still Making Waves on top of the world: being nurtured by nature

Over the past couple of weeks, I have spent many hours covering loads of kilometres at Confluence Park being nurtured by nature! After a cup of coffee but before breakfast, after checking emails but before seeing the news, after brushing my teeth but before washing my face, I headed off to see what I could see! A few mornings I arrived before sunrise and other days, I showed up as the sun showed up!

It's baby season and my hopes were to spot a baby coyote or two. I keep looking but have had no success with that. I wondered on this morning was this adult guarding a den or was it just being curious and nosy.

After watching a display put on by this beaver, I deemed it best to leave the area. When I arrived creek-side, I saw it slip off the mud slope into the water and franticly swim back and forth slapping its tail in the water which made a loud noise and a large splash. It was something I never saw nor heard before. I knew I had a lesson to learn here, so after doing some homework, I learned it was sending out a warning. Maybe it was protecting a baby!

On this morning not that long after sunrise, a rustle in the bush was made by this fawn! It came out of the bush onto the pavement and began to follow me as I walked. It was the size of a minute!!! It appeared to be new at walking. I knew this was not where it should be so I walked into the grass...

...and it followed me there and then into some taller grass. I snapped this photo just before it settled down here. It was so small, it would probably fit into my two hands. I left the area yet kept checking back to make sure it stayed put and it did. Later someone told me it may have thought I was a doe! This was something I never experienced before.

I knew I had a lesson to learn here, so after doing some homework, I learned that when a fawn is a week or two old, the mother leaves it alone for about 95% of the time during the day and only comes back when it is feeding time. The Mom teaches her baby to hide in the bush, to stay put laying flat with its legs, head and ears flush to the ground. The next day I went back out of curiosity! I found the fawn in an area not too far from where I saw it the day prior. It was doing what it was taught to do! I zoomed in to see it laying in the bush with its legs, head and ears flush to the ground.

Each of these times I did see a doe that was a distance away and keeping an eye on me. I have gone back twice since, but have not seen the fawn but have seen the doe each time, she watched me from a distance. I pray the fawn is still doing what it was taught to do and just doing a better job at hiding! I will continue to keep an eye out for the fawn!

The early mornings are the best at the park!

Those golden moments during that special hour brings this place to life!

spring blooms

The crocuses have mostly lived out their best life by now!

On this day I was fortunate enough to spot one that was at its prime!

The only other people that I come across are savouring the moments it takes them to bike through the park on their way to work! They see scenes like this and how wonderful is this to greet you on a work day!

The tree tops are in full bloom!

They appear more red than any red I have ever seen on these trees in the birth forest!

I have never seen mallards in this pond, it has always been a male and female American Wigeon couple. On this morning when I first arrived, the ducklings were swimming about with no adult supervision at all. Later when I came back, the ducklings were closely hanging out with a male and female Mallard pair while the Wigeons swam close by. I may have a lesson to learn here!