Good Morning Barbara,

It’s hopeless!! Once again I had good intentions to just take a quick river look from the Trestle bridge. The intention encounter its first hurdle when I didn’t see the sleeping RUDDY DUCKS in their usual resting place after their night feeding.

Had they left or were just in an other spot? Told myself the migatory RUDDY DUCKS and their perky tails deserved further investigation and down the levee I went.

Noticing a bird-less water area by the Crescent bridge, I had to bend my plan again in the name of exploratory research and found the reason for the empty water spot: a male COMMON GOLDENEYE was setting his water boundary lines by torpedoing any bird that got too close for his comfort.

You be relieved to read that 2 RUDDY DUCKS were swimming hesitantly along the banks, keeping an alert eye on the crazed river neighbor. Well, the next compromise was due to making sure I had counted the 14 SNOWY EGRETS correctly. And then the remainder of the intention went down the river drain, because I saw a big bird sitting in the tree close to Laurel St bridge and I just had to find out who that was: the OSPREY in a Redwood tree.

On the way back I was contemplating the importance of the proper procedure for the Rotary Bike Park donation in the San Lorenzo Bench Lands in order to achieve a well thought out decision. Then I got absorbed watching the High Tide move its rippling water sheet up the river and its effect on the birds. The COOTS got a little nervous, some tried to out-swim or out-flutter the water sheet. BUFFLEHEAD & COMMON GOLDENEYE rode the waves self-assured while EARED and PIED-BILLED GREBES decided on avoidance dives.

This observation had me musing how the river does its quirky “things” according to its nature with no intention to entertain me. I just happen to be an enthralled witness to its story.  My thoughts meandered to the open secret that many people find the river a dull place and I wondered if the consumer life effects our approach to nature: she better deliver something quickly to our thrill receptors while we visit her. So I was occupied w/the questions: “Has nature become something that we consume for our pleasure, a resource for/to our thrills?” when Greg rode up. We dove instantly into a conversation about society’s tidy-ness concept versus nature’s messy process.

Finally returning to the Trestle, I witnessed the PEREGRINE landing with lunch clutched in the talons.

Perched mighty high, lunch was shredded, left overs kicked off the branch and a sated PEREGRINE looked down at me. The OSPREY arrived and kept circling over the trees, because his most favorite branch was occupied by 2 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS. At last he landed on his second favorite branch and I think I heard the OSPREY sigh.

So there you have my account of why my house stayed messy and laundry had to wait…

Enthralling river quirks greetings, jane