Natural Change
They say (I still wonder who “they” are) that change is good… cleans out the system, produces a different view or outcome, breaks up the repetition.
But really, haven’t we seen enough change for one year? How about a lifetime!
If you’ve met me or read any of my blog articles, you know I love nature. Nature is full of change and she deals with it quite well. I was sitting in the woods last weekend with my beloved black lab, watching squirrels gathering nuts for the winter. Gathering nuts - a simple task, when first viewed, but let’s think about it. There are draughts, floods, fires, hurricanes, etc., but the animal world somehow pulls through. And these animals are probably genetically stronger for the experience, as you know by reading any survival of the specie articles or Darwin’s Origin of the Specie. Remember, I was a biology major before an orthodontist. As I watched the squirrels burying their treasure trove of protein for later consumption, a flock of geese flew over. And yes, they were heading South for the winter I presume. And the squirrels, as small as their brains may be, were preparing for change…
Just before I got up from the log I was sitting on, a doe stepped out with her twin fawns that I had been seeing all summer. Their spots had disappeared, but man were they small… probably a late June birth. The doe would find the corn that I had set out and make some doe noise and over would run the fawns to partake. Believe it or not, they even touched noses, not once but several times! I was taken aback on how touching it was to see natural maternal instinct, needed to propagate the specie, direct the twins and hopefully guide them through the changing season.
Nature takes care of her own, and we are all part of Nature…
So we will get through this Covid thing and we will definitely be stronger for the experience!
But what an ordeal in the process.
On a much lighter note, tomorrow is Halloween, which will bring a full Blue Moon and some gorgeous weather!
I beg of you, take advantage of Nature as she delivers us a soul-cleansing day to be enjoyed outside. Stoney Creek pumpkin patch is still open in Burbank, ‘cause I was there last weekend with family. The wagon ride out to look for pumpkins and going past the working Sugar Bush was a return to normalcy that felt good… almost as good as eating my third hot dog roasted over the fire, covered in left over s’mores from my granddaughter.
Or here’s another way to go about your weekend - sit on the floor and look into your dog’s eyes and say, “Hey, what should we do today?” And you know he or she will go straight for the door with your car keys in mouth. The same done with a cat will not elicit the same response. Sorry. So get outside, take a hike, and inhale the great non-frozen air (because you know what comes next).
Enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds us… pure Ohio.
And observe - in nature - lessons in change.
Have a great weekend friends,
- Dr. Pfister