I wish you could see where I run. It is so quiet there, at least for my eyes. There are two "ponds", let's just call them that....surrounded by reeds and shrubs and the occasional tree. There is a gravel path all the way around with grass growing up through it. It is regularly mowed. An incredible variety of wildflowers and herbs grow here in this mixed habitat, some wetland species, some woodland species, and some that like to gr
ow in disturbed areas like roadsides. It is awesome to witness how the seasons change here. You see the milkweed sprout and send out their big succulent leaves, then they bloom in the Summer.
So many tiny miniature orchid like blossoms in one head, that eventually wilts and by Fall it will have formed a pod...3 or 4 to a stem. Inside the pods are rows upon rows of flat brown seeds with their white silky fluff. The seeds are designed this way to lift off one by one. I hope you take the time to open a pod sometime and see the wonder of the arrangement inside, and then marvel at God who created this marvel. A couple of weeks ago all the pods released their seeds at the same time, and I wanted to find one for a picture this week and there were none left, not a single dud that hadn't opened.
This odd area is also home to many species of wildlife. We've seen lots of groundhogs, rabbits, muskrats, deer, foxes, turtles, snakes, toadies and frogs....and lots and lots of birds. It is so cool when you are running in the fall, and wave after wave of migrating geese come in for a landing. It isn't unusual for there to be a thousand geese bobbing up and down at the same time. There are ducks, usually just plain old ducks, but the odd white faced one. Those are really skittish and I can never get close enough to get a good look at the markings to identify it at home later (it seems that they have a different comfort zone than regular ducks). The geese do not perceive me as a threat when I run by ( I don't go THAT fast!) but the ducks take off every time!
Today I saw a bald eagle. What a huge bird! It was on the right of the path, in the top of a tall tree, the water to my left and it took off without a sound....at least I didn't hear a thing from 100 feet away. So there it soars....and I just keep running, smooth path in front of me, eyes on the eagle....thinking all kinds of eagle thoughts.
It is very peaceful here. The sky is wide and sunsets are incredible. It feels like the wilderness, yet it is completely man made...except for the flora and the fauna. My brain loves the input I feed it here.
Maybe my eyes need this, it is said that eyes are the window to the soul. And as light pours out of a window when it is night, so light must pour in when it is day.
