A story in preparation for Earth Day, April 22, 2012
I stand looking through the picture window at the pond behind the house. The small nature raft in the middle of the small pond is peopled with Canadian geese preening in the mid-morning sun. To their left, three or four ducks paddle across the pond – but something is different.
They’re moving much faster than usual. They don’t seem frightened; they’re just moving faster.
Then I see why. A muskrat is chasing them – ten yards or so behind. I’ve seen this before – mallards and muskrats playing a game of catch us if you can. Speed up, slow down, speed up. Nobody ever catches anybody and nobody ever gets caught. They just chase and get chased. It’s play.
As the mallards paddle past the raft with the muskrat in hot pursuit, the muskrat makes a sudden 90 degree turn, races at full speed and leaps up for the raft, the geese flapping their wings, scattering in flight just as the muskrat lands and springs into the air. A flying-muskrat in hot pursuit, an air-Jordan muskrat suspended in mid-air, a flying goose wanna-be, leaping and laughing for joy. Muskrat heaven! Sheer unadulterated play.
I envy the muscrat, the ducks and the geese today. I know I’m making the story up, but the story I tell speaks aloud a yearning for more playfulness. An enjoyment of each other with natural games that keep away the boredom and challenge our pretensions.
Nature raft with Mallards
I watch the pond a lot these days to learn about myself and us. Oh, I know! There’s also terror and danger in that pond – the snapping turtle lurks beneath the surface, the fox roams the edges, and my neighbor sometimes stands on his deck with his shotgun aimed at the little muskrat who dares to burrow his home under his manicured lawn. But today all of that is beside the point – upstaged by ducks and geese and a muskrat in self-forgetful play. I stand looking through the window and give thanks for quacking mallards, honking geese and a funny little creature whose muskrat heaven restores my natural sense of play and joy.
Views from the Edge 
I miss my Mexican hammock. I had it strung up under my 2nd floor porch. It was my little place of heaven, out of the direct sun and within earshot of a myriad of avian species. I could immerse myself in the sound of the back meadow birds while lying on my back. When we moved to Chaska, my hammock had no roost and this became a huge loss. My new home was a “better” place, but had no space for my hammock. I’ve always talked about putting up big anchor hooks on opposite walls in my home office….for the hammock, of course, but my “muskrat-loving nature-boy” of a husband won’t let me (yet?). Not high credentials for an Earth Day guy?
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Nature girl won’t find birds or muskrats in her office, even on Earth Day. Two dogs will have to do. So sorry about the hammock. 🙂
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I love this. The way you tell it, that sense of play and the joy are catching. I felt it all the way through.
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Thanks, Sparks. It was a moment of PURE delight. I stood at the window amazed and laughing. That muskrat IN THE AIR must have travelled 20 feet! A flying muskrat! What a sight!
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Posts like this remind me how much of a city-boy I am…I got little bits of nature and wildlife in my upbringing, but beyond the zoo and ducks and geese at a park, I was deprived. I’ll have to make a concerted effort to make sure my daughter doesn’t suffer the same affliction…
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There really is nothing like it. We go to the Boundary Waters Area Canoe Wilderness in N. Minnesota for the quiet. Nothing but nature. No motor boats. Just canoes and kayaks. If you can find a place that, you and your daughter will quickly fall in love with nature undisturbed by “the superior” species.
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Great story — more play. Keep the messages coming; I might be able to get into it … What a belssing that would be!
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The Canadian Geese and their families are all over the place now. Everybody complains about the mess they make and what a pain it is to have to stop and let them cross the road. I complain too when they start in front of my car. But by the time they have all waddled across I am relaxed and smiling and enjoying the sight. It would be a sad commentary if I couldn’t just enjoy the few minutes nature has provided..free of charge.
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That’s what happens when you move from Maine. You forget about nature. 🙂 Enjoy.
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I love nature stories that give the critters credit for a good day. Today I positioned my old reliable lawn chair (old reliable means it was old back in 1968 when I used it in the redwood forest). I put the chair in the sun beam and the scurry at my feet was daddy robin… not taking flight. I take it as a compliment that I don’t bother him. I had thought that the cold spell might have been trouble for the eggs in the usual nest on top of the light fixture under the protection of the roof. Nope… the babies pop they little heads up for daddy’s feeding. After some stillness… the birch branch behind my head lowers to touch me. I turn and it’s Ms squirrel checking out the scene… about two feet from me head.
Here is my squirrel story. Kathy keeps the front yard birds in premium feed. Nothing but the best for the cardinals, chickadees, doves, blue jays, and wood peckers. So she thinks. Soon after she drives off to work the muscle moves in… squirrels. The feeders are waving and swinging from their weight. I tell Kathy that after they have eaten for a couple hours, they lean back and smoke cigars.
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Great stories, Robert. That Daddy Robin must know when to trust someone – maybe it’s the old old chair. I don’t think so. And the squirrels…smoking Panatellas…or Cuban cigars. I'[ll be over.
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