Sometimes patio dining at a village restaurant can encourage rich conversations and stories. I always enjoy running into Bill Brink, naturalist, photographer, and community treasure who might strike you as the Grizzly Adams of Broad Ripple. He always has a story and do his eyes ever light up when he begins to tell about an animal or a bird, be it common or unusual. Because I have enjoyed numerous of his tales, I'd like to share some of what he has observed.

One early evening Bill was visiting with the owner of the Marigold store on her riverside property. To their delight, a whole band of foxes put on quite a parade. The baby kits and mom frolicked on the levy. Each kit took a turn chasing moths and insects, jumping as high as it could in the evening shadows. Recounting this incident also set Bill to remembering another time at that spot on the river when the entertainment offered a variety of birds plus a ground hog lazily feeding on apples in the neighbor's yard.

Bill seems to have no end of recollections about wildlife encounters around Broad Ripple. In the '60s, he told me, people with ponds imported (actually bought) pairs of Canada Geese. They were not common in Indiana then. Oh, how times have changed! As is often the case when birds are imported, they have become a nuisance. "Then there was the time of a white-tailed deer sighting," Bill said. He spotted the mother and fawn swimming across the White River just below the Monon bridge to breakfast on the prairie plantings at the Indianapolis Art League.

Talking with Bill brought to mind another Broad Ripple friend who awakened one morning to see a coyote in her backyard. We, too, have seen this predator - and this makes us cautious about letting our cat out in the yard. All these encounters both fascinate me and serve as a reminder to stay alert so as not to miss being surprised by Broad Ripple nature. You, too, may want to be on the lookout for unsuspecting wonders that can pop up right before your eyes.