Journey Through Life

Events of this week have reminded me of the fragility of life and the vulnerability that never really leaves us. The youngest of our families are totally dependent on their people, predominately their parents, but sometimes so are the oldest of our families. Those adjectives correctly describe both ends of our life, fragile and vulnerable. Life’s journey can cause a lot of wear and tear on our bodies and minds. This week my family celebrated the life of my Uncle Ed. He was nearly 88 when he departed this life that we know and entered into eternal life, the life we hope for. Throughout the day of his funeral what I noticed so much were the littlest ones present; The new growth that has sprouted from the deep roots he and my Aunt cultivated in their 65 years of marriage. We said goodbye to what many of us felt like was a giant in the family, but with a closer look his presence remains in so many of those sitting around the table sharing stories while looking through old family photos: my aunt who has become the person she is because of who he was, his children who not only resemble him in appearance but also in character, and it continues on in his grandchildren and great grandchildren because of the man he was. And me, his niece and Goddaughter; I feel honored that my life intersected with his.

Requiescet in pace.

Speaking of littlest ones, our first hike of the week began with our littlest, W. We grabbed him on a warm and sunny day to join us on a hike around the school across the street from his house. We’ve had some decent length walks around that school, but today was a different story. W. was far more interested in chatting while pushing away on his scooter, showing us how fast his new shoes were, rearranging orange parking cones, and collecting landscaping rocks than actually progressing froward. It Was Great! We learned that there are many kinds of sidewalks, the one we were on was bumpy. He also told us God was good, and something or someone was bad but we didn’t really ever get that sorted out. Chatting with a child riding on a scooter offers a new set of challenges. It was once we were off the bumpy sidewalk and to the parking lot that we were shown just how fast these shoes were, he ran back and forth. A few yards further we discovered some cones that were mistakenly left in the middle of what I can imagine was the parent pick up line, and W. had a blast spacing them out, weaving around them while running then neatly stacking them up for the Monday drop off-line. Then cool landscape rocks were discovered and collected. And before long he announced he missed mom and dad and it was clear we would not be looping around the school but instead returning home the way we had come. We didn’t get to record much distance for this hike, but it was time very well spent with our grandson. We learned a lot.

Our next hike this week took us back to Eagle Creek. So many great trails to choose from. This week we chose my favorite, the entire loop trail around the bird sanctuary. The pelicans were no longer taking a respite in their journey. They have moved on, but two other species we spotted on this visit were Coots swimming near the shore and Cormorants perched high in the trees. Coots look like black colored ducks but when I looked up information about them I learned that they are not a duck species. They actually share more chicken characteristics than duck. This was our second experience with Cormorants. A couple years ago we learned first-hand that these are dirty nuisance birds, when a flock of Cormorants took up residency in a tree in the front yard at Higgins Lake for a couple weeks. It was a far better encounter seeing these birds from a distance than when they were unwelcome guests in Michigan.

This loop trail slopes down to water level and circles the protected area where these interesting bird sightings have occurred. On the south end of the loop the trail ascends back into the woods, then when it levels out again it winds along the upper edge of the sanctuary. Because the trees have not leaved out yet the view overlooking the reservoir is great. We also were treated to a blanket of bloomed daffodils on the forest floor.

That’s it for this week’s adventures. We packed what we could into the couple dry days this week. So nice to shed the winter coats for shorts and t-shirts but that also means rainy season is here too. I’m reminded of a Mother Goose rhyme from my childhood:

March Winds and April Showers Bring Forth May Flowers. We are getting all three in one month.