Life near and far
Favorite photos from April 2025
The real world and what it offers
Sometimes I get busy and forget how easy it is to make myself feel happier and healthier by just stepping out the door. But this past month I’ve been trying to get back in the habit of daily walks outside. Most of them take place within two parks, both of which are less than a mile from my home. I see all kinds of life on these walks, so I’m always stopping to snap photos. Some are good; most are not. But they help me remember what I’ve witnessed and also give me something to share with you all.
I hope you enjoy the images, and I hope they remind you how there is a whole world outside our artificial human constructs of work and stress and political toxicity. It’s good to go there now and then. Bathe in the green woods. Make eye contact with a being who knows nothing of your daily worries. Breathe in. Breathe out. Put one foot in front of the other. Relax.
A sad story
The other day I saw this ball of fur down near the lake in Mohawk Park. I went closer to take a look, and saw this raccoon, unmoving with its head pressed against the ground. I’d seen this sort of thing once before and wondered what might be wrong with the racoon. It was clearly alive but unaware of its surroundings. It turns out this is a symptom of the canine distemper virus, to which raccoons are susceptible. It gives them very painful headaches, and that’s why they press their head against the ground. Unfortunately, it’s usually fatal. There wasn’t much I could do for the poor raccoon, so I called animal control and let them know of the situation.
My only hope is that it enjoyed feasting on the large fish that was lying on the ground nearby before its headache set in.
A scary/funny story
There’s a place not far from my house where I like to sit and watch life on the Cedar River. Long ago, someone set up a fire ring of stones there, and there’s a large flat one that is the perfect height for sitting and looking out over the river. I have seen so much life there. All kinds of birds (geese, ducks, pelicans, eagles, swallows, falcons, etc.), many deer, turtles, and once when I was sitting there a mink swam across the water and climbed up onto the shore less than ten feet from me. It looked at me curiously, then got back into the water and swam away.
The other day I walked out to this point and sat on my favorite rock, and suddenly I heard a loud hissing right behind me. As I jumped and turned to see what made the noise, I saw some kind of creature moving behind me. Before I knew what the monster was, I screamed out loud and jumped away. Then I realized it was just a mother goose, sitting on her nest of eggs, warning me that I was too close for comfort.
So, I wished her a good day and walked down the shoreline to another sitting spot, only to be confronted by another hissing mother goose. I gave up. I figured they could take over that area for a little while, and soon I would be rewarded by the sight of fuzzy goslings waddling around.
Here’s another site that startled me on one of my walks.
Someone who currently lives in a tent near a stream I sometimes visit had set up this dummy to warn people away from their campsite. I had seen their tent before, but I wasn’t sure if it was occupied. This guy and the laundry hanging up to dry nearby answered that question.
A young hawk learns to hunt
I watched this young red-tailed hawk fly toward this tree in an attempt to catch a squirrel. I think it would have liked to eat it for breakfast, but the hawk was inexperienced. The squirrel seemed more curious than worried, actually climbing up the tree to get a closer look at the hawk.
A couple weeks later, on a family walk near the same spot, my daughter saw a red-tailed hawk chasing after something else. I don’t know if it was the same one looking older, or maybe its parent, but this one was more successful. It’s hard to see because the light was low, impacting the photo quality, but in the third picture this one is munching on a snake.
The return to color
Late April has brought the return of green to my neck of the woods. I’m also seeing more colorful birds, like this goldfinch below.
April started in Honduras
In early April, Emmy and I took a long weekend to visit Roatán, an island of Honduras. It was a lovely trip. I would never do this, but here are a few of the living things I wish I could have brought back with us.
May might be my favorite month to live in Iowa
Or maybe it’s October. Both are great, because it’s so very pleasant to be outside as the season changes. I’m sure I’ll have many new photos to share next month. Until then, thanks for joining me on this journey!
Courtney
