Living Green
Beautiful Local Boardwalks
By Bryan Hayes
Walking into the nature center on a bright sunny south Florida Sunday what could be any better? There was truly not a cloud in the sky, and the wetlands looked even more beautiful than the last time I was here. The boardwalk was already filled with guests walking, meandering or simply standing there taking in all the natural beauty.
“Is that a bird sitting atop that gentleman’s hat?” I thought to myslef.
Looking over to my right, there sat a bird standing on his baseball cap not moving as guests walked by, and the man simply stood there. Of course, people stopped as they approached wondering, I’m sure, if they were seeing thing I was seeing. That bird seemed to be posing.
According to the man, his name was Mike, he is a male bird who has a girlfriend that has been building a nest. Whenever Mike visits, the bird recognizes him and flies to the top of his hat so he can show off for his girlfriend. As a regular visitor he has been able to build a relationship with the bird. If the bird, for some reason, does not realize that he is there, he is able to call the bird to him.
The question he gets all the time is if he feeds the bird, and his answer is that he does not. Many would think that the bird is conditioned with food to seek him out, but he simply knows the bird well enough through repition of visits. And, I would also say a very heightened degree of connectivity with the animal kingdom.
The lesson for me was two-fold: one is that you never know what you might see when you get out in nature. Two, if we only forgo fear we can truly have some pretty amazing conversations with people. I like to talk to just about everyone, no matter where I am at. This has added so much value, not only to this trip, but to most everywhere I go because I meet the most fascinating people all the time.
There is something rather amazing about getting out in nature, and for me, Mike really is Living Green. When someone says they want to be ”one with nature,” I am not sure how much more connected you can get than being able to have that sort of connection with a wild bird.
If you have not yet ventured out and seen some of the breathtaking places that are right here in your back yard I will recommend two for you. They are the Peaceful Waters Sanctuary and the Wellington Envrionmental Preserve. Peaceful Waters is located at the south east corner of VillagePark, is a 26 acre wetlands park that includes 1,500 feet of elevated nature boardwalks. There is also one mile of walking trails. The park features an assortment of displays illustrating the variety of animals and plant species native to South Florida.
The Wellington Environmental Preserve, located at 3499 Flying Crow Road, is 365-acre facility. It includes a boardwalk, paved pedestrian trails, horse trails and learning centers, including a six-story observation tower.
Bryan Hayes is an actor, amateur photographer, business consultant and full-time lover of all things living. To check out more from Bryan Hayes, please visit his blog at:http://outofthehaze.wordpress.com/