When
I'd initially planned to do a two-part series on animals, I'd wanted
to use this second post to discuss the animals I'd seen on my trip to
Oregon the first weekend of March 2012. Considering that we're
currently in the middle of April 2012, that idea is clearly moot.
But I think I'll still work off the basis of that idea, rather than
the specifics.
Whenever
I travel, I see more wildlife than expected. While some animals and
birds are seen on a regular basis, I have learned never to expect to
see them. If I expect them to appear, like it's an obligation on
their part, they don't show and I tend not to see them for a while.
And I've learned to accept that, because it's not an obligation on
their part to show themselves to me.
I
always see certain animals, just by virtue of the Pacific Northwest
being part of their home territory: crows, gulls, ducks, grebes,
cormorants. The closer I am to the Sound or the Columbia River, the
more likely I am to see herons, egrets, eagles [both bald and
golden], and ospreys.
More
rarely, I've seen harbor seals, sea lions, and even an orca out in
the Sound while traveling between Tacoma and Olympia. At least, I
think I saw the orca. But I've learned over the years that the
initial impression I get when seeing animals is the one I'm meant to
have, and I take the messages that they give me. Even if I later
figure out that it was a completely different animal [primarily
happening with the birds], I stick with that initial gut instinct
impression and work from there. The harbor seals always seem to
welcome me back home, rather than to send me off to Oregon.
Now,
to be honest, some of the highlights of the Oregon trip last month
that still give me chills to remember. For example, I counted at
least two hundred Canada geese within a roughly five-mile stretch
along the tracks heading out of Tacoma. I'll be honest and say that
I lost track around one ninety-five, but I know there were more than
two hundred total. This all took place between the Tacoma Amtrak
station and the pair of Navy ships moored nearby, definitely well
before we even got to Galloping Gertie and her boyfriend [the Tacoma
Narrows bridges].
Canada
geese hold a special place in my heart, and have ever since I lived
in Minnesota in my childhood and got to watch a small flock of wild
geese raise their babies. Thirty years later, I can still see those
little fluffy balls of feathers, beaks, and webbed feet navigating
the terrain to follow their parents into the water or back to the
safety of the nest. The lead pair of adults was named Templeton and
Serena, thanks to my adoration of E.B. White's books, but no one else
actually got names. They got so used to me over the course of that
spring and summer while the babies grew up. By the time they left
the pond, Serena had gotten close enough for me to grab her by the
neck if I'd so chosen. I didn't, of course, and still hold that
moment of communion between us as one of the dearest of my memories.
The
other really impressive thing that stuck with me all these weeks
since is the fact that I saw a trio of Roosevelt Elk somewhere
between Olympia and Kelso. I don't honestly remember the specific
location, though I think we were closer to Kelso, as they were along
the last stretches before the train really started to angle back
along the Columbia River toward Vancouver and Portland. They were
probably about thirty or forty feet from the train tracks, down in a
bit of a culvert, just happily browsing, and seemed not to notice the
train as we sped by.
I
always like to judge how my time in Oregon will be by the animals and
birds I see on the trip down. My trip this past weekend was
relatively uneventful, but I also ended up sleeping a lot, so may
have missed multiple opportunities to see my favorite animals and
their messages. This happens occasionally, and I don't look upon
such instances negatively. I usually just figure that my animal
friends and protectors are telling me I need to put myself first,
rather than them and their messages.
-- Sadie
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