Julian Wetlands in the Rain / A Quiet Place

My husband had a car appointment for an inspection at 1 p.m., and I rode along. It was raining, but I had an umbrella and a good attitude and a sense of adventure. I was looking forward to it because I knew I'd get to walk somewhere different!

He dropped me off at the Julian Wetlands, now part of the Soaring Eagle Wetlands, which you've seen on these pages quite often. There is a little sign at the entrance that says this part is called the Galen and Nancy Dreibelbis Birding Area.

The first thing I saw when I got there was a really tiny bird chasing a heron across the sky. I have no idea what the heron did to deserve this, and I always wonder when I see such a thing - why doesn't the bigger bird just turn around and fight back? But no, the heron just . . . left quietly. Darn!

I am sharing above the only photo I took that has a bird in it (it is a dark blur in the middle left part of the photo). No, it is not a heron. I think it is some kind of black bird. I don't see any flashes of red or yellow, so it may not be a red-winged blackbird; those are quite common here.

What I did see and hear lots of were amphibians! For the rain was as welcome to them as it was to us human beings, and as I walked along the ditch that lines the edge of that part of the wetland, frog after frog (some of them HUGE) leapt into the ditch! Not a single frog, photo, though. They were really FAST.

The area is accessible, and has a flat walking trail with two duck blind type structures on it. I had my daysack and a book in it; I figured if it rained hard, I'd end up inside one of those, reading my book if I had to (I'm nearing the end and it's hard to put it down). But no, there was no need for that, for it only drizzled while I was there.

This wetland is a small space and you can see most of what's there in about a half-hour or less. I've included an extra photo of one of the pretty benches, next to a large tree, overlooking a marshy area with a barn in the background. It seemed like a private place to sit and observe, or contemplate, or simply let your mind wander. If you're looking for a quiet nook to disappear into, this might be it!

My husband came back to get me, as things began to dry out. He had his classic car, a 1997 Chevy Geo, and he is fussy about it. He did not want to get it wet and dirty in the rain, as he might then need to wash it. We're both retired now. He mostly drives it only on sunny days.

But we were both lucky, somehow. It drizzled while I was out but while I used my umbrella, it was just a gentle rain and lovely to be out in. It covered every single thing with raindrops. But not me. And somehow, not his car either. I guess we both ran between the raindrops!

I have two soundtrack songs. One is Eddie Vedder, with Society, from the film soundtrack Into the Wild. The film makes me crazy, for I am a real backpacker, and I see pretty clearly all of the poor choices that guy made that led to his own demise. But the soundtrack is absolutely luscious, and I love every single song on it.

The second is Pat Benatar, with Run Between the Raindrops, a live performance from 1986, which was a VERY good year. That was the year I graduated from Penn State with my undergrad degrees, the year I was hired by Penn State full-time for what would turn out to be a life-long career in Outreach, and the year I met the man who would become my husband. Yes, a very good year!

You gotta run between the raindrops, if you wanna see the sun
Run, run, run between the raindrops
Run between the raindrops, if you wanna see the sun
You gotta run, run, run
Run baby, run