MY FRIENDS

MY FRIENDS

Every workday at lunch, I take a half-hour walk by myself in a park nearby my office. Its a good stress reducer. The park has a walk path that skirts a large lake that is home to quite a few waterfowl that I think of as my friends. Its hard to become friends with the skiddish deer that live in the woods surrounding the lake.

At one time, the park was being overtaken by Canada Geese. They are a beautiful bird but very messy, if you know what I mean. The park people shoot a shotgun across the lake when the geese show up. They load the shotgun with a loud, fireworks-like load. It seems to be working.

There are about three dozen mallard and common ducks there at all times. Its a ball watching them pair off and go through their mating rituals in the spring. Its easy to tell the males from the females - the males are the pretty ones. Then, in short time, the little ducklings are waddling along behind their mothers. I thought they only mated once a year but I noticed some friskiness in them the other day. Maybe we'll get another brood of little ones.

Several turtles live in the lake. I've never seen one on the shore. They just swim along with their heads craned upward or sun themselves on logs out in the lake with that same snobbish pose.

A great blue heron visits for a couple months every Summer. It stands motionless in the shallow water or wades along with a wary eye on me as I pass close by. I always imagine that it goes home for the Winter to live in the lake behind my daughter's house in Florida. Lucky bird!