PBW: Sanctuary Birds

I can’t remember the last time I attended a parade as a spectator rather than as a participant. My best guess would be about twenty years. Today’s Photo Blog Wednesday therefore won’t contain any of the sights I saw at yesterday’s Fourth of July celebration, since I was too busy being in the middle of it, but I do have a public service announcement for the residents of Massapequa who came out to show their support. While we appreciate your efforts in trying to cool down weary musicians and fire fighters, I should point out that water stains brass, ruins regulation uniforms, and warps reeds and sheet music, so please, please don’t turn the hoses on us next year. It isn’t helping. Of course, if your intention was to chase us off your road because you didn’t want us there, then all I can do is clear my throat and say “our bad.”

So, that was Tuesday. But Monday, I took advantage of some time off to visit a place I’d driven past many times, but never actually stopped at, although my mom claimed I was there as a toddler. I never knew how far back the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary went, and how much life could be found on the trails next to the historic cemetery that serves as Roosevelt’s final resting place. Hawks, owls, chipmunks, insects and more entertained me before gathering clouds threatening rain forced me to reluctantly leave. There’s nothing quite as peaceful as being in the woods, surrounded by the sounds of nature with the sounds of automobiles faint, distant and at times silent.