Bahia Magdalena, Baja California Sur
WALK SOFTLY
Walk softly, lest you crush
A hopeful shoot of green that
Only yesterday struggled out
From under a covering leaf or pebble,
To start upward to the sun
Its cheerful yellow shaft of new hope,
From the dark mineral world below.
Walk softly, lest in your haste
You miss a thousand things of beauty
That could please your eye
In tiny places and tiny times,
Patterns hidden or even in plain view
That, in your rushing by, you leave to
Fade into a grey environmental blur,
Without seeing, or understanding,
Or feeling.
(Excerpt from a poem by D.M. Baird)
On this, our final day of a journey into the mysteries and surprises of Baja California, we “walked softly” again, but almost entirely on water. Gray whales – new mothers with their robust calves – honoured us by approaching so closely to our small boats that chills once again rippled our spines. Overpowering feelings of excitement were permanently registered, as was an acceptance of a diminishing fear of such close encounters with these massive mammals. An afternoon among the mangroves – in silent kayak and soft-seated Zodiac – allowed us to reflect on the myriad images that have thrilled us. This small green heron walks softly, here among the mangroves from which it feeds and in which it nests.
WALK SOFTLY
Walk softly, lest you crush
A hopeful shoot of green that
Only yesterday struggled out
From under a covering leaf or pebble,
To start upward to the sun
Its cheerful yellow shaft of new hope,
From the dark mineral world below.
Walk softly, lest in your haste
You miss a thousand things of beauty
That could please your eye
In tiny places and tiny times,
Patterns hidden or even in plain view
That, in your rushing by, you leave to
Fade into a grey environmental blur,
Without seeing, or understanding,
Or feeling.
(Excerpt from a poem by D.M. Baird)
On this, our final day of a journey into the mysteries and surprises of Baja California, we “walked softly” again, but almost entirely on water. Gray whales – new mothers with their robust calves – honoured us by approaching so closely to our small boats that chills once again rippled our spines. Overpowering feelings of excitement were permanently registered, as was an acceptance of a diminishing fear of such close encounters with these massive mammals. An afternoon among the mangroves – in silent kayak and soft-seated Zodiac – allowed us to reflect on the myriad images that have thrilled us. This small green heron walks softly, here among the mangroves from which it feeds and in which it nests.
