Duck out of water

Photo: Randy Vanderveen, Dawson Creek, B.C. A female mallard runs back and forth across the muddy lake bed of McQueen's Slough near Dawson Creek.The expression "Like a duck out of water" is a common one referring to being in a situation that is unfamiliar and uncomfortable and sometimes scary.

I had the opportunity to see the live version of this take place last week.

The mallard above was running back and forth on top of the mud of the slough until she found a small area of water — really a large puddle which she plopped into and then seemed to calm down.

I have no idea why she was acting like she was — probably partly because I was there, but I didn't see any young ones with her and the puddle she ended up in wasn't even deep enough to swim in as when she moved her legs her body came up out of the water.

Sometimes we can be like that when we are in situations that are new. We worry or react differently than when in a familiar situation.

 Photo: Randy Vanderveen, near Kleskun Hills, Alberta Bison graze along the ridgeline of a hill.

These bison were the complete opposite. They could have cared less that I was taking photos of them. (To be fair I was farther away) They seemed not to even notice that I had stopped the car and was watching them.

As a professional, whether a lawyer, nurse, police officer or even a photojournalist, we have to be more like the bison.

We need to be concerned with the task we are doing and not get wrapped up in the circumstances we are doing the job under.

This can be tough thing to do, especially in the private sector or industries like agriculture where sometimes corporate planning, which is out of our hands, or outside influences like weather can shake up our work environment.

Photo Randy Vanderveen, near Kleskun Hills, Alberta A wheat crop begins turning colour giving the appearance it is almost ready to be harvested. Unfortunately a hot dry summer means that while the plants are ready to harvest, the heads will be very light as there hasn't been the moisture to help fill out the seeds. If we are going to be fruitful in what we produce we have to concentrate on the task at hand and then make sure we add the right mixture of everything else — commitment to our job, spending time with our families and friends to recharge our batteries and keeping our spiritual life in balance too.

If one area is missing, our fruitfulness will be limited and we will be like this crop that is suffering from too little moisture.

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This blog will be on a hiatus for the next three weeks, I will write again in late August. Thanks for reading. Randy