Encountering wildlife is always special for some reason. One of the surprises is that wildlife is now seen in areas that are quite urbanized. I've seen a deer in the next town over and wild turkeys just on the edge of my town and deer are all over now. One of my pleasures is seeing the bird life beside the fresh and salt water ponds along the East Bay Bike Path along the shore of Narragansett Bay and at Sachuest Point, a tiny wild life sanctuary at the edge of Block Island Sound. Just a short time ago, a mountain lion was officially acknowledged in Connecticut. My nephew in upstate New York, not 80 miles from Manhattan, has a bear living in the woods behind his house. The bear stays in the woods, doing what ever it is that bears do and my nephew tends his farm. I have seen numerous, while backpacking in New Hampshire, Maine and Colorado, bear, moose and elk and it is always a special occasion.

My most memorable sighting was during a sailing trip from New York to Florida when two dolphins appeared beside our sail boat off the Florida coast, to pace us for a while. I have seen many dolphins but these two, for whatever reason, were special. I can see, in my mind and feel, even now, 15 years later, what the boat and the wind felt like. This was a quiet night with a soft breeze with just enough heel to almost wet the rail. My two shipmates were asleep in their berths and the brake on the ships wheel would hold course for many minutes without active steering. As I sat with my back against the cabin, occasionally poking the wheel with a bare toe, two dolphins appeared right beside the boat not four feet away. I could have reached out to touch them and these many years later, I wish I had. I imagine they are as curious about people as people are about them. We kept each other company for a good long while, perhaps 45 minutes. My sailing days have provided many excellent memories.