This beautiful image of Jacksonville's Round Marsh was captured by the talented photographer Will Dickey. We have a number of his framed prints on our walls, and he clearly has a keen eye for capturing the natural beauty of Duval County.
The Round Marsh is a special place for me, and every time I'm jammed up on a story or needing some quiet from the world or simply recreating in the world to give thanks for my blessings, it's a good bet that you'll find me here. Today, on an eighty-two-degree here in Jacksonville, I jogged the trails down there and was stunned to see so much activity in the water. Fish were jumping all over the place. Shrimp flipped easily across the surface in schools, bullied by bigger predators. Birds circled and swooped. I watched quietly as a small blue heron fished not ten feet from my perch, catching fry after fry and swallowing them whole in a matter of seconds.
As always, this place is filled with lessons. It's only a short distance from a major road, where cars filled with busy people scream by on their way toward the next appointment. But the woods and the water insulate these creatures, and their world is much more simple. It's dangerous and harsh, to be sure, but I admire those challenges so much more than the daily grind that leads to so many of the news stories that we chew up every morning like our daily bowl of cereal. I think, if more people got out of the cars and found a natural sanctuary like this one, the complexion of those morning news stories would change for the better...
Going to try to get back out there in the next few days, when the weather cools!
No comments:
Post a Comment