Like a sponge, I am soaking up my Naturalist training and loving it. So far, I have learned about forest ecology, aquatic systems, amphibians, and mammals. There are twenty four others who are taking the training with me. It’s quite a diverse group of people. My class features an Englishman with crooked teeth, a shy nurse who bakes pies, a retired editor, a sassy plant guy, a woman who works at a nursing home and likes to eat Subway, one storytelling soul sista, a Starbucks addict (me), a librarian, a woman who loves possums and works in economic development, and that’s just to name a few. We all meet at The Fort Worth Nature Center on Tuesday nights. On our first field trip, we went canoeing on the Trinity River. I was paired with the plant enthusiast. As I propelled the canoe forward using my paddles, I thought I heard his mind explode. Like a broken record, he kept repeating, “You are wild....You are wild.”
“Would you stop saying that!” I practically spit the words.
I think I blew the minds of several of my classmates that day. I was in a good mood, so the volume on my personality was turned all the way up. Anytime we would pass a creature on the river, I would ask if he’s single? Then, does he mate for life? Whenever our teacher would say that the organism doesn’t mate for life, I would scoff and express my disdain for his “lifestyle choices.” Once, my partner in the canoe, tried to tell me that that is the way nature works. Organisms don’t always mate for life. Turning my head, I gave him the stink eye and said,
“Are you a pollinator!? You go from flower to flower, breaking hearts, never calling when you say you’ll call, are you one of those guys?”
I saw a seven foot alligator patrolling his territory. He watched our every move as we waded through the water to find microscopic organisms. Using my net, I took a couple of rocks hostage. I also touched an American Tree Frog. He was attached to some vegetation alongside the river. My companion in the canoe spotted him, and grabbed the plant. He brought Froggie into our little boat. So briefly, we were a family unit before his guilt kicked in. He felt bad for taking the frog away from his home.
“You should feel bad, because you are a horrible person.”
(Sticks and stones might break my bones, but words will hurt forever.)
I ended up being the one to release Froggie back into the wild. The American Tree frog is a cute critter. I look forward to my next fieldtrip!!
