Yes, ALL of us!
Today we finished hike number eight of the Summit MetroParks Fall Hiking Spree. That means we’re done! Yay! All the confetti! But virtual confetti, because we don’t want to litter.
It was only in the 50’s today and overcast, which is not optimal fall hiking weather for me. (If it’s 50 and cloudy in the spring, I’m cavorting in the fresh air like I’ve never seen the sky before.) I wanted to get the final hike in before the time change this weekend since I am secretly a grandma who hates driving in the dark.
We hiked the Seneca Trail at the Seiberling Nature Realm. The nature center here is fun, but of course it was closed today. The flush toilets and sinks were open, though! (I will use an “abyss” toilet when I need to, but I don’t have to like it.)
On the way to the trail is a pond, and near the pond is a bench. Near the bench, in the trees and on the path, we saw so many birds– cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, and tufted titmice. I remarked to the kids that someone must have been sitting there feeding them earlier.
Hmmm. Foreshadowing, perhaps?
So we hiked and it was a beautiful trail. I declared it one of my favorites. The fall colors are maybe a little past peak but still pretty.
After finishing the hike, I asked the kids if they wanted to go back to the bird spot, sit really still on the bench, and maybe see the birds up close. Thomas said no, but everyone else wanted to, so we did.
As we approached the bench, Thomas said sadly, “Oh, there’s already people there!” As we got closer, we could see there was a man sitting there with bird seed in his hand and a woman next to him with a camera. The birds were eating seed right from his hand!
Another family was approaching them from the other direction so we stayed off a ways and watched from a distance. The man gave them some seed, saying it was time for him to go.
As the couple came to pass us near the pond, I told the man how we had noticed the birds before and guessed that someone had been feeding them. I said next time we would have to bring some bird seed! He said, “Oh, here, I’ll give you this!” and handed me an entire Ziploc bag of bird seed.
We went further down the path as he instructed (since the other family was still at the bench and the birds don’t like crowds), but really we just hung there and waited for the other family to leave. Once they were far enough away, we went to the bench. And then the magic happened.
You’ve seen Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds? “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins? The pigeon lady in Home Alone 2? This was nothing like any of that.
We sat still and quietly, hands full of seed. Timidly, they came. Slowly at first, then more quickly once they saw we could be trusted. (Well, most of us. One of us kept trying to pet them.)
We sat there for a long time. Everyone was reluctant to go, especially Thomas. It was such a peaceful thing, to watch these beautiful, delicate creatures so closely. So thank you, kind stranger, for the bird seed. It was genuinely one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten.
The Coffeeless Mom 