Photos: Pre-Spring Wandering

Today's trip was a spur of the moment thing. We made the move from our comfort zone and traveled to Pond Creek W M A in Arkansas. The hawks were plentiful today and we spent some time with them on the way up to Pond Creek. The photographing started out slowly but started to pick up with some deer sightings. We checked out the usual gator holes since it was a warm day, however, the gators were hold up out of sight. The deer sightings increased with twenty-five plus sightings. We then started finding smaller critters (possum, raccoons, armadillos, etc working the water filled ditches searching for insects and crayfish. The young armadillo decided to take a mud bath and I spent some time engrossed in it's activities. Soon afterwards the young possum emerged and was strolling along the ditches. I missed a couple of photographs of a huge hog and a couple of large coons.
It was great to be outside and in the presence of wildlife and nature once again. During the day we crossed paths with no other humans or heard the sounds of boom box music or sirenes. This is the live I love so much and wish to enjoy more of.

"Just Thinking"

“Simply with Nature”

By Dennis Waters

Life is a gift that should be treated as such. One should live each day as if there is no tomorrow, for there is no promise there will be another day.

My dream is to live a simple and honest life with no bickering and back -biting. I would enjoy living a more secluded life surrounded by mountains, streams and an abundance of wildlife. “Society speaks and all men listen, mountains speak and wise men listen (Muir)”  I would like to walk the back trails and along the streams with my camera and pups looking for no certain thing, just wandering.
On rainy (what some call bad days) I would kick back and study about all my wildlife sightings and write about my experiences in the woods. I guess one could say I would like to be like Muir and his associates (joined with others on an equal or nearly equal basis). I do not see it as such, I only want to be myself and follow the roads I desire to travel.
We spend life working, wanting, and wishing but never adventure away from an alleged security zone. We surround ourselves with people we refer to as friends, not truly knowing what the definition of “friend” really is. We lock our doors in order to be safe from other humans (friends and neighbors).
I once was ask why I enjoyed being with nature, my answer was and is; “Four legged animals have more ethics and morals than two legged animals.” If one spent time with the simple gifts we were given they would learn many great lessons of life and living in harmony with others.
However, we follow the yellow brick road that others have dictated we must travel in order to fit into the molds of a successful society of robots and experts. I would rather have simple knowledge than be that of an egotistical bastard that knows of only one subject. Life was destined to be simple, however “we the people” have taken charge and determined that we are the superior one and have far more knowledge than the one “what created us and the earth.”