Animal encounters

[serenissima]

I went for a brief walk in the park last Sunday evening. A flock of geese crossed the trail, surrounding me on both sides, while I stood and watched them. I get an odd feeling being in the midst of a large group of animals, especially animals as sizeable as geese. It reminded me of the scene from "Jurassic Park" where Dr. Grant is explaining to the two kids about the dinosaurs' flocking behavior, and the boy says, "Uh.. they're flocking this way." There were a number of families with young children at the park that day, and some of the smallest children were about the same size as a goose. I wondered how the toddlers felt about being near these birds as big as themselves. I've been eye to eye with a flamingo once before, at Walt Disney World; in fact I think it was an inch or two taller than me. That was an odd feeling, too.

Monday morning, when I pulled back the shower curtain, I was startled to find a brown spider in my bathtub. I considered courses of action. I didn't have the heart to wash it down the drain, but on the other hand I didn't have time to capture it and put it outside. I decided to go ahead and shower while the spider was there. The poor thing looked so miserable huddled against the spray of water, occasionally trying to climb up the side of the tub but always slipping back, apparently foiled by slick porcelain, soap scum, and the steep grade. I felt badly for it. It was still there when I got home more than twelve hours later, so at that time I picked it up on a piece of paper and released it out the window.