Contribute To Your De-Stressing

I love when I feel de-stressed and most of the time it is my knitting and crochet that help me do just that. But there is another love that I've talked about that also de-stresses me, that is my love of animals and the outdoors. No I can't swim or bungee jump, but I sure can enjoy a walk in the park. There is something about a walk in a nice park that just calms the nerves. And if there are lakes or ponds it adds to that calmness.

I use to go to the park every other day with a friend and that would be our contribution to our weekly exercise program. Then she found a job - yeah for her and boo for me. I got lazy because I had to go by myself and I stopped. I started walking again around my complex with another person that lives here. But there was something missing.

Through the winter I did not walk because I am not a go out in the cold and walk kind of person. So when the summer came along I said that I wanted to start visiting the park again. At the first park there were rabbits and birds, no lakes nor ponds. I wanted to try a park that was nearer to me. Well, I was glad I did. There are rabbits, turtles, swans, geese, ducks, and several different types of other birds. But the best part of all is that the swans, ducks, rabbits and geese all had babies.






I really enjoy my walks there. Seeing wildlife in action is a beautiful thing. Watching them swim, care for their young, the ducks are so funny as they glide in the water when they come in for a landing, and hearing the beautiful sounds of bird calls as they talk to each other. They can make you laugh.

I was watching one duck trying to eat this piece of hard bread. Maybe it was a pizza crust or piece of bagel, but I could tell that it was hard. He couldn't eat it that way so he took it in his mouth and carried it over to the water, dunked it in the water and he ate the pieces as they got soft enough for him to eat.

I tell people that you don't have to love animals to respect them. Respect where they live and know that we need to share this space called earth. It's far from perfect for them and for us. But it sure would be a lost without these wonderful creatures that we enjoy watching. We can learn so much from them. Just seeing their determination to continue living despite the ruination of their environment for food supply and living space is an encouragement for me.

So the next time you want to de-stress yourself think of going to your local park and see what you can find there to enjoy, admire, and respect. Have a wonderful day.