It’s 10 PM

I’m restless

I cannot sleep

I have a yearning – deep within my soul

I get in my car and head north

 I drive for hours until all traces of both

Civilization and the blacktopped road

Vanish beneath my tires

At journey’s end

I joyously exit my vehicle

And hike down a narrow forested trail

Toward a small uninhabited wilderness lake

Along the way, I inhale deeply

Soon the cool fresh pine-scented north woods air

Revitalizes both my lungs and my weary soul

I reach the lakeshore just before dawn

I perch on a large flat rock

 And I patiently wait

Within minutes

 I hear the magnificent sound

I have journeyed this great distance to hear

It is the unmistakable mysterious eerie wail

That has always filled my heart with joy

It is the first morning call

Of a black and white loon

Far off on the shadowy lake surface

This loon is lovingly calling out to its mate

Within seconds a second eerie wail

Reaches my very attentive ears

It’s the loon’s mate calling it back

At this moment in time

I feel closer to God and all His Creation

Than I have my entire life

As dawn breaks

And the enchanting loon wails evaporate

In the wind like the morning mist

I pull out my trusty binoculars

And patiently wait once more

Before long

I spot a female black bear

Lovingly leading her two cubs

Down to the lakeshore for a refreshing drink of water

Several hours later

 I watch in awe and admiration

As a mother osprey repeatedly dives into the ice -cold depths to fish

After each catch she immediately rockets skyward

And delivers yet another nourishing meal to the five hungry babies

Anxiously awaiting her return in their immense twig-laden nest

By noon

I have spotted several other magnificent woodland creatures

White-tailed deer

Beaver

Red plumed wood ducks

Canadian geese

And a very industrious brown muskrat

That’s catching and eating crayfish on a distant shoreline

It’s getting quite warm now

So I reluctantly decide that it’s time to head home

As I push my hand against the massive boulder to rise

 I brush against a large clump of thick velvety moss growing along its side

 This wild moss feels cool moist and extremely clean to the touch

  Now even my fingers are being soothed by yet another miracle of nature

On the hike back up the trail to my car

I pause to admire the tantalizing sounds and magnificent beauty

Of a tiny babbling brook slowly winding its way down to the lakeshore

  I kneel in the dirt cup my hands together and drink heartily

From this cool pure thirst-quenching water

On the long ride home

 I’m content in the knowledge

That both my heart and soul

Have been revitalized

And I now look forward

To my next trip

To the Creation store

©2003, Excerpt from Curious Creatures-Wondrous Waifs, My Life with Animals, by Ed Kostro