Attractions, not Distractions

Stand Up for Science Rally in Washington D.C.

I am a caring person and I take my personal responsibilities as a citizen (locally, nationally, globally) very seriously. I try to stay involved and informed. I vote in every election and I follow the news. But since the new administration took over this January, it has been pretty overwhelming. The cruelty, waste and wanton destruction in this administration is hard to fathom. They have done amazing amounts of damage in a very short time. Things I once took for granted--the constitution, our relationship with the rest of the world, our social safety net, citizenship and immigration, vaccines, veteran's care, scientific research, universities, national parks, history, language (to name just some)--are being destroyed before my eyes.  It feels like we are descending into a dystopian science fiction novel. It makes me feel sad and hopeless for the future, and some days I want to just turn off the news, curl up in a ball, and ignore it all. But I can't do that forever. So I pay attention. I write and call my representatives. I donate to causes I believe in. Last month I traveled to Washington D.C. with my husband to attend the Stand Up For Science rally. I plan to attend more rallies. But I still feel pretty overwhelmed. It makes my heart hurt. 

Lichen on a twig

So what's a person to do? How do you keep going with this constant onslaught of chaos and destruction? How do you re-charge? I've tried some of the distractions that we turned to during the this president's last administration, and the scary months of COVID shutdown. I've tried comfort eating, but then my clothes don't fit. Drinking away my sorrows works for a couple of hours, but then I wake up with a headache in the morning. Binge watching shows and movies helps me escape for a while, but when I turn off the TV and, nothing has changed.

Fading Hepatica flower next to green moss

I was thinking about a friend, Susan, who died many years ago. In her last days when I talked to her she told me that she was looking for Attractions, not Distractions. It took me a long time to appreciate what she meant by that, but I think I get it now, and I think that is what I need in this moment. I don't want to cover up or block out what is happening right now. I need to feel that. But I also need something that draws me and enriches and fills my hurting heart, something that can exist beyond this moment that I can tap into when I need it in the future. 

Ocean of Bloodroot leaves. The flowers must have been glorious a few weeks ago

One last Bloodroot blossom 

Nature does this for me. This weekend I walked in the Lake Herrick woods and after I was able to get my brain to turn off the inner commentary--about politics, litter, loud cars, drones over the lake, invasive plants--I started to connect again. I heard my own breath and the sound of my footsteps on the path. I heard birds song, saw wild flowers, noticed colors and shapes, smells and the greenness of spring. I spent 10 minutes or so watching a red-shouldered hawk that landed on a tree near the path. I think it was hunting for food for its mate that I heard calling from across the woods. It watched me as I slowly walked closer. It didn't fly away when I raised my camera. I walked on, and the hawk stayed put. The peace of that moment stays with me still. 

Red-shouldered Hawk encounter

Family. Friends. Pets. Music. Art. Service. Creativity. Love. These are all attractions that can give us strength for another day. And they build us up rather than covering up, or tearing down. Go find the Attractions. 

30 Days in June: Day 4, Cellon Creek Boulevard and Possum Creek Park

Appointments and chores kept me home most of the day yesterday so I wasn't able to get out and about until nearly 3pm. It seemed like a good day to visit a couple of natural areas on my list that don't take a long time.

Normally, Cellon Creek Boulevard would not be my top choice for natural areas to visit. It is basically an incomplete industrial park just off of a busy highway, with utility company access on one end, a couple of warehouse businesses in the middle and a couple of paved roads with a "coming soon" sign advertising the new home of a church. The sign has been there for the several years that I have been coming to this location.

Entry Road

Industrial Park

Looking Back at Highway

What this natural area does have is a good view across broad pastures, some butting up against San Felasco Hammock State Park, and lots of long barbed wire fences and tall towers. It is a great place to see Kestrels, Eastern Meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrikes, Swallows and Northern Bobwhites. I had it on my list because I had fond memories of an encounter with a cooperative Meadowlark on one sunny morning, and I wanted to recreate that moment.

Eastern Meadowlark, taken in 2012

When I arrived, I pulled off of the main road, opened the car windows, and listened. Bobwhites were calling from the bramble and I could hear them over the roar of the highway and semi truck air brakes.  Maybe this would be my day! I looked for about 10 minutes but couldn't see them, so I drove ahead. A Loggerhead Shrike landed on a power line and sat for me just long enough to get my camera out, and then it flew off. No photo, but I added it to my list. A Deer bounded across the cattle field toward the trees. Barn Swallows also sat on the power line, but I had already checked them off. More Bobwhites called, from either side of the road. This seemed like a good place to get out and look. I scanned the fields and bushes, looking for movement. No sign, but still I could hear the calls. I knew they were there. They answered my recordings. They answered each other. But I couldn't see them. Little devils. I wonder some times if they can throw their voices.

This reminds me of one summer when I was working in my yard and heard what sounded like a Bobwhite calling from the azaleas. This was crazy because I definitely do not live in the right habitat for them. Maybe it was a Mockingbird, I thought. But it continued. I was so puzzled. Then, suddenly, I saw it! A little, fast quail shot across the yard and ran up the street. How could this be? But then I remembered that a neighbor in the next block kept chickens and quail. I had never heard these ones call before and didn't realize that they were Bobwhites. I went over and asked if he was missing any, and he said that indeed he was. He brought a net and within minutes had caught the runaway quail. I've never heard them again, and no more runaways. But it makes a good memory.

Barn Swallow

Anyway, back to Cellon Creek. There were a lot of sounds to pick through. The Mockingbirds screeched and scolded as they chased off marauding Crows. A flock of European Starlings landed in a Sour Orange tree. Bobwhites teased me from the grasses. A funny "tink" sound confused me until I saw a flash of blue and identified a pair of Blue Grosbeaks in a tree. I hadn't expected to find them there, so that was a nice surprise. Finally, I could pick out the sweet sounds of a Meadowlark. It was too far away for  the perfect photo I'd imagined, but it was nice to see the lovely yellow and hear the beautiful song.

Eastern Meadowlark from a  Distance

By this time I was very hot and tiny little thrips were landing on my face and arms, making me itch terribly. I decided, grudgingly, to give up on Bobwhites for now. I shook my fist at them as I drove away, vowing to get them another day.

I made a brief stop at Possum Creek Park on the way home. I didn't have a target bird, but it is a place I wanted to see again because I had nice memories of happening upon a patch of Golden Club plants there one year. And it seemed like a good place to find an owl resting.

Goldenclub (Orontium aquaticum) Taken in February, 2013

Possum Creek is a City of Gainesville Park that has facilities for skateboarding, playgrounds, dog park, soccer and picnics. It's a great, all around city park. It also has a couple of short nature trails, one that takes you down a hill to a pond, and another that takes you on paths and boardwalks, along the creek. Both paths are thickly forested, with abundant ferns and moss. It's a good place to find Banana Spiders and Ebony Jewelwing Damselflies. I always get a kick out of signs that warn about Alligators on the trail. I'm cautious and watch for them, and for snakes, but it makes me feel like a badass when I go ahead and walk anyway.

Here There Be Monsters

Possum Creek

No new birds to add from Possum Creek, no Owls, but I saw plenty of Squirrels and Cardinals, a Red Shouldered Hawk and a Bluebird perching on a soccer goal. Maybe it was getting ready for the Women's World Cup.

Goooooaaaaaalllll!

List total: 64 birds (65), 9 Natural Areas.

Listen

Today I took a walk around my favorite city nature park, Morningside Nature Center. I love it because it's a patch of sanctuary in our growing city. I can always be sure to see something special when I visit. I worked there as part of the teaching staff for several years and got to know it quite well. It is a special place and I try to go there often.

As I was walking along the new boardwalk in the Cypress Dome (it's beautiful and FULL of water for the first time in many years) I decided to focus my attention on listening. Weekends are really quiet there and I was one of about 3 people in the park, so I could hear tiny sounds and sounds from far away. Around the Cypress Swamp, the primary sound was buzzing. The cicadas buzzed from the treetops and the mosquitoes buzzed in the shade. I could hear the buzz and plop of the dragonflies dipping and laying eggs. I heard leaves drop into the water. A frog chirped from somewhere in the trees. Another plopped into the water. Soon I became aware of bird sounds and was happy that over the years I'd learned to identify a few of their calls. I'm not a super birder, but I'm enthusiastic and do know some of the calls. I tend to walk with my head down, looking at flowers and bugs, so if I hear a bird call that I recognize, it at least points my head in the right direction. Today I could hear the squeaky rubber ducky sound of the Brown Headed Nuthatches. Next I heard the White Eyed Vireo. Sometimes it sounds to me like it's saying "chick" followed by a gobbledegook. Other times is sounds like it's saying "Step to the rear, Jack" ("Or give me a beer, Jack"). In the bushes next to the walkway I could hear the Eastern Towhees calling "Shweep, Drink your teeeeeeeeea". When I hear tapping, I look for woodpeckers, but sometimes if it's a tiny tap, like today, I find that it's a Tufted Titmouse standing on a branch cracking open a seed. Listening opens my eyes.

After a bit, I heard a commotion. A bunch of crows. They were loud and calling from across the park. I thought there was a chance that they were mobbing an owl, so I followed the sounds. Crows dislike owls and will gang up on them to chase them away. Mobbing can be very effective and smaller birds like crows and bluejays can chase away a much larger predator or competitor. I once watched a single, tenacious mockingbird bother a great horned owl so much that it finally flew away. When I got to the source of the racket, I was happy to find that it was indeed an owl. A great horned owl was perched on a pine tree and a flock of crows surrounded it from the trees, cawing and diving at it.

Crow trying to intimidate a Great Horned Owl

This time, the mobbing did not work and the owl just sat there.

This Owl Ain't Budging!

Other kinds of birds were chattering in the trees. Everyone was upset about this intruder! I heard mockingbirds and bluejays. Then I heard the sound of a red shouldered hawk. I thought that it could just be bluejay mimicking a hawk. They actually do a pretty convincing impersonation. I've watched a bluejay clear the bird feeder out with a well placed call. But this time, it was real, and a red shouldered hawk flew into the tree to join the mob. I imagine that the crows, jays and mockingbirds weren't sure what side to take. They don't like hawks, either, for the same reasons that they don't like owls, and can often be seen mobbing them. (The bluejays and mockingbirds will mob crows for the same reasons as the hawks and owls, so this gets really complicated.) So when the hawk moved in, the rest of the birds quieted down and watched from the trees.

Hawk/Owl Stare-Off

Red Shouldered Hawk tries to scare the Great Horned Owl

The hawk repeatedly flew at the owl and tried to knock it off its perch. I heard the "thwack" of the hits. But the owl wouldn't budge. Then the hawk tried flying right in the face of the owl and spreading its wings to look bigger and more frightening. The owl stayed put. I watched the hawk go back and forth from one branch to another, flapping its wings, calling and flying at the owl. Finally the hawk flew away to pine trees nearby. I could hear it call. I'd been watching for about 20 minutes and my arms were tired from holding the camera, so I walked away. Of course, as soon as I was out of sight, the crows started up again. This time they were loud and furious, and I saw some commotion from the trees, so I think they were finally successful. I don't know for sure because I didn't see it, but the silence that followed spoke volumes.