Around The Corner
Waterfowl and Water Havens
August, the hottest month of the year is especially so in Florida. We expect it. Our up-north friends do not come in droves now. August is a slower pace and quieter time for most Floridians. Even the workaholics among us seem to slow down in August.
Personally, I find that it is the best time to get out on the road and enjoy some day trips before the roads start filling up again in late autumn. Finding a placid body of water to sit beside is one of my favorite activities.
Some years ago, our friends Dan and Christa gave us a book: "A guide to field identification birds of North America." I confess Johnny and I are hard-pressed to remember most of the bird's names we check out in that book's pages, regardless we enjoy observing the waterfowl that call these tranquil places home. I must say I discovered in the book, with some intrigue, that these feathered creatures come from fancied named "families" such as Anatidae and Ardeidae. Our Florida treasures, the colorful flamingos sport the family name of Phoenicopteridae. Regardless of fancy heritage they prance, they dance, some saunter, some wade, and they make their amusing sounds. They simply entertain us by being what they are -- bird creatures.Late in the 1800s, many birds of attractive plumage, such as the great egrets, nearly faced extinction due to hunters, who trapped them to use their feathers to adorn ladies' hats. How fortunate these graceful creatures are today because they are protected from such vanity.
I have a photograph I took of a great heron that I titled, "The Strutter." Johnny and I sat by Lake Morton, in Lakeland, as we took one of our day trips, when I snapped him. Lake Morton, a special reprieve in the heart of downtown Lakeland, located across from the Chamber of Commerce, is not really known for its herons. Graceful swans are the birds of which Lakeland boasts. I have many pictures of those beauties, too, both white and black. However, a fine heron caught my attention and my camera lens that day. As he strutted near the lakeside, he seemingly splashed diamonds along the bank, as the sun shone on the water. His likeness graces the desktop of my computer. Every day he brings me pleasure; a moment in time saved from one hot Florida August afternoon a couple of years ago.
The opportunity to snap his antics came and went so quickly. I only had the chance for one frame and he was gone. He did not hang around for posing. The experience with the handsome heron makes me think of one of the reasons that I enjoy lakesides is so that I can daydream.
As a child, I recall early-grade teachers who often brought my wandering mind back to attention in class, "Now, Betty Ann, enough daydreaming." Of course, they did not know that a writer dwelt inside me -- and neither did I in those days.
I held sort of a hidden-away guilty feeling about my penchant for daydreaming until not too many years ago I came across a quote by Edgar Allan Poe, "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only at night." Those 18 words rid me of my guilt.
Relaxing by a lake, pond or any other body of water offers me more than the opportunity to snap pictures, it provides me time alone with my husband, time for reflection together and time for creative writing. Seldom do I sit by a body of water that I leave without a new poem or develop an idea in my mind for yet another article, column or story. Sometimes I employ this quiet time to write letters or address greeting cards, especially to friends who may need encouragement. I cannot say that the lakes given to summer boating fun give me as much enjoyment. I like tranquility when I need restful time away, void of noise. Lakes for boating, I will enjoy at another time, another place.
Another August is here and I am yearning to get going on a day trip again. Do you have a favorite water haven where you find getaway moments? If you are willing to share your favorite, please e-mail me. §
Betty Kossick has been a freelance writer since 1971. She lives in Ocala and considers herself a poet at heart. She can be contacted at bkwrites4u@cfl.rr.com.
