- Alyson Laura
- May 3
- 1 min read
The river bends have dried up so that the upper and lower lakes are no longer connected. The gators are gone from the familiar hang outs. I didn’t see any, which was very surprising. Typically Myakka River State Park is a place where you are guaranteed to see a gator or a dozen!Â
The other sentinel of the river was present, Great Blue Heron, one of my favorite birds. She is tall and elegant, like myself. A patient observer. Loves to be in water. Similar to the gators, they seem to have territories that they claim and hunt exclusively. I’m fascinated by the unspoken boundaries that appear to exist in nature.
The plants are giving their final salutes in what feel like desperate attempts to catch the last breath of Spring before Summer bakes us all in unrelenting radiation. Some coreopsis still hang around sharing their cheerful yellow faces with glee. What catches my eye most are the thistle taller than me and yucca sending stalks up over the scrub line like surrender flags rising over the trenches. I’m beginning to mark time and season in the behavior of plants and animals. Thats the most beautiful part of developing a relationship ith one spot, the awareness of seasonal patterns. Like looking forward to a good friend who visits at the same time every year.
