Brief-Form Post #23: October 11, 2023 Visit to a Drought-Parched Bradford Creek!
I am pleased to offer the 23rd of my GBH Brief Form Posts (Less than three minutes to read!). I tend to get a bit long-winded with my routine Posts. I don’t want my enthusiasm for thoroughness and detail to discourage readers. So I will publish these brief Posts regularly.
I’ve tracked steady progress from my June 19, 2023, triple bypass surgery. Judy, Alabama grandsons Jack and Sam, and I enjoyed walking nearly 2.25 mid-afternoon miles on October 11 along the Bradford Creek Greenway in Madison, Alabama. I think at this early December date, I’ve achieved full recovery — hallelujah! It’s amazing what regular exposure to Nature and loving family can do to accelerate healing.
The Drought-Parched Creek
I’ve visited the Greenway scores of times since we moved permanently to Madison seven years ago. Every time, the creek has carried at least a minor flow, and occasionally I have witnessed the creek in flood, the greenway impassable. On this day, for the first time in my experience, only a dry bed greeted us.
We watched a great blue heron patrolling the few pockets of standing water, like those below left. Contrast the meager water to the normal winter flow below right.
Autumn Colors
We examined the first wave of emerging fall colors. Both poison ivy (left) and shining sumac presented red.
Sweetgum showed off its burgundy hue.
American persimmon (left) and smooth sumac carried a full load of ripe fruit.
Tall goldenrod’s deep yellow-gold competed with the best of fall foliage!
A fall break (for Sam and Jack) stroll revealed many secrets about the advancing season. So much lies hidden in plain sight. My hope is that these walks with grandparents will sow the seeds of Nature curiosity that will reach across their lives.
I accept the challenge of distilling these Brief-Form Posts to a single distinct reflection, a task far more elusive than assembling a dozen pithy statements. Today, I borrow a distinct reflection from Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer born in Salem, MA in 1804:
- I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.
NOTE: I place 3-5 short videos (15-seconds to three minutes) on my Steve Jones Great Blue Heron YouTube channel weekly. All relate to Nature-Inspired Life and Living. I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE! It’s FREE. Having more subscribers helps me spread my message of Informed and Responsible Earth Stewardship…locally and globally!
