Journal Entry 2: At the park -

After a warm weekend in the 80’s, today a cold front moved through dropping us down into the 60’s with a brisk north wind. I’ve stayed inside today and spent most of my time back and forth with my internet provider trying to figure out why the modem is not working. They will send a tech out to take a look at it.

So now I’m sitting at the park, resting my eyes and watching the birds. The mourning doves are cooing in nearby trees, a grackle is perched on the edge of a dumpster and chattering, robins are searching for bugs, and worms in the grass while sparrows are flitting through on their way to somewhere.

At home, in between unplugging modem and router cables, and plugging them back in again, I watched the squirrel on the porch. He was determined to get every scrap of peanut suet from the feeder. He sat on the porch railing and reached around the post to grab the wire feeder in his tiny paws and pull it to his mouth to eat between the frame of the feeder. He was determined to get every bit he could before the birds came back. At one point he even grabbed the bottom of the feeder, turned himself over upside down to munch on the bottom of the feeder. Of course, by the time I got my camera ready, he climbed back to the railing to look around at his surroundings.

I love being able to take a few moments frequently throughout the day to make small observations of nature around me. When I’m out running errands and about town, I’m always watching nature around me, improving my awareness skills as I drive.

On the way to the park, I took note of the trees along the way, noting the new leaf growth. Along the sidewalks, I watched birds hunting bugs or pigeons flying over. I observed the wind direction and speed by watching the flags. And coming into the park, I saw the meadowlarks feeding in the wild area near the pond and around the prairie dog town.

A lone mourning dove has landed on top of the One Way sign in the parking lot and stares at me before flying off. I pause to wonder if I’m on a ‘one way road’ to somewhere and laugh.

The skies have been overcast since I stepped out this morning and storms are forecast for tonight. I’m thinking bacon, eggs and maybe French toast might hit the spot for supper.