Notes on a Woodpecker
A little while ago I was walking down a regular ol'nature trail in my town and caught a glimpse of a woodpecker. It was on top of a large, fallen tree. It was doing its normal routine, pecking holes in it trying to get bugs. I was no more than like 15-20 ft away, so I recorded it to share with my other half. The woodpecker looked up at me and then went back to pecking. It was one of those bigger woodpeckers with the white and black body, with the red colouring on top.
The fact that it merely glanced at me, then continued on with its business made me think about the influence of humans to wildlife. The trail I was walking by is popular with cyclists, joggers, walkers, and is near a golf club. So, it sees a lot of attention. I'm sure there is plenty of writing about how human presence near forests, ponds, and other animal habitations, affect the wildlife. I could go through a rabbit-hole of searching through academic sources, news articles, and interviews with experts.
But, sometimes I feel this searching up ruins my thoughts and the experience at hand. I am having this nice moment of introspection about myself, my country, and my species, but I'll ruin it with deep-diving into this and that. It can wear me out, and then I don't want to think those thoughts.
I feel like it is similar to having an opinion about everything--all--the--time. I cannot mentally and emotionally have an opinion about everything ranging from computers to country-wide conflict, from Philosophy to Politics.