Friday, just before Shabbat started, I
decided to go for a walk along The Pacific Way Trail; I started at the upper
end of the Trail, just off 48th and walked 2.6 miles to 30th
… and 2.6 miles back to 48th.
Bob & I had walked this Trail for decades
– and we started at either end of the Trail. But I like this end because it is closer
to home, and we fed the ducks here with our grandson before everything went off
the rails the summer of 2018.
I can’t bring myself to feed the ducks just
yet, but I will eventually. The missingness of Bob and our grandson is just too
acute right now – I want to keep my emotions in check. Maybe in the Spring of
2021, if the demoncrats and their useful idiots have not annihilated America,
the ducks will still be here: and I will bring them heels of my homemade bread
again.
As the walk got underway off 48th, I saw that the ducks were settling in for the evening – gathering together, tucking their heads into their wings and bobbing gently on the water as the sun started slipping over the horizon:
Upper end of Pacific Way Trail; off 48th.
Creeping Water Primrose. Very aggressive aquatic plant that chokes the slough from Summer to Fall.
Mallard ducks, creating their own ‘island of rest’ among the water primroses.
Mallard Ducks; mama & youngsters. This year’s fledgling ducklings; next year they will have babies of their own in tow.
Rounding the bend and following the line of
the dike trail, it looked like someone had dug out a diversion channel to drain
into the slough …
Someone has dug out a diversion channel to drain into the slough …
It was a warm evening, but not unpleasantly warm.
It was just right for an evening walk. A bit further on, there was a group of Mallard
hens setting up for the evening on a small sand spit – their chosen island of
rest this shabbat evening. And just before I crossed the street at 42nd,
I caught sight of the wild white duck:
Ducks hunkered down for the evening on a small sand spit.
Rare wild White Mallard. Lower end of Dike off 48th – just before crossing street to golf course section of the trail.
Many hikers think this white
duck is a runaway domestic duck – but, it is actually a rare wild Mallard duck.
It is not an albino, but a true wild white duck: https://www.123rf.com/photo_38681349_pair-of-rare-wild-white-mallards-anas-platyrhynchos-at-riverbank-these-are-not-albinos-but-rather-a-.html
So far, it is the only one in this area.
As I crossed 42nd, and started
walking the middle section of the Trail, I was treading carefully: though this
is the shortest walk the entire trail, it gets dicey in this middle section ….
Walking the Trail - backside of Mint Valley Golf Course. Middle section.
Making it through ‘the gauntlet’ portion of
the Trail without any errant balls mishaps, I crossed 38th – and
started walking the longest stretch of the Trail, when I heard a splash to my
left and glanced in that direction. I was not prepared for what I saw! A big, fat,
muskrat was treading water!!
EEEWW! Lower section of Pacific Way Trail.
Some people think these ugly overgrown rodents
are cute – I do not; anything that resembles a rat, is in my opinion, to
be avoided.
According to science, muskrats are not relatives
to rats; they are overgrown “field mice”. Whatever they are, I don’t like
them; I’m not fond of field mice either.
As it scurried out of the water and waddled
into the underbrush on the other side of the slough … and I scurried along the
Trail; that stupid song, ‘muskrat love’ by Captain and Tennille ran through my
thoughts – and I didn’t particularly care for the Captain and Tennille either,
so it fit 😉
Making tracks quickly to put distance between
myself and that oversized ‘field mouse’, I saw more Mallard hens settling down
on an island of rest land bridge during low tide – and baby muskrats frolicking
in the sun-kissed waters as the sun started to make way for the moon; I tried
to think fondly of the babies playing in the cooling summer evening, but I just
couldn’t: I was repulsed as I walked by. I am sure these creatures play some
part in Yeshua’s grand scheme of Creation Plans that balances out Earth’s eco-structure,
but for the life of me, I don’t know what. The Great Blue Heron half
hidden in the creeping water primrose brought beauty back into my immediate
space …
Mallard hens on a land bridge at low tide. Lower section of Pacific Way Trail.
Baby muskrats. These things creep me out!
Mallard hens.
Great Blue Heron. Bob would have enjoyed seeing this.
When I reached the picnic table at the end of
the Trail on the lower end of the trail at 30th, I stopped for a
Shabbat rest – I was out for a leisurely Shabbat walk, there was no reason to
rush back to my car on 48th. There is no one waiting for me at home, and Yeshua is my husband now … and He was all around me; His master handiwork was
all around me in the display of nature that lay before me.
It was good to sit down and rest; surrounded
by the sounds and palette of nature, in the presence of my husband, who is Lord
of the Sabbath. There was no hurry to rush off in backtracking.
I claimed my little island of
rest for a while 😉
Mt. St. Helen’s Hiking Club Picnic table for community use at the end of the Trail on 30th.
When I started backtracking, I saw that ducks
had found convenient perches to claim as islands of rest also; and a heron was taking
a cooling respite in the evening’s sun-warmed waters:
Mallard hen on a rocky island; lower end of Trail.
Great Blue Heron flying off. Lower end of Trail.
Mallard hen standing on an island of tire someone threw into the slough.
Great Blue Heron. Lower end return walk back to car.
The middle section was busy with golfers who
had – from the inebriated voices drifting to me on the breeze – been sampling
drinks at the golf course clubhouse … but ‘the putting greens’ area where I was
walking, was thankfully vacant of golfers for the time being; so, I
watched a Great Blue Heron, and a Great Egret (spaced a couple paces apart)
for a few minutes 😊
Great Egrets are a
little smaller than the Great Blue Heron, but the real giveaway is the
color of the legs.
Great Egrets have thin dark beaks, and black legs; while Great Blue Herons have heavier beaks and much lighter legs. Herons also have “shaggier” feathers on their breast.
Great Egrets have thin dark beaks, and black legs; while Great Blue Herons have heavier beaks and much lighter legs. Herons also have “shaggier” feathers on their breast.
And at the end of the golf
course section, I saw that a waterlily blossom had appeared in the short span
of time I had walked this Trail …
Great Blue Heron - Golf Course section of Trail.
Great Egret – Golf Course Section of Trail.
Waterlilies. Golf Course section.
Waterlily Blossom; I've never seen waterlilies with leaves like this. Golf Course section.
By the time I ended the hike and reached the
Highlander, I was refreshed, relaxed, and comforted by the nature walk.
I was missing Bob alongside me during the
walk … but, Yeshua walked with me and delighted my senses with His handiwork. I
couldn’t help by think what a blessed woman I am to have been married to a man
who was excellent with his hands – as a lover, and a carpenter; Bob loved me
like a man with his hands, and Bob built a house and remodeled another; Bob
also designed and crafted the garden boxes I planted with veggies this year and
last year: his last love gifts to me. And my spiritual husband, Yeshua, created
the entire universe – including the Earth I live on, and enjoy on my nature
walks.
Yes, I thought as I drove home (my
personal Shabbat Island of Rest) to usher in the Shabbat as Jews/Messianic
Christians all over the world were doing (as I honored my flesh and blood
husband on setting time aside to spend with him only; so I also honor my
spiritual husband in setting this time aside for Him only), I am indeed a
blessed woman 😊
{{Exodus 20:8 – Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall
labor, and do your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God –
for in six days the Lord created the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that
is in them: and rested on the seventh day.}}
I am not going to argue with
anyone about whether a Christian should observe the
Sabbath or not – I DO because Yeshua DID. The Early Church DID. And Bob and I
DID … and I DO now.
