CLEVELAND METROPARKS

Today, Chuck and I headed to Rocky River Reservation near Big Met Golf Course. It’s not a new spot for us, but we went earlier than usual since it’s supposed to be very hot today and Chuck struggles in the heat. When we got out of the car, the grass was still wet with dew. In open fields and marsh areas, the morning sunlight was bright and warm, but the woods were still cool and quite dark.

I worked with manual settings again. It’s funny how I feel afraid to leave the safety net of automatic settings behind. It’s like swimming for the first time without any buoyancy. I’m afraid a great shot will present itself and I will miss it because I haven’t chosen the right settings. It sounds silly to say that I’m “afraid”, but I don’t know how else to describe it. In fact, when I think about it, learning new things always requires one to overcome some element of fear.

Actually, when you are a total novice, it’s relatively easy to start learning something because you have no real expectations of yourself and you can excuse errors because of your inexperience. Once you have a bit of experience, however, you start to expect a certain level of performance and you’re afraid to try new things or admit ignorance because you develop this feeling that there are things you “should” know or “should” be able to produce.

I did miss a number of great shots today. I had an amazing opportunity to get a close up of an indigo bunting, which is a beautiful very blue bird. The picture I ended up with is so dark it’s not even worth sharing. I also had a chance at a baby muskrat, but I missed it while I was fiddling with my settings.

Still, I did get some great shots of wood ducks and a deer in the river. I like the details you can see in the birds. Zoom in on the wood duck and look at her eye; she has a bright yellow ring around it, which I never noticed before. I also like the way the morning light looks so golden; you can feel it chasing away the nighttime shadows and ushering in the day.

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I love cardinals. The male’s rich red color makes him easy to spot, but he’s hard to photograph. The female cardinal is a light brown with an orange beak. Her muted colors make it easier for her to hide from predators. I still haven’t managed to get a decent photo of a female. They are very shy!

I see these birds every day, but I don’t know much about them, so I looked them up. Cardinals are Ohio’s state bird. But did you know they are also the state bird for six other states!? Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia all have the cardinal for the state bird.

I also learned that both male and female cardinals sing. I guess it is not common for female song birds to sing, but the female cardinal does. She often sings while sitting on the nest. It’s thought that she is communicating with the male to let him know when to bring food.

Cardinals live in Ohio year round, so you can see them any time. I can’t wait to try to photograph them in the snow!

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In the Rocky River Reservation, the Valley Parkway crosses the Rocky River near Memorial Field.  Every year, swallows nest under the bridge.  Chuck loves to poke her head through the railing atop the bridge to watch them flit in and out.

We hiked down along the river and up to Stinchcomb before circling back to a trail that leads under the bridge.  A parade of little adobe houses clung to the underside of the bridge.  Cliff swallows were busy attending to the nests.  But I also noticed that house sparrows had taken up residence in the neighborhood.  They let the swallows do the work of nest building and then swooped in and took the homes for themselves.  

I always thought of the sparrows as sweet, delicate little birds.  I was so disappointed to learn that they are a non-native species introduced from England in the late 1800’s.  They compete with other cavity nesting birds like swallows and bluebirds and they are known to attack the other birds and kill their young to take their nests.

I will never feel quite the same way about a house sparrow again!

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I love to travel. I like to explore new places, hear new languages, eat new foods. I like the way travel can challenge my ideas about things and inspire me with novel beauty. I also love coming home after a trip. Being away helps me see my home in a new light. It helps me appreciate things I may have taken for granted.

Today, Chuck and I were in familiar stomping grounds in the Rocky River Reservation. Now that summer is in full swing, the air is thick with the smells of growing things. Ponds that were full of fresh clear water in the spring are now drying up a bit. The algae is blooming on the surface and the mud at the edges is starting to stink.

It’s harder to spot the birds and animals now that the foliage is so thick. Some of the baby birds we watched in the spring have already grown and left the nest. Others, like the wood ducks, still hover around their mothers, but they are noticeably bigger and stronger than when we saw them last.

As we walked the trails today and checked in on our forest friends, I felt happy to be home. I felt blessed to have these amazing parks at my doorstep. I felt happy to walk with Chuck again. I know she is happy to be back to our routine as well!

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