A Christian Viewpoint

Gee, I got the car today. Time to swap those winter tires. It went pretty quick. Time on my hands? Hmmm… maybe a bit of a drive?

That is how I got to Gage park yesterday afternoon. Now I can’t walk very far. OK, I’ll simply walk out 75 yards and back 75 yards. See and handle a few trees. Take in the scene and smell whatever nature was offering. Not much wildlife though. One bird sitting in a juniper tree. One squirrel by a fence line. Another running across my path.

There was a trick I could do with my tongue and teeth. If I suck air through my teeth it causes a strange high pitched sound. Sometimes I fancy it sounds a bit like the sound of a squirrel calling to another. So I gave it a try, one long sound followed by four short ones. It doesn’t always work… it usually gets a squirrel to stop, look around and run away. And lo! The squirrel stopped running across my path and sat there 30 feet away. I called again and the squirrel approached a little closer. This was working much better than usual.

I kept making the sounds and the squirrel came as close as six feet from me. It sat there on its haunches, little hands curled on its chest, probably wondering what an awfully big squirrel I was. Of course if there was anyone around me they would have thought I was squirrely as well. Perhaps it was the peanut butter breathe that drew the furry critter closer.

I was so intent on this creature I failed to notice… other squirrels heard the sounds I was making. I looked around and I was surrounded by squirrels. Over a dozen were within twelve feet of me. I made the sounds again and others came running down trees, from under bushes and farther away. I stood with all these little beasties around me. I enjoyed their company. Yet I couldn’t stand there much longer. I slowly began my short journey into the park. They began to disperse and disappear from view.

I finished my journey of 75 yards out and 75 yards back. The company of squirrels made this short time a special moment. And that concludes my “Foray into the Wild.”

Linda and I were out for a drive the previous night. Around the bay counter clock wise. As we were proceeding to drive down Dundas (St? Rd?) by Dundurn Park I saw something peculiar happen to my windshield. The light was low and I could see these vertical bars moving through the glass. Funny, I never saw that before. After a minute of trying to figure it out what I was seeing I mentioned it to Linda. Oh, see was seeing the very same thing. Then at the same time we both knew the real answer to what we were seeing.

BUGS!

You know how some bugs love to hover over and around certain trees. I have seen them in my backyard often enough. Mostly harmless. So seeing bugs flying above the trees near sunset… nothing new. What was new were how many there were. They looked more like columns of smoke. Millions of the little critters above the tress and joining up between the trees. A shifting veil of life. Quite impressive as Linda and I rolled up the windows so we wouldn’t be eating the low flying ones.

I guess the city’s new “environmentally friendly” program when it comes to pesticides is really working. Where we had a few bugs before you can now make friends with uncountable hordes of these delightful pests. And even better… it is still early in the season. I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

Fly! Fly! Fly away home!

You may have read the story about a coyote being seen at the beaches in Hamilton. Last night I went for a drive around the bay. My usual route was taken, going clock-wise. After I crossed the lift bridge I aimed my car to take the the side access that leads to Beach Blvd. Just before my turn, in the shadows, I saw something moving across the street. As I began to turn I saw that Wile E Coyote walking 25 feet from me. It was an excellent animal. Not the first I have seen but the first in Hamilton. Spying that particular animal made the drive worthwhile. Now if I can only spot the Roadrunner. One minute… I have seen a roadrunner in Hamilton. Must have been 30 years ago. Back then it wasn’t just a bird but a muscle car. Yeah, but I would still like to see the bird.