Her boyfriend paddled their canoe faster, splashing water into the canoe. “I don’t know why you insisted we go on this trip anyway. It’s so stupid.”
“Just give it a chance, Nash. It could be fun if you let it.”
“Fun? It’s not fun for me.”
She sighed. She’d begged him to try birdwatching with him, but he’d been miserable the entire trip so far and he was making things miserable for her too. “Just 15 more minutes, please? If it’s not fun by then, we can get out.”
“Fine. But you owe me for this.”
Madilyn gritted her teeth and nodded. “Whatever.”
They paddled a little further down the river, Nash moving the paddle through the water so quickly it splashed water into the canoe and made noise as they rode. She turned to face him. “Can’t you just be a little quieter?”
He glared at her but slowed down and paddled softer. They traveled down the river for another ten minutes in silence. Coming around a curve in the river, they began to approach a place to get out. Just as the canoe approached the landing, movement caught their eyes and Nash forced the canoe to come to a stop. It was a bird. A large white bird.
The large white bird flew in above them, landing on a branch not far from their canoe. Madilyn watch the bird soar above them, flapping it’s wings almost above their heads before it finally landed. She smiled. It was one of her favorite birds.
“That’s incredible!” Nash yelled out.
“Shh! You’ll frighten it away.” Turning her head, she glanced in his direction in the back of the canoe.
“Sorry.” Lowering his voice, he winked at her, then pointed slowly towards the bird with his paddle. “What is that anyways?”
“It’s a Great Egret.”
“It’s big. Much bigger than the ducks that were back there anyways.”
“Yeah, it is. They are beautiful birds.” They watched it dip its beak into the water a few times, then it came back up with a fish flapping in its beak. They watched as the bird ate its meal, then slowly flapped its wings and flew away.
Nash sighed. “That was amazing.”
She turned to face him once again. He had a big smile across his face. “They are pretty cool.”
“So this thing you call birdwatching? Can we go again sometime soon?”
Grinning, she nodded in his direction. “Absolutely!”
He smiled back at her. “I don’t think this is a trip I’ll forget anytime soon.”
My A-muse-ing Life 