Finding Treasure

“Why don’t you head north today?” my husband suggests.

He is talking about my daily walk. For the past week or so, I’ve been heading south to monitor the progress of a goose nest filled with five eggs. Nothing could possibly be as exciting as the nest, I tell myself.

As I put on my sweatshirt and strap my son into his stroller, however, my yearning for something new gets the best of me. I can always go for a second walk to see the geese later in the day, I think.

About a mile north of our home, I notice a fluttering in the trees overhead. I stop for a moment and tilt my head back just in time to catch a glimpse of a beautiful osprey passing by, so near I get a close look at the white feathers on its underside.

I continue, now noticing a few turtles sunning themselves along the water’s edge. I push the stroller closer for a look and the whole bank seems to leap into the water.

Not just a few turtles, I realize. Nearly twenty had been lined up, catching the sun. Now only two remain—a large one and a much smaller one, side by side.

“Look at the turtles!” I say to my son.

“Tir-tul,” he says, mimicking me like a parrot. It is a word he knows.

We travel together a bit further and are greeted by two white ducks. They come up to the stroller to say hello.

I position the stroller just right so Devin can see. He laughs with delight.

“Duck,” I say. “Look at the duck.”

He responds with another laugh. He has seen ducks before, but seems particularly taken with them today.

Perhaps sensing his interest, the ducks put on quite a show. They flap their wings, quack and preen their feathers with their bills.

“Quack, quack,” I say. “Ducks go quack.”

“Qu-k. Qu-k.” Devin tries to say quack. He laughs again.

Finally, the ducks wander off, as if finally accepting that, in spite of our enthusiasm, we have nothing to offer other than our cheerful company.

I push the stroller down the path toward home, my step lighter now than before. I am thankful I stepped beyond my comfort zone and tried something new.