I’ve been going for the best walks lately. Circles upon circles within circles. Around and around the Mapleleaf Reservoir, which was just recently “topped” with a big open park. Grass and trails now. It’s about a half-mile around, though there are offshoots from the paved path that can make it shorter or longer. It has become my new religion to walk around that park. Walking, reflecting, unwinding, realigning, settling, walking.  It can become a ceremony so easily. I think that’s what I like about it. I find myself feeling more present. The moments feel more full. My thoughts don’t seem to go in as many circles when I set my body to do that. It’s quite lovely.

And by the way, there’s a bird in the park that may need to make its nest on the ground somewhere. I forget the bird’s name. Its chirps are the same as these birds who would make a nest at our P-Patch (community garden in Seattle). People would stake out where the nest was, and the person who roto-tilled all the plots at once in the spring would avoid it. We would just garden around the nest too. This was in April. I think the eggs usually hatched around the end of April. I thought is might be a tough place for them, but they seemed to manage. To protect the nest, one or both of the parents would chirp at you, and fly low, darting around, drawing your attention away from the nest. Then they would land a little ways off, and begin crawling and acting wounded, drawing you further and further away from the nest. I think there were usually around 3-4 eggs, and I’ve seen from 1 to 3 chicks make it various years. They stayed around the garden for a while as they were learning to fly. I think they left sometime in the early summer. I’m not sure, maybe they were around longer.

So we need to keep a look-out for a nest of these birds if they choose to make one at the Mapleleaf Reservoir park. It might even be out in the open. We could put stakes around it with little flags to keep people away. Ah, but alas, there are dogs that run all over. Well perhaps they will find a spot the dogs don’t go. Perhaps behind the fences, in one of the utility enclosures. The park is so wide open that I think the birds won’t have to worry about cats or rats getting there young. So perhaps they will be better off dealing with the dogs instead.