Dazzling! Easy! Unequaled!
Have marketeers completely commandeered public discourse?
Indispensable! Instant! Guaranteed!
In this world of New Proven Free Bargain Premium Solutions, it can certainly seem as if marketing hype has invaded every aspect of our lives. That’s one reason why even a short visit to Mud Lake, within the Britannia neighbourhood in west Ottawa, is therapeutic. I mean, Mud Lake? Not Azure Pond? Not Emerald Lagoon? Not even Mud Mere?
Nope, Mud Lake it is.
The other reason it’s good for the heart? The residents. Especially those who hang out in trees.
This juvenile pileated woodpecker (the last of a brood of three raised in this tree cavity) spent some time hollering and scanning the skies for an obliging parental unit before finally taking its first leap.
And who knew that at least one raccoon likes to sleep in a tree?
What struck me as odd was that the creature exquisitely adapted for trees looked, well, a bit anxious in that environment. Day One of life-in-flight didn’t look as exhilarating as I might have imagined. The shot that shows the feet off to the sides — The better to allow it to belly-up to the tree trunk, perhaps? — also shows the small tail pressed against the trunk. If that tail had a claw, can you doubt that it too would be pressed into service?
In contrast, the non-flight-enabled raccoon doesn’t seem to care that it’s snoozing 30 or more feet in the air without a net. Indeed, its posture exemplifies relaxation: My physiotherapist would be impressed.
These guys nicely illustrate that capability and confidence are not the same thing. And they remind me that while aging has its downsides, it isn’t all downside: More experience can drive a more-relaxed attitude if I will let it.
A walk in the park. Perfectly charming and ever-so-nicely captured — in images and in words.
Laurna – Thank you.
There must be something comfortable — and comforting — about sleeping in a tree. Friends of ours have a London Plane/sycamore tree growing in their yard. They went out on their deck (last year, no emergency) and found a black bear sleeping on a branch, so close that they could have reached out and touch it with a broom. Wisely, they didn’t. But the human presence so close didn’t bother the bear at all.
Jim T
Jim – Maybe the comfort of a tree depends on how big your claws are, for getting into it in the first place. We had a raccoon go straight up our brick wall (at a corner) to try to rip out the soffit, the better to get into the attic. They are *good* climbers. Bears likewise, I think. (And of course I saw this after I posted my reply.)
Great photos!
Tom
Tom – Thanks! It was a fun morning.