Bats began flying in to eat bananas that had been
left out for the birds. First there was one bat, then two and then
many. They zoomed hither and yon, sometimes mere inches from my head.
What amazing aerial acrobats they are with their trademark erratic
flight patterns.
Only a few feet away, inside the house, guests were
chatting with the proprietor, completely unaware of the bat dance
occurring just outside the open patio doors.
I really wanted to share this experience with Max,
but my sense was to sit still and just observe the beauty. They
careened near and far, but were never completely out of sight.
Eventually I decided to summon the others. Could the
bats really avoid me even at very close range I wondered? Being careful
to move deliberately on a straight path I went inside to summon Max and
the others. I quickly realized that the bats had gone. I waited and
they did not return. Had they merely finished the available food and
moved on to the next dinner? I don't know.
My lesson from nature here is that sometimes nature
gives us a gift that is just for us. It is to be appreciated and
marveled at in solitude. It is a gift that is for our eyes only.
Today, we were wading in the water in Lake
Washington. This is one activity I find very relaxing and we believe it
resembles the Austrian "Wassertrete" system. Water that runs off from
the mountains in Austria is captured in large metal pans called
"Wassertrete". They are established throughout the country for people
to walk in as a form of hydrotherapy.
So as I was walking along, looking at shells, I
looked down and noticed a salmon swimming next to me. Of course I
immediately went into a deep spiritual and reverent place which
included yelling loudly "It's a salmon! It's a salmon!" To which Max
responded "It's a what?" This led me to yell even louder - very
spirutally, of course.
Anyway, once our communication was successful, Max
came to see him. He swam along the shore and we walked right next to
him. He came as close as 18 inches sometimes. Other times he darted
out, but before long he would return and continue his walk with us. He
stayed with us until we reached a place where the land juts out and the
water is too deep for waders. He continued his journey northward and we
stood watching him swim away in wonder.