Great things about being blind. The call of the loon.

I love the call of a loon over a lake when you are at a cottage or camping. It is haunting, breathtaking, magical. I'd heard it for many years before I got close to one. Once while camping and canoeing, we ended up very close to a family of loons. They wanted us to leave I am sure. They would dive and swim under the boat. I could hear them dive, come up, and call again. It was unbeleiveable although I felt some stress knowing that we were probably frightening them. Soon after this, I was at a provincial park camping. The people working there asked if i would like to touch a real loon that had been stuffed. It was kept in a locked display case and others were not allowed to handle it but they took it out for me as well as other birds some owls I think. I was amazed by the loon's long legs, the softness of the feathers, the feeling of its chest. Many birds seem to have a chest that feels brittle and fine boned. The loon's chest felt solid like a brick wall. Like an animal's not a bird's chest. It was amazing to touch it and to get an idea about the shape and size of the loon. As someone who has been blind since birth, I have no idea about the sizes of animals. A chipmunk rustling in the forest can sound quite large although it is tiny I believe. I always am touched when people show me things I never otherwise would have touched like the loon. Wow, writing about that makes me want to go canoeing but it is minus 10 celcius outside so I will hold off on that for a while I think.