Training for Turtles

Readers' Advisory:  Life 2.0-type reflection ahead.

Brain cancer is...

...providing opportunities to watch the world...and to be a part of it.

Do you remember us spotting pelicans at the Craig Park lake the other day?

We hadn't seen them before, and we haven't seen them since--just that one day.  We read that American white pelicans live in the northern interior of our continent and then head south and for the coasts to winter. 

Our observations and research made us feel a part of something larger: We think we witnessed members of the Pacific Flyway making their way to the coast for the winter. 

Many naturalists and educators are concerned that Americans suffer from a nature deficit.  We live hurried lives that are increasingly divorced from the environments in which we live. 

One incredible thing that our time off together is doing for us is giving us the opportunity to be outside daily, watching and wondering, being a part of the world.

Today at the park, 30 seconds before I took this picture...

 

 ...Darrell spotted two turtles basking on the bank in the sun.  Shy, they slipped into the water before I could catch the photo.


We wondered about our turtle sighting.  We've seen plenty of turtles in other Southern California locales, like Fullerton Arboretum and Laguna Lake, but never at Craig Park.   Why now?   Given our experience with the pelicans, we wondered if there are some turtle rhythms we don't yet understand. 

On our second loop around the lake, we were ready:

Ignore the coots.  Look at the bank.

Darrell made a great observation:  "Maybe they don't have rhythms.  Maybe we've just never had our eyes trained for turtles."

We deeply appreciate the extended opportunity to watch...and to wonder.

Cancer Eradication Effort Updates

Today is day 3 of 5 days, cycle 7 of 12 cycles for Darrell's maintenance chemo.  He takes temozolomide orally at night.  He tolerates it well.  His doctors warned us that it would have cumulative effects related to fatigue.  Darrell does notice that.  Today he napped.  But Americans are probably nap deprived as well, so no one's complaining.