Category Archives: Snapshots
Tern, tern, tern
The birds shrug off
the slant air,
they plunge into the sea
and vanish
under the glassy edges
of the water,
and then come back,
as white as snow,
shaking themselves,
shaking the little silver fish,
crying out
in their own language,
voices like rough bells–
it’s wonderful
and it happens whenever
the tide starts its gushing
journey back, every morning
or afternoon.
This is a poem
about death,
about the heart blanching
in its folds of shadows
because it knows
someday it will be
the fish and the wave
and no longer itself–
it will be those white wings,
flying in and out
of the darkness
but not knowing it–
this is a poem about loving
the world and everything in it:
the self, the perpetual muscle,
the passage in and out, the bristling
swing of the sea.
–The Terns by Mary Oliver from House of Light, 1990
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
All Commons, I guess. The Leasts are just too quick to photograph in the air. They’re still feeding babies on my favorite sandbar at Horseshoe Cove on Sandy Hook, but today there were far fewer loafing around. Maybe it’s just that the tide was higher this time.
I’m collecting tern poems if anyone has any to share…
Blackberry
It’s hard to appreciate in this photo, but when the sun hits it just right…
: )
So long as it gets me to work and back I’m happy, but a new car is kind of an occasion…
and this one makes me laugh when I see it…
IT’S PURPLE!!
and it reminds me not to take myself too seriously…
(important!)
I christened it properly this evening with a trip to the beach and a gallon of sand.
To feel such love
A lucky girl, my niece.
: )
Plans
Just add sunshine.
Yesterday
A visit to NYC…
(which felt kinda counterintuitive on Memorial Day Weekend, considering the horrendous traffic heading OUT of the city)
but I live at the beach
(lucky me, I know)
😉
I saw Strawberry Fields, finally, and was reminded of my best friend growing up and her total adoration of all things John Lennon…
I wandered around The Ramble in Central Park looking for photographic opportunities and good birds…
and loving the fun edge-aberrations of MevetS’ wide-angle lens.
I was prowling for stranger pics and found many…
NYC is especially good for that!
A happy bride on a beautiful day…
Somewhere along those wooded paths, by a bridge, we came upon a drumming group… but this one had singers!
My sense was that they were Cuban and this old guy…
😉
He totally stole my heart and my imagination and reminded me, somehow, of a long-dead uncle who I wish had lived long enough to share his stories with me..
I very nearly got run over by a bus to take this shot on 42nd street…
NYC is madness!!
death by bus or yellow cab, I wondered, as my short life flashed before my eyes
It’s Fleet Week and Steve forced me to talk to lots of handsome sailors…
😉
Who insist they HAVE TO wear the uniform and don’t do it just to pick up girls…
(Right.)
The real reason for this crazy goose-chase across NYC was Manhattanhendge, which we somehow missed…
??
At the end of the day, in Times Square, I felt very much like a country-bumpkin, out of my element, distracted with the bright lights and the madness of city life… and very glad for the little patch of sand waiting for me at home by the sea.
: )
Today
Birds are still singing;
the trees are long past their first delicate greening.
Peepers at the roadside are suddenly quiet.
The northward surge of Spring is past us now.
Summer flowers are blooming;
Canada Mayflowers put on quite a show this year
and I found my first blooming Starflower
(but the photo was awful!)
Birds are looking for homes
in boxes and under bridges,
gathering twigs and feathers.
Or building nests
from vines and rootlets
and whatever magic things they can weave together.
They’re making babies.
😉
Lots and lots of babies!
– – – – – – – – – – – –
I’m planting flowers of my own
and reading books
(and remembering how much I love the poetry of the Spanish language.)
I’m checking-off lists
and working on this year’s.
It’s a big one!
I’m planning a very private party to celebrate
and wanting to wander some, to contemplate
and squander time, letting it pass ungathered and unregretted.
There’s no pictures yet to share.
– – – – – – – – – – –
What’re you up to?
Bad bird photo of the week
More warbler butts…
😉
(there was no shortage of shots like this from this past weekend)
A bird in the hand
brings a quick smile to the face!
I wandered away for a bit on World Series Day to spend a couple minutes with Tom while he banded birds. This is his second spring at Sandy Hook and Saturday found his nets overflowing with migrants! Canadas, like this one, were everywhere… as were Magnolias and Wilson’s.
I hung around taking photos and waiting for the rest of the crowd to amble away… finally Tom asked me if I’d like to hold a Magnolia that he’d just finished processing.
Gasp!
I felt strangely hesitant and scared… I’d held birds before, hawks, even tiny hummingbirds, but only injured or window-strike dazed birds. These wide-awake and eager-to-go warblers frightened me with their flutterings and protests.
Silly me… it’s just a little bird!
I’m sure my face was as giddy as this lady’s was… to feel those feathers in my hand, that tiny beating heart beneath my fingers and its trembling…
A sweet unexpected gift.
: )
World Series 2010
They were almost delirious enough around 7 pm to smile at my camera without much prodding beyond, “Time for the obligatory group photo everyone!”
😉
We’d been out for better than 12 hours at that point and had just about tallied our total for the day, save for the odd swallow and a bittern that never materialized. It was a fabulous day for birds… the kind of day where you just want to plant yourself in one spot and watch wave after wave of migrants come to you; it was that good! Sandy Hook can be spectacular under the right conditions and this year’s World Series of Birding was just such a day. We ended with a record-setting (for us) 143 species!
And to think some birders go midnight to midnight and traipse across the whole state for less.
😉
Bad bird pics to follow, shortly. Previous posts about WSB are gathered here.