During 2012 I attended conferences in Victoria, British Columbia and the wilds of Wyoming, thanks to the Schammerhorn Fund. Ruth and I also had vacations in Cuba and the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (a lot of islands this year!) The scenery was varied and spectacular at times.
But this evening we had a lovely walk not far from Bowmanville at the Samuel Wilmot Trail which was as enjoyable as anything we did during the rest of the year. There is a small pocket of old growth woods running along the edge of the creek and with the Autumn leaves and the failing light it was lovely.
Ruth was the first to hear the low "who, who, who" of an owl, but try as we might we could not locate it above us. Then we heard a much higher pitched raptor-like screeching. Eventually we spotted two young owls high in a maple, obviously in conversation with a parent.
We don't normally associate the beauty of creation with a walk in hearing distance of the 401 and just down the road from home. Yet we both felt that the day the Creator gave us was that much more fulfilled as a result of the walk and the wildlife we encountered.
Any observations about your moments of appreciaton close to home?
We walked through the Samuel Wilmot Nature Area with Avery just yesterday, and Kevin snapped some great pictures. We haven't seen any owls lately, but last week we watched a woodpecker at Long Sault Conservation Area. (Since this is a blog about the enviroment, I have to mention that the one dissapointment at Long Sault is that you really have to stand still and concentrate to hear the birds because of the constant airplane noise. It really is relentless and a bit of a let down) We get out as often as we can, two or three times a week when we are lucky.
ReplyDeleteI wish I spent more time doing what you so often right about, David. This weekend is my guys' weekend at the cottage with some old buddies, and I can already guarantee we'll be out for walks like this forever. Walks and the things you see while on them in the great outdoors are totally restorative.
ReplyDeletePS - Thanks for linking to this blog from your LionLamb one. It'll get me here to this one more frequently!
Your talk about your hikes always has me scouring the internet for more information about the trails in and around Clarington. I was just thrilled to find an app for my iphone put together by the Ontario Trails Council so I can find a trail while on the go.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping to find more opportunities for our family to get out and do things like this more often, but we always seem to have 1 out of our 5 who refuses to take a step at the mouth of the trail. We will continue to work on it, because I believe that this is one activity that families can do that not only brings them closer to nature, but to each other.