If you have a bird nerd in your life, then you've heard the term "chasing". That means that you're trying to find a specific species of bird. Often, that bird was recently seen in an area and I find, as a birder, that my response is often either "cool, I saw it" or disappointed that I didn't get to see it. Rarely the excitement that I get when I discover something on my own. Ahhhh, misplaced expectations.
I'm getting better at just being open to whatever amazing thing nature wants to throw at me. Last Friday, Kristen and I went looking for Common Loons in the Quartz Creek drainage as part of a citizen science survey. In the three lakes we surveyed, we found two loons, one each in two of the lakes. Sweet!
But what we REALLY want to talk about was the amount of Calypso Orchids (or Fairy Slippers) that we saw! We easily saw a couple hundred of them along the way and became a wonderful game. An additional surprise was a bat (specifically a Long-eared Myotis) that was foraging along the lakeshore, swooping down to scoop up some water, then sneaking into a crack in some driftwood to take a nap.
There is something thrilling about the discovery. It's too easy to get wrapped up in a target animal or experience and miss the unique gift that the trail has to offer you on a given day. Disappointment can cast a long shadow.
I hope that, as you step out onto the trail this summer, that you not only find what you're chasing, but that you don't miss the joy of the gift right under your nose.
the trail awaits...
Jake and Kristen
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