Unsung Creatures

last week i headed out to the wild animal park. it’s something i would normally not do this time of year, but with the record-setting cool temperatures we have been having all summer, it was fabulous.

i don’t necessarily go for the reasons you might think. oh sure, i love lions and tigers and giraffes and gorillas as much as anyone and i have the photos to prove it! but what i really love is the hiking trails to the outer limits of the park and the opportunity to find a whole array of “unsung creatures”.

 i get there early and head for the outer edges. when i get deep into the park, literally no one is there (yet!) and it’s like being alone in the jungle or maybe on an African safari. it’s kind of meditative, really. i just walk with my camera (and sometimes with music) and wait to see what i discover.

after hiking and photographing for a while, i stop at a very special place at the top of the park. it’s a shaded picnic table set in the native plant garden that has a view of the park and the surrounding countryside. i take out my thermos of coffee, a snack and my notebook.  i review the morning’s photos and write down whatever comes to me. 

this time i had a special bonus! as i was finishing my coffee, a park worker came up and started talking to me. on her arm was perched a tawny frog-mouth (no, it’s not an owl!) . she happened to be a veritable fountain of knowledge about that particular creature and spent a good twenty minutes sharing all of the details with me. how special was that??