JOURNAL 131 - DEJA-VU

Nov. 4 / 05

Another morning of pounding rain, reconnecting with the past, and a white bird. Sounds like a rerun of yesterday, but today I was heading south, despite the torrential monsoons. My destination was Lake Cowichan, my alma mater of over 40 years ago. I was hesitant at first. After all, none of the current staff was even born when I was a student there. But, I was bearing gifts - 2 free copies of my book. I don't know if it were the free gift, my connection from the past, or both; I was received with open arms and even invited to return to give a talk to their photography class. It was a warm and fuzzy way to start the day.

Duncan was next as I had the urge to hit a bucket of balls at the driving range. What a surprise to see a white bird foraging for earthworms! Okay, I'm kidding. From the bcvanisland website, I knew the Cattle Egret would be there, and my timing was perfect. The rain was just stopping, and there was no one practicing. I asked the attendant for permission to go take some pictures and was kindly welcomed. In fact, she even asked me to send her some pictures. Just like yesterday with the Snow Bunting, I was in bird heaven. I had the Cattle Egret to myself for a whole hour. I set up at about 50'. The Egret sensed no threat and continued to dine on earthworms to within 35'. Getting all the pictures I wanted was great, but to me, the best part was the special communion felt when sharing the same space with a wild bird. It was priceless. The bird was still foraging peacefully when I left. However, I'm worried about its safety as a driving range can be a dangerous place.



CATTLE EGRET GALLERY

"Ahh, there's another earthworm. This rain sure brings them up. I guess they need to shower sometime."

"Where to next? I think I've cleaned out this part of the driving range."

"Just shaking off the rain. Don't want to get waterlogged."

"Better check to see if my wings still work. I haven't been doing much flying lately."

"The wings feel pretty good. I should exercise them more often. It's a long way to Mexico."



BOOKS AVAILABLE AT

PARKSVILLE - QUALICUM - MULBERRYBUSH BOOKSTORES

NANAIMO - BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE

SAVE-ON FOODS (WOODGROVE)

SAVE-ON FOODS (COUNTRY CLUB)

CHAPTERS

FALCONER BOOKS

COLE'S

PORT ALBERNI - CLOCKTOWER GALLERY

COURTENAY - GRAHAM'S JEWELLERS

SIDNEY - VICTORIAN BIRD HOUSE

COMOX - BLUE HERON BOOKS

BOWSER - LIGHTHOUSE GIFTS

DEEP BAY -

SAANICH - WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED

VICTORIA - BOLEN'S BOOKS

MUNRO'S

CAMPBELL RIVER - CAMPBELL RIVER MUSEUM

DUNCAN - VOLUME 1 BOOKSTORE

CHEMAINUS - LITTLE SHOP OF NOVELS

LADYSMITH - SALAMANDER BOOKS (FRASER & NAYLOR)

NANOOSE - SCHOONER COVE MARINA

SOOKE - SOOKE HARBOUR HOUSE


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