped as soon as he realized we were lagging, turned around and waited until we caught up. We asked a man who was walking on the street if he knew whose dog this was. “Isn’t it yours?” he said. “He seems to know you.”

We decided to go back to our hotel and see if they could call someone to come for the dog. We were almost there, passing the place where we first hooked up, when the dog took off and ran across the street. We heard someone yell, “YAY! There you are!” It sounded like our dog had found his family. Was he staying with us because he thought we would lead him back? He didn’t follow us as we reversed our steps and crossed onto the main road again.

We were relieved that he obviously was with his family again. And yet, in a way we had become his family, too. At least for a little while. Our dog added his presence to the stories we would tell when we got back home. Aren’t those stories what connect us with the world?