Park Friends

I was walking in the park 

and this guy waved at me. 

Then he said, 

“I’m sorry, 

I thought you were someone else.” 

I said, 

“I am.” 

~ Demetri Martin

I love my parks...especially those along Nolan Creek.

And we have a community - the dog walkers, the parents with kids, the joggers, the serious walkers (they keep up a fast pace), the not-so-serious walkers (like the ones taking just one more photo of the heron), and more. There are some (not many) wandering through who trigger a "warning" in my gut. So, I stay alert. But most of the park patrons smile and waive or greet each other with a "Good Morning." The regulars might even stop for a little conversation before moving on.

I am not invisible here. These days I blend in most places and I joke that after 60 one becomes invisible. But I am known by the company I keep and Zelda is a rock star. Kids love her. Little old men and little old ladies love her. And she loves everyone. So, there is more interaction than I might otherwise expect. Zelda is my social secretary.

We arrived a little late the other day and our friends, the park workers, were already on the job. One particular guy is there often and is always friendly and thoughtful.* He stops mowing or edging or whatever to let us walk past - protecting us from dust and rocks kicked up and noise. He was mowing at the parking area and stopped as we got out of the car. While he was wearing a dust mask we knew it was him and waived. Then I motioned with the camera and he nodded. So here he is:

One of our park friends....and I'm giving a little credit where credit is due.

The bird lady has been keeping some late hours and we ran into her too. She moves along at a brisk pace, but will talk to you if you can keep up. She's amazing. 

I know she is a private person, but I caught her framed by one of the bridges.  The shot spotlighted her without disclosing her identity.  On this day I watched as the ducks and geese approached for breakfast. Some ducks were noisy. The geese are always pretty obnoxious. But some of the ducks approached politely and she talked to them as they walked over for the cracked corn and other treats. I teased her once and asked if she had named all the foul fowl. "No," she said. "Just the cats."

Am I crazy or does this have a "churchy" vibe?

Our late days have also introduced us to another busy person along the creek. I'm not sure if he is a park worker or if he's employed by the businesses across the way. I'm not really sure what he is doing either, but he's got a "snort."**

See? It's a "snort."

Exciting things have been happening. The trees are budding out. A few of the little wildflowers are blooming. The crows and hawks are busy building nests (more on that later). And a few new birds are showing up.  We have missed a good deal of the activity as the viruses moving through the area have settled at our house for far too many days (most of February). But we are all feeling better and we know we must get out and observe before the spring foliage makes it all but impossible to see the birds.***

I leave you with two other park friends. I don't know if the "bird lady" has named these cats, but we have. You have seen there here before. Don't you love 'em?

Bob. I'm not sure if he is a park cat or a church cat. He does appear to be a grumpy cat.

The Boyfriend napping in the parking lot. It was cloudy, but one of the warmer days we have had.

NOTES:

*Actually, I don't think I have met any of the city workers here who wasn't polite while hard at their jobs. They don't waste any time chit-chatting, but they always acknowledge you and avoid impeding you. The park has lost some large trees/tree limbs that blocked the path following recent rough weather/floods. The downed trees do not block the path for long. These folks don't mess around. 

**From Are You My Mother by P. D. Eastman.

***We are getting better at "birding by ear," but we are still primarily dependent upon photo identification in dealing with the ridiculous numbers of "little brown birds."

Final Note: Some years ago there was a bicycle chained to a tree in one of our neighborhood parks. It was there for weeks. That bike was a bit of a mystery. It became a character in our adventures. Then one day it was gone. 

The sight of this bike hidden behind some bushes near the creek took me back to those days. It and it's owner (one of the people I was watching carefully) were around only a couple of days. No mystery here.

 

Blue bicycle.