22 January 2013 Reflections
Today I looked up and down the Broward. There are beautiful homes on the deep side of the river where the bluff rolls down to the river channel and into the marsh. They have docks of all shapes and sizes. These docks have boats in the water at the ready, some wait on slings, some under covered roofs, others are exposed to the weather. But you know, I hardly ever notice any people on those docks until the weekend when a few kayaks or boats go by on nice days. People are just busy during the week with work and life, like most. It got me to thinking.
We live on the shallow side of the river where the docks are somewhat different. There are three docks around me. The first is mine, a small simple 12 x 16 foot platform. The neighbors have a much longer one. I love the view from there. Upstream is the last one, now just a skeleton of an old pier. These different docks are for different activities. Mine is a great place to watch the birds. They swim right up to my feet sometimes. I get to enjoy it even more in my retirement. My neighbor's dock reaches far into the river. As their family grew so did the dock. They extended it, added a nice gazebo with a copula, a boat lift, and a floating dock for various watercraft. Their children, and now grandchildren, gather and enjoy weekends on this pier. There is a palm tree that lights up the night like a Jimmy Buffet sunset. Spunky, the Kingfisher, watches for breakfast from the copula and various birds take turns riding the leaping dolphin wind vane on top. Their dock is made to suit their life as is mine. The old dock that once was has seen better days. Old Man River, the Great Blue Heron loves to sit there and stare as if he remembers the time when there was a fresh wooden deck and planks connecting to the shore. Those planks are long gone and only barren pilings remain.
We don’t all live on the water but I believe we all have our “dock” of some sort in life. A place we go for peace. It might be a front porch, a tree in a meadow, or a long country lane. We long for such a place. We craft them to suite our lives. As life changes, so too our docks change. My wife and I enjoy our view from our little dock. It suits us just fine. My neighbors enjoy theirs also, and sometimes I go on it for a different view to take photos that I share with you. But some docks remain only in solitary memories. They too are treasures of bygone days that will never be forgotten. Be blessed. Harry
Docks on the Broward
My" bird studio" dock on the Broward
The neighbor's dock and visiting stork.
Bluebirds take turns riding the dolpins.
On old bygone dock stands silent
Solitary memories. Old Man River looks back.