The Frog Hunters

 

Below normal temperatures with rains every day cause a lot of quiet walks in the woods for diehard hikers like myself. As soon as the temperatures warm up and the sun shines, the metro parks become alive with people.

Gone is the dead silence when the rustling of the leaves is noisy, the squirrels playing tag from tree to tree are screeching at each other and the rushing of the water in the creek can be heard long before you see it.

 Now the parking lots are filled with cars, picnic tables are loaded with food and people are roaming everywhere. 

Despite the increase in noise and people population, the beauty of the woods continues on. The streams continue to flow thanks to all the rains that kept the crowds away.

 

The Wildflowers continue to bloom and provide variations in color.

The Purple Martins keep the flying insect population down. That is something I am thankful for. Bugs love to suck on my blood. I ended up with several bites today. 

One of the most unusual events today was meeting the Frog Hunters. While trekking up one of the hills a group of kids came toward me. Two of them were carrying buckets like the KFC chicken comes in. That piqued my curiosity. I asked the last boy what was in the bucket. He told me they were looking for frogs. He said they were capturing them so they could set them free in another part of the park. Next thing he does is lift up the lid to show me the frog. I look inside. Sure enough there is a frog. I tell him I want to take a picture of it and begin to pop off the camera cover. Before I know it, he has the frog in his hand holding it out for me to take the picture. He announces he is a great Frog Hunter and continues to hold the frog out.

Not to be outdone by the great Frog Hunter the other boy opens his bucket and shows me his frog. His froggy is madly trying to jump out of the bucket and run away. He goes into hiding by the time I take his picture. He is hiding under the grass in the bucket. 

 

 

My heart goes out to this froggy. All I can hope is that he will survive in his new home.

I thank the boys and the whole crowd who has gathered to watch the photography session as they head off in search of more frogs.

 

 

 

I wonder how many frogs they catch and if the frogs will survive in the new environment the Frog Hunters will provide for them?

Many of us do not cope with change very well. Moving is usually so stressful for us. I wonder how it is for a frog?

Teena Akiyama © 2011 All Rights Reserved

 

Swans

Urban sprawl continues on in central Ohio. More subdivisions, shopping centers and roads are built every day. In the midst of urban life, mother nature continues the cycle of birth. My friend found out about a nesting sight in one of the suburban condo complexes. There is a pond in the complex. A pair of swans has chosen to build a nest. As we can upon the pond off to the side, the female swan was sitting on the nest.

The question arises, how close can you stand without disturbing the nesting swan? I stood atop the berm and proceeded to zoom in on the swan.

 

        

 My friend ventured a little closer.

 

 It became clear that the swan was well aware

of our presence. She turned her head to look at us.

We knew that was as close as she wanted us to

come.

 

 We both wondered where the male swan was hiding. It didn't take us long to find out. Out he came heading for the pond.

 In the water he went and swam towards us. We stood mesmerized looking at this beautiful creature as he swam around. Sleek, streamline, beautiful lines as he glided through the water.

 Once he realized we were no threat, he started to bob under the water to eat. It was interesting to capture a moment when his head popped up with water dripping down from his last tasty morsel of food.

 At one point, he did turn and look at us, but he went back to eating immediately.

 We hope to return after the goslings are born. It will be interesting to see how many eggs hatch.

Teena Akiyama copyright © 2011 All Rights Reserved

05-15-11 Boulder

During spring, I went to visit my girlfriend in Colorado. When I left Columbus it was cold, rainy and dreary. I was hoping for warmer temperatures and some spring flowering bulbs. Pearl St. in Boulder was supposed to have lots and lots of tulips planted. It seems the rains and overcast skies followed me from Ohio.

 On a day when it was not supposed to rain, we took off in search of masses of color. With no wind, no sun and overcast skies we headed to Boulder. After driving around for blocks looking for Pearl St we finally found it. Naturally Pearl St. is the area where the upscale shops are. Pearl St. is also the hang out of many stoners, ex-GI Vets in wheelchairs and homeless folks panhandling the tourists. 

Obviously Janine and I played the part to the T. With cameras in tow and tulips in sight, we started looking for the “shots” to capture the willing models. I was totally amused at all the characters that were hitting her up for money. When in a situation like this, I've learned how to avoid interacting with them. I simply keep my mouth shut.




Since I totally look like a typical Japanese tourist with glasses, camera and a smile on my face, no one knows if I can speech English or not. They do not bother me and leave me alone.

Janine roared with laughter when I told her my trick. Too bad she cannot use it too.

The tulips were planted in squared off beds. Not as spectacular as looking at the myriad of color in the tulip fields of the Netherlands. But it was nice to see all the different colors. One of the things that helped the color pop more was the use of different colors in the under plantings. 

There is something about seeing bunches of the same color together. It draws your eyes right in. The visual stimulation creates an excitement and joy in seeing color everywhere you look. I was a very happy camper.

 

The air is so much drier in Colorado than in the Midwest. It didn't take long before we could feel dehydration setting in. We went off in search of something to drink. We found a great Tea shop right around the corner called Ku Cha. (Cha means tea in Japanese.) They had a tea room on the second floor.

We decided to try some teas and have some appetizers too.

 It was a great place to plop our bodies down and sip our tea. The room was very peaceful and calm. Water from the fountain was a wonderful sound too.

I bought some of the Oolong tea Janine had for her to take home. 

Later I bought the Chai Tea I was drinking. It was the best Chai Tea I've ever had. The tea list to choose from was not just one Oolong Tea, it had a whole list of them. Same with the list for Chai Teas.

 One of the things I still marvel about this trip was being able to capture the uniqueness of some of the tulips. The white tulips with the red veins had some of the most unique patterns I've seen in tulips. The red markings reminded me of bird feathers and flower veining. It looked like something a watercolorist would paint.

The soft unfolding of the petals on this pink tulip made it one of my favorite tulips. Most tulip leaves curl inward, not outward. I love the color of this tulip as well as the shape of it. Very unlike a typical tulip.

These orange, yellow and cream tulips shone as the sunlight lit them up. It turned out to be a gorgeous day. These colors brightened up my spirit and made me smile.

Each of these tulips shone brightly. Together they were breathtaking to look at. I wish they would have had a smell. It would have been intoxicating.

How could you look at beds and beds of these colors and not smile?

The most precious picture I took was the tulip reaching up toward the sun. It was as if that tulip connected to the sun and the sun shone down on it. That tulip was aglow with a fiery orange red that was everywhere in that bed but the only tulip that truly captured the essence of the luminosity

was that tulip. It was on fire with Light. And I was the only one to see it and acknowledge the Light shining from that tulip.

It's these little things in Life that make Life so special and worth living. Talk about living in the Light. Perfect example.

Teena Akiyama copyright © 2011 

All Rights Reserved

05-15-11Tough Times

While hiking I saw a lady run by. 

She had on a bright orange

T-shirt. On the back it said this “Tough times don't last, Tough people do.”

I love that saying. In these economic down times, sometimes is it a challenge to keep things in perspective.

Almost every day for weeks it has rained in central Ohio. The waters are flooding the rivers and creeks. Today was another day where steps down to the creek were under water.

The banks were overflowing. Even parts of the trail were wet in the low lying areas.

 

Every time I hike in this metro park things are different. Nature is in constant flux and change. New wildflowers popping up.

Mists of rain wetting my camera.

 

Ruts in the trail deepening.

 It is a non-stop symphony of changes and visuals.

Each of us has the opportunity to walk our path in life helping to create change that will help the planet and others. All it takes is that first step. 

 

 

Each step is a seed of potential for a future that will bring wonderment and awe to those around us.

Have the courage to be a “Tough people” and endure through the tough times. When the waters recede and the banks are dry, new life will spring forth and grow.

Nature will move on and so will you.

 

Onward you go to a future you create now.

Teena Akiyama copyright © 2011 All Rights Reserved

05-14-11 Estes Park

Weather is very unpredictable in Colorado. One day it rained. Another was warm and overcast. High winds another day.,The day I went hiking in Estes Park, it was snowing. Not much, but just enough of a nuisance to keep the vacationers at bay. Visibility was clear in front of me but obscured the mountain tops.

I could tell by the foot prints all covered with snow only one person had hiked there before me. Foot prints heading back to the parking lot were the only visible prints. It made it easy for me to follow where the footprints had gone.

There is a beauty about hiking alone through the woods with no one else making noise. The peace and tranquility hiking along the trail soothes my inner dialogue and allows me to listen and hear what is going on around me. Since snow was falling when I started the trail, silence and stillness was the sound. The visual images were stunning. Big huge boulders with a dusting of snow intersperse between the stands of pines allowed for many changes in shapes and sizes.

This trail was called Cub Trail. It looked like it followed a lot of rain run off areas. When the snow stopped and the temperatures started to rise, the trail became slushy as the new fallen snow started to melt.
After a while I found myself avoiding the small streams that were growing larger with each passing minute. My boots were getting wet from all the water I was stepping in.
When I could no longer see any more foot prints and the stream was heading up the mountain getting wider with the ascent, I decided it was time to head back to the parking lot. I had either lost the trail or the person before me turned around at this point too. On the way back, a family was ready to pass me. The dad asked if I had made it to Cub Lake. I told them why I stopped and wished them well. I did happen to notice the mom's turquoise canvas gym shoes and the girl's pink ones. My hiking boots were wet at the front half of my toes. I could not imagine what their feet were going to feel like by the time they finished that hike. It was 2.5 miles one way.
As I was sitting in my car in the parking lot getting directions to go pick up my girlfriend who was in a seminar in Estes Park the family came back. They got in their car and took off flying down the road as if they saw a ghost. My guess is the dad wanted to do that long hike. Mom and the girls started complaining when they feet got cold and wet.

 Several times driving around the park I saw herds of elk grazing in the fields. They are instant attractions for us city folk who rarely see more than squirrels and rabbits.
This one with a mouthful of grass was quite amusing. They are not afraid of people. They graze and roam around the fields.

All us tourists were so lucky to see Elk everywhere in the park. Cars were pulled over on many of the roads.

This was the best picture of the day. This elk decided to lay down very close to the road. I zoomed in and captured this special moment. I was surprised he lay there as long as he did. Folks were snapping photos of him at very close distances.

This Magpie landed by the front of my car. I was taking pictures of the herd of elk. He kept squalking at me and walking closer. My guess is he wanted food. He had no fear. Walked right up to me. Finally he realized I was not going to give him what he wanted and he started to walk away.  What an interesting character he was.
I got in my car and went to go pick up my girlfriend.





 What a great hike and trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Best part was the $20 daily fee was waived. It was the Easter weekend.
I was able to get in for free.
And my feet were dry unlike the family who left in a huff.

Teena Akiyama Copyright © 2011
       All Rights Reserved