Connecting with Nature

It had been two weeks since my last excursion, so I decided I will head out for a few hours and see what I find. My friend Cathy Elaine had told me about a park she had found in The Woodlands, just north of Houston.

So, yesterday I headed out to The Woodlands to explore the Shadow Bend Park. When I got there it was just past noon. I had my camera with me, and I intended to take some pictures, but the overhead sun does not make for good lighting, so I decided to wait a little while. I rolled the window down, tilted the seat back and stretched out in the front seat under a tall tree. The shade and the breeze were heavenly. I dozed off in a few minutes and dreamed about waves and waves of Bluebonnets everywhere. I was thinking, I must tell Cathy about these flowers. I was driving through them trying not to get into the flowers, but they were everywhere.

Eventually, I was awakened by the sounds of children and parents. It appears that there is an elementary school somewhere in the shadows of the park and the school was let out. Realizing that I had been napping for over two hours, and it will be a while before the kids are all gone, I decided to head back home and visit the park another day. As I drove out, I felt exhilarated. I didn't realize that simply being in the Nature can have such an effect on a person. Now I know why I always went to parks when I was stressed. :-)

So this morning I headed back to the Shadow Bend Park with my camera in the tow. As I started strolling through the park on the walking trail, I was amazed by a sight I never thought I would ever see, elementary school children in Texas playing Cricket. That's right Cricket. It turns out that they have a teacher who is from Britain, who decided to teach the children, in her words, "a real sport." That was a great way to start my trek into the park.

In the next hour and half, as I walked along the trail in that embodied the name Shadow Bend, I met and photographed a cardinal, a Blue Jay, and several squirrels. I have always loved squirrels. they are so curious, and friendly and active. I am hoping I will be able to upload some pictures soon. It all depends on how good they turn out. After all, it has been ages since I have used my trusty Minolta XG-1. :-)

As I watched the squirrels hop, run and jump around in the shadows, I remembered Wild Bill, about whom I wrote last time. Wild Bill had told me about the Squirrel dumplings he had served for game dinner sampler he had organized at his restaurant. I guess loved the squirrels in a different way. Now I know some of you may cringe at the thought of someone actually cooking squirrels, and I can understand how you feel, but I have come to accept that people have different tastes and in different parts of the world people eat different things. It is just part of the tapestry we call human race.

As I left the park, I was thinking about getting the film developed (yes, I still use film), and a voice from within suggested I go to the Wal-Mart there in The Woodlands, but I decided to go to the one closer to my daughter's school, since I would be picking her up soon. When I got Wal-Mart, I was told that their photo processing machine was broke and was being repaired, and that the repairman didn't have the part needed so he has gone to get it. One of these days I will learn to heed to that inner voice. :-)