I have come to discover over the last few years that nature gives me a much needed gift of sanity in my busy life. I am not the only one to feel this as I follow plenty of brilliant nature photographers on Twitter and there is a common thread of finding solitude and peace surrounded by nature. I really try to escape once a week for a morning, an afternoon, or even an hour. I grab my camera and set off to wander a trail, sit on a bench, or roam a park for some solitude and to leave the world behind.
Almost everyone has their preferred retreat from life for a time. For some, it is television or movies. For others, it might be a book or music. I enjoy all those things but they don't really allow me to honestly escape my life. I watch a movie with at least a portion of my mind on what is happening when the movie is over. I will read a book and suddenly remember to do something and then go write myself a to-do note or actually take care of whatever it is. The truth is that I am not very good at sitting still for long periods of time and so wandering nature is my escape.
It seems to me that each week I find not only sanity and peace but also an additional gift whether it be a laugh, an encounter that makes me feel for a moment that the animal and I understand each other, or as of late, it is the surprise of a completely unexpected sight. I talked about the pelicans that I came across at my local riparian preserve. Last week I came across a very unique duck.
This is a Muscovy duck. It didn't take me very long with a Google search when I got home to identify this unique bird. He has a very distinctive look and appeared very elegant in his movements through the water. The rather bumpy red on his face and over his bill is so distinctive and presents such a contrast to his black and white feathers that he is hard to miss. He is native to Mexico and Central and South America. He seemed to mix and mingle with the mallards and ring-necked ducks on the water. He seemed to be very content and so I am unsure exactly how long he was been frequenting this body of water but seemed very comfortable in his environment.
I went from coming across a bird that turned out to be very simple to identify to one that I am very unsure about. This large bird slowly walked through the water almost like the white egrets and cranes that I commonly see but in this gray color that for some reason reminded me of a dinosaur or very ancient bird. This beautiful bird had a walk of confidence and determination in his direction. While I know that my quick snap isn't the best of photos, I think that he closely resembles several photos that I have found. I can say with absolute clarity that he is either a gray crane, a blue heron, a gray heron, or another bird not mentioned. He looks very similar to the photos that I found with all these labels.
So on my latest outing, I found peace, sanity, and two surprises which always give me the energy to continue my day and keep my eyes open. Noticing nature in my every day isn't relegated to my weekly escapes. They might be bees buzzing around some blooms, the shadows of tree branches, or a bird singing high in a tree. Any encounter with nature invigorates me and allows me to continue in my day-to-day reality as a better and more positive person.
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