The Kid on the Running Board

OK, here are some hints to the identity of Guess #1.

1. 6 legs, two word name
2. it can fly
3. I’ve seen green and brown

Word of Explanation

“Guess” is  a category where I will post an image and you have to guess what is in the photograph. It might be like today’s image, something hidden in it’s habitat. Or it might be an obvious picture of a bird or wild flower or mushroom which you have to identify.

It will be an opportunity for you to learn more about nature and sharpen your outdoor observational skills. Email me your guess. After folks have had a few days to interact, I will post the answer. Have fun with this category.

Here is “Guess # 1”.

Guess # 1

Happy Canada Day!

From my office I can hear fireworks as our national celebration winds down. I lean back in my chair and reflect on what it means (to me) to be Canadian, to be born in Canada, to have only lived in Canada.

I have the freedom to complain that we don’t have enough doctors, that it took two years to find a family physician when I moved to this city, that his office is in a nearby town, that it takes me 20 minutes to drive my car to an appointment. But … I can’t say I have no doctor, or that it takes me hours to ride my bicycle to him, or that medical help is a two day walk away from my house.

I have the freedom to complain about the telemarketer whose first language is not English or the brash young man at the door, both who are trying to sell me cheaper natural gas from a different supplier so I can afford to heat my house next winter. My brick house, with insulated walls and ceilings, with double glazed argon filled vinyl clad windows, and carpeted and hardwood floors. I can’t complain about not finding enough wood in the semi-arid region in which I live so my family can have a fire to cook food and enjoy a little heat. I can’t complain it’s difficult to vacuum a dirt floor.

I have the freedom to eat more animal protein in one day than many have for a week, some in a month. I do complain about having too many choices for supper – will it be steak on the BBQ, or grilled fish, or roasted chicken, or a fast-food hamburger, or lamb at the Greek restaurant?

I have the freedom to watch the evening news on television, I see people rioting and dying in cities half way around the world, rising up against tyranny, fighting for the very things that I complain about.

Oh Canada …

This afternoon (March 9, 2011)  my friends are taking a nature photographer (me) and his wife to see ‘burrowing owls’. They had heard they were nesting in a particular urban setting (Fort Meyers area,Fla.). This had been confirmed by emailed images from another acquaintance of theirs. When we arrived at our destination I learned they had no specific street location, just drive around until we find them. Well, I like an adventure as much as the next fellow, but this was beginning to feel like the proverbial ‘needle in the haystack’. And their email info was the owls were nesting in open fields and the areas were delineated in some manner with sticks/crosses??

Up and down and around we went, four sets of eyes searching for the elusive owls. Then something interesting was spotted. A small open area marked off with yellow ‘caution’ tape and wooden stakes. The vehicle was wheeled around, we stopped, got out. This was it! A sign said so, several burrows were obvious. But no owls.

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) Nest Site

Back in the truck. Well, at least now we knew what to look for. The search continued. We stopped and asked folks about the owls. Some had not even heard about them, others knew where vacated nest sites were located. ‘Round and ’round we went – oh look, there’s another empty lot with yellow ‘caution’ tape around it.

Screech (not really, but that’s how it felt emotionally). Someone had spotted something peeking from one of the burrows.  Out we jumped, cameras and tripod in hand, quickly moving towards the barricade tape and anxiously pressing shutter buttons. Ya gotta love motor drives. The poor owls didn’t have a chance. And yeah one of our group spooked them back down into their burrow.

I decided to do what I would do if I was in a wilderness setting, I sat on the ground, shortened the legs of my tripod, set the camera up, and … waited. My wife and my friends stood nearby for a few minutes, but when the owls had not re-appeared they retired to the truck to wait in comfort. Time stands still for me in such a situation, but not for the occupants of the vehicle. I could feel three sets of eyes boring into my back.

Eventually I captured some great shots of the pair of owls, eventually I returned to the truck and we left. And I had doubted that my friends could supply nature on demand. “O ye of little faith”.

Thank you K. and friends for your patience with me, with the owls.

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) at Nest Site, Florida

Just now my quiet time journal quoted the first part of II Timothy 1:7 which says God didn’t give us (me) a spirit of timidity. The devotional goes on to encourage me away from the safe spot near the tree trunk, to go out on a limb, to reach for the fruit.

Then the tough question is asked. Where in my life am I timid? I journaled:

1/ getting photo & writing business operational

2/ talking to people about God

Then I turned to this verse in my bible (always a good thing to do – to read the portion in context, to check for accuracy of quotation). The rest of the verse says that God has given me a spirit of power and love and discipline. (NASB)

The spiritual take-away for me then becomes daring to move further out on the branch of life in a spirit of love, being more disciplined in matters eternal and to truly live boldly as if the power of God dwelt in me (because He, the Holy Spirit does).

My computer crashed three weeks ago. Last time it ” fixed itself ” after a period of rest and relaxation. This time professional help was required. I tried to stay productive by sorting photographic slides. Yeah, long live low tech (transparencies on a light table, a loupe, a garbage pail).

Now I will continue to share adventures from The Road Trip as well as tell other tall tales. My website continues to shape up as I prepare digital images for my web dude (aka Kev). Stay tuned (in, not out).