While most Americans were glued to their TV sets, cheering or shouting at their favorite overpaid players in the Super Bowl–refusing to budge during the manipulative, high-tech commercials except to urinate or grab another beer, I was outside enjoying the unseasonably warm day (and secretly praying for snow).

On our daily walk to the river, my wife and I and our dog “Honey” were treated first to the sight of a pair of ravens driving an eagle out of the area. The eagle must have inadvertently flown over the ravens’ former and future nesting site, and they wanted to make it clear that though they weren’t guarding any eggs just yet, that forested hillside was off-limits until further notice.

In addition to the usual mergansers and herons fishing the river, we saw a seal stick his head above the waterline to get his bearings. Seals are a fairly rare sight here on this tidal tributary of the Columbia, twenty miles upstream from the ocean, but no doubt the winter smelt run was making his efforts worthwhile.

Next, upwards of a thousand cackling Canada geese, in four or five formations of a few hundred or so apiece, crossed loudly overhead. Uninterested in fish, they were instead searching for greener pastures and a safe place to bed for the evening.

These are just a few of the wonders going on while humans are spending their valuable yet limited time on this Earth with their ball game.

Text and Photography Copyright Jim Robertson