I love where I live
and the joy that it gives:
Dundas, Ontario, it's Our Valley-Town,
Along Spencer Creek, where nature abounds.  
In my backyard, Great Beauty is found.

Though I didn't always know,
and I was sort of just a schmo;
For it was not but several years ago...
I'd trek along the trail,
oblivious to the snails.
Thumbs thumping iPhone,
iPod pop tunes, head down, 
and wrapped in my own private sound.  
iMind my iBusiness,
but now it seems I digress...

In my middle-aged Nowadays,
I listen to what the bird says,
the clamouring cicadas,
thundering and the creaky tree. 
The water is turning and churning,
that cascading creek, rushing those rocks!
If you really listen, you know that the creek truly talks.

When it's inspiration that I seek
I take myself out for a peek.
Sitting on a rock by a creek
I listen and hear nature speak.

I see.
And I'm in utter awe 
of many mighty, minuscule, meaningful moments:
Oh, dear! A deer
and me,
we
share a stare
while the hare hops and the squirrel goes over the bridge.

"You're an Artist. And it's a great place to Be," said the biker to the Dreamer.

And, just so you know
this is a true story,
more or less, or less is more...
Maybe it was all but a dreamer's dream,
or a poet's poem?

Here is the complete adventure in photographs:
https://www.facebook.com/missnikkirocks/media_set?set=a.10157099612965705.1073741878.605790704&type=3&pnref=story

I have been oblivious for such a long time, walking about, listening to my iPod.  I didn’t know what I had been missing.  For whatever reason, I recently found myself strolling along without my ear-buds in place and, to my pleasure, I discovered the sounds of nature – a cacophony of trills, cheeps, whistles, and calls, against the back-drop of the rushing water of Spencer Creek and the softly whooshing wind.  I was floored by how beautiful the sounds of nature can be.  And, if I listened closely enough, I could sort of tell from which direction the songs were coming from… I saw birds, and I stalked birds, and I took pictures of birds:

“Birds are nature’s most charismatic entertainers.  Clothed in brightly coloured plumage, they are lively and interesting to watch.  Endowed with the enviable power of flight, they are the embodiment of freedom.  And, apparent to all, they perform the natural world’s finest music… Bird songs are among the finest expression of nature’s orchestra – their music lifts our spirits, celebrates each dawning day, and heralds the passing of the seasons.  Whehter we live in cities, suburbs, or country areas, birds are always there to greet us if we allow ourselves the time to watch and listen.”   (from, Common Birds and their Songs, by Lang Elliott and Marie Read, 1998)

It seems a little ridiculous, now, that I have downloaded sounds of nature onto my iPod, including birds.   All I had to do was go outside and LISTEN!  (Sometimes, I’m a little slow on the uptake!)

Ah, the joys of Spring – a time of new beginnings and new discoveries…
Take time to Listen to the Birds!